How to Play FLAC files in Windows Operating System
Posted by: suicidalsam in General, How To, Software
Here is the 101 on FLAC files. FLAC stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec. FLAC is an audio format similar to MP3 but defers in one huge way, there is no loss in the quality of the audio file when compressed using FLAC, unlike MP3. The compression method FLAC uses is similar to how zip works but because FLAC is specifically designed for audio, it has much better compression than zip.
So, how do you play a FLAC file in a Windows OS? Well, if you want to use the native music player of Windows operating system, Windows Media Player, you will need to download and install a DirectShow filter. Download the madFLAC DirectShow decoder filter and your Windows Media Player (WMP) will play any FLAC files.
You can use other softwares like Winamp, MediaMonkey which will play FLAC files out of the box. If you want to encode FLAC files, download a FULL version of Winamp.
If you use dbPowerAMP Audio Player, you will need to install this FLAC Plugin.
If you use Media Center / Media Jukebox, you will need to install this FLAC Plugin.
Now you can play FLAC files in any of your favorite audio player. If you want to know How to Rip CD’s to FLAC, I will be writing a post on it soon.
Tags: FLAC, Free Lossless Audio Codec, Free Software, OpenSource, OpenSource Software, Winamp, Windows Media PlayerRelated Posts

































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Hi
how do i rip audio cd’s to FLAC using windows media player?
Hey Jake,
Sorry, it is not possible to rip CD’s to FLAC format using WMP. Winamp will do the job thou but you will need to download a full version, not the lite version of Winamp.