> You don't need to install anything for AAC support as it's decoded by
quicktime. Native AAC support would really be of limited benefit (some
bandwidth savings).

I'm a longtime slim user and love these things, but I'm with samlw on
this issue.  It's not about bandwidth, most of us have gobs a-plenty,
it's about server resources.  The decoder processes can be very CPU
intensive and undesirable on older equipment to the point of dropouts,
etc., especially when you have multiple players.  You are essentially
forced into a lossy format unless you want to upgrade your server.

Personally, I don't think a format should really be considered
"officially supported" until it exists in firmware.  Although flexible,
server-side decoders are really nothing more than workarounds.  It would
be nice if the major formats were directly supported.  I know these
things change over time, but the life-cycle of the Squeezebox hasn't
exactly been long-term.

I run a mixed PC/Mac environment and choosing the "right" lossless
format is not as simple as one might think.  FLAC is a GREAT choice in
theory, but the fact is the major players (iTunes, WMP) don't support
it.  The mainstream lossless choices are WMA and Apple.  Slim can play
FLAC but both WMP and iTunes cannot.  WMP can play WMA Lossless but not
Apple Lossless or FLAC.  iTunes can play Apple Lossless but not WMA
Lossless or FLAC.  Proverbial catch-222.


-- 
bishopdonmiguel
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