need help converting m4a files
 

I'm a new user (and fairly computer illiterate) and have creative's mediasource player. I don't know what an m4a file is, but mediasource doesn't recognize it as a valid audio file and I can't tranfer. Any suggestions? (Thanks in advance for your help.)

Various players can play m4a files. Off-hand, iTunes, QCD (after downlding a plug-in), winamp (need xtra plug-in for older versions), nero, roxio, etc. See http://www.m4a.com/ & also http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/...hp/t30054.html & http://www.analogduck.com/main/m4a

thank you. I found out that my zen touch player was not compatible with acc type files. I downloaded itunes and am converting. thanks for your help.

i herd that m4a/mp4 is an riaa scam and they can contain trackers,virruses ,logs and lots of other lovley things...

i stay away from them...

okay, thanks for the info

What a load of crap. I've never heard of m4a files having anything of the kind. I think you're confusing m4a with wma (What you should know about WMA Files)
Quote from the link I gave earlier which discusses m4a files:
"Apple Computer started using and popularizing the M4A file extension to denote the file was an unprotected (non digital rights management) MPEG 4 Audio file."
If m4a files can have viruses then so can mp3's. Find me proof to your statement than offering an opinion based on imagination.
m4a is in fact a superior compression technology format to mp3. If you didn't know that then you don't know much about what you were talking about.

Okay, if I have WMP and Nero, is there a way to convert the mp3 file to wma, using these two programs and if so, how?

I obviously know next to nothing about m4a files, but I did run a search on them and couldn't find anything but normal stuff. Not one mention of viruses, etc.

hey im just repeating what sombody told me about them ....no need to snap at me .

if thers nothing wrong with m4a , fine , thats good to know...

it may be supirior to mp3 but its still lossy compression and so i wont bother using it.

i prefer WAV files ,for many resons wich i have allredy ranted about...

Once again, is there anyway to convert a m4a file to wma or mp3 using Nero? I misspoke myself earlier, I meant to put m4a....if anyone has any ideas on the subject, inquiring minds would really like to know...thanks!

you shouldent convert them at all , or if you do ,please dont share them on p2p.

converting ANY lossy format to any other lossy format just degrades the qualety.

if your downloding m4as ,chances are they were allredy made from mp3s in the first place, thus making the supiriority of m4a non-existant.

m4a is so new i think until it gets real popular you should stick with 320k mp3s. when you downloading just go for the high bitrate (320,256,224)mp3s insted of the 128k m4a.

There's definitely some people who convert lossy formats to others. Be it mp3 to m4a, or mp3 to wma or vice versas. The risk is there whether you downld mp3, wma or m4a. Personally I generally encode with m4a at high bit rates.

If you see an m4a file with a higher than 320 kpbs bit rate then chances are it's an apple lossless file. Apple lossless is equivalent to FLAC & APE in the respect it is smaller than WAV or AIFF but still the "identical" quality. Lossless audio is generally around 50-60% the size of wav & aiff, though can get smaller than 30% in my experience (depending on the sound.)

Okay, guys (or gals), I get what you are saying but no one is really answering my question. Can you convert m4a files to mp3 or wma by using nero or other compatible players and if so, how? I'll worry about the sound quality and make my own opinion, thank you very much. I just want to know if it can be done, that's all.

iTunes can convert M4A (or rather AAC) to MP3, AIFF, WAV, Apple Lossless and vice versa in all directions. The Windows Version can also convert unprotected WMAs to the mentioned formats (but not vice versa).

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i herd that m4a/mp4 is an riaa scam
im just repeating what sombody told me

OMG! :mad:

m4a is so new

Yeah, only >5 years.

Next time verify your sources!

im a WAV man....i honestley dont give an atomic**** about m4a

WAV is the highest qualety sound file possibul (aiff for mac) on a computer. and thats why i like it so much.

i know i say this all the time but i feel i need to say it agen , NEVER CONVERT A LOSSY FORMAT TO A LOSSLESS FORMAT ,its pointless,waists space,time, bandwidth, and if its shared ,it makes people looking for lossless files (me) hunt for the real lossless files amung all the converted crap.

CRT why are you only a wav person? What about apple lossless, FLAC & APE formats? They're identical in quality. It's like a file that's been zipped. Once unzipped it's the identical to what it was. And even when played back in its compressed state is such TMK.

i do like flac ,ape , WMAlossless and applelossless , and im shur they do sound perfect too but wav is ,hmmmm im not shur on that one actualy.... well it rips from and burns to cd faster than anything els because thers no convershion, and i can keep all my wav master files and convert them to wichever format is hot at the time and it was the first lossless format i ever knew about so i just dont want to give it up (kind of like why i cant get rid of my old NES even tho thers better things out there )and the rest is phsycalogical maybe....

im all for other lossless formats ,but for some strange reson wav is my format of choce. maybe its cuz i dont know much about how flac etc actualy works, i know every thing about how wav works , its just the raw pcm .

thers people who like ford or chevy for no aparent reson....i guss i like wav files for no reson.

i reely dont know why i like them so much....
i allsow dont know why i collect junk, or still play with legos at age 16, or why i allways shake cans befor i open them...your guss is as good as mine :\

That's cool, just like music, sound quality is a matter of personal preference and PERCEPTION! What may sound shitty to you, may be acceptable to me and vice versa, but I could give a fat baby's *** about making things easier for you to find. Appreciate the info, but I just would like to make my own judgement....

"but I could give a fat baby's *** about making things easier for you to find. "

and thats the attidude that most people have....

and thats why there is so much crap on the networks.

"Appreciate the info, but I just would like to make my own judgement...."

i was just stating my opinion. not trying to make you use wav files. you can use your own judgment all you want and use wuatever formatt best sutes your needs, its none of my business nor do i want it to ever be my business.

I'm sure if you name your files, nobody has a chance to find them anyway.

arent you supposed to name your files accordingley???

all the files i share iv ripped myself and labeled "xxxxxxxxxxxx-xxxxxx-(ripped from origanal cd ,no mp3 convershions).wav"

isent that waht ur suposed to do???

I think we're missing the point here and getting WAY off the subject, I just wanted to know if a certain action could have been done, and what happened was no one actually answered and the conversation broke down as to what's best in people's own minds and other unsolicited opinions. To that end, thanks for whatever info was given and everyone just needs to calm down, including myself!

Sorry. As you said in the beginning mediasource doesn't seem to recognise it. I don't know the softw & whether it is capable of recognising m4a for not. I'd suggest (a) you check the options & preferences as to whether you can enable m4a support. (b) Check any documentation or online help for this product. (c) Go to their site & see if there's any updates. I went to one site which offered updates but I'm not 100% sure it's the same product. So I haven't left a link. Google mediasource

Thanks, LOTR, you're the wind beneath my wings!!!! LOL! Will look into that option...

File conversions
 

If you or anyone else wishes to find a perfect, and FREE file conversion program, try INFRANVIEW infranview.com
You can convert almost any kind of file with this program.
If you are seeking a program which converts just mp files, try musicmatch jukebox:rolleyes:

Thanks, wirkus, you've got cool points with me on the books! Will check out the site and let 'ya know!