Audio snobs rejoice: Windows 10 will have system-wide FLAC support
*Jared Newman**
**PC World**
**
**Nov 26, 2014 7:13 AM*
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2852595/audio-snobs-rejoice-windows-10-will-have-system-wide-flac-support.html
Windows 10 will make it easier for audiophiles to enjoy lossless music,
with support for the popular FLAC format across all modern and desktop
programs.
Microsoft’s Gabriel Aul revealed the plans for FLAC support
<https://twitter.com/GabeAul/status/537376407291056128> on Twitter, with
a screenshot of FLAC files loaded in Windows Media Player. He then
clarified that this is platform-level support, so any modern or Win32
application will be able to handle the format.
Windows 10 FLAC
*Aul’s screenshot of FLAC files in Windows Media Player.
*
FLAC has become the de facto standard format for live, audience-recorded
music, and is also used by high-quality music vendors such as HDTracks
<http://www.hdtracks.com/download-format-help/>. While FLAC files tend
to be larger than MP3s, they don’t remove any audio information during
the compression process. That means the audio quality won’t degrade if
the user rips audio from a CD and burns it back again, or repeatedly
converts to and from uncompressed WAV files.
In previous versions of Windows, FLAC users had to download third-party
media players or plug-ins that specifically supported the format.
Windows 10 should change that, making FLAC as easy to access as a WAV
file or an MP3 in all kinds of media applications.
*Why this matters:* Windows 10’s FLAC support will be a big boost for
the format, as users will be able to just click on a file to play it
with no extra hassle. Just to speculate a bit, if users can also sync
their FLAC files through OneDrive
<http://www.pcworld.com/article/2842824/xbox-music-appears-poised-to-release-onedrive-powered-music-locker-service.html>
and play them in Xbox Music across devices, that’d be a powerful tool
for lossless audio fans—and one that other major music locker services
aren’t offering.
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