How to play flac and m4a files in v. 5.6???

[eamrav]

I can't play flac or m4a files.

I've been trying to fix this for a while and I feel like a complete idiot, so please bare with me. I figured this would be an obvious problem with an easy fix, but every time I try to find anything on this topic specifically I find threads from 2005 with broken links in them or fixes that don't work. I've read the FAQ, sticky threads, and anything else that says 'READ THIS FIRST' but I get overwhelmed trying to sort through it and keep up with various terms.

I went here: http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?t=35627
and downloaded this:
AAC/MP4/M4A Input plugin by AudioCoding
http://www.rarewares.org/mp4.html | download zip
but when I unzipped it and placed the file in my plug in folder (and restarted winamp), I'm still unable to play m4a

I went here:
APE, FLAC, MPC, WavPack plugins here:
http://www.modatic.net/audio/download_categories.php
http://www.rarewares.org/lossless.html
But the first seems to be a link to a website that's no longer operating and the second seems to be full of codecs to help you convert audio into lossless format. I just want to play the lossless audio files I already have.

I used to be able to play flac but when I started trying to figure out how to play m4a and trying different settings (checking 'all' when selecting which file types to play in winamp/installing m4a plug ins then deleting them when they didn't work) I now can no longer play flac either. I upgraded to winamp 5.6 in hopes that these issues would be resolved, and I downloaded the Winamp Essentials pack but no luck.

I'm sure I'm missing something obvious and my ignorance is hilarious, but I'm posting here in an attempt to overcome it. We all have to start somewhere.

(I'm not sure what information, if any, is relevant in terms of my operating system. I run windows 7, 64 bit operating system, 2 gigs of RAM, athlon II x4 640 processor.)

Thanks!

[eamrav]

Anyone? I'm getting to the point where I'm willing to pay someone to tell me how to do this. I'm just getting too busy to deal with it anymore.

[Juanus]

The reason you probably haven't gotten an answer is because we are confused. Winamp plays FLAC and M4A files natively out of the box. There is no need to download any other plugins or anything. Have you tried doing an uninstall and then reinstalling? Not just installing over the top of what you have?

[eamrav]

I reinstalled and am now able to play flac again, but still can't (and never have) been able to play m4a. I'm not sure what more to say about it or what information would help give insight to why this is happening to me, but I can't be the only one with this problem.

[Juanus]

By any chance, are your m4a files apple lossless? If they are, then you need the winamp essentials pack. It has an apple lossless decoder in it to play those files.
http://www.winamp.com/plugin/winamp-...ck-v5-6/150126

If these files are just itunes purchased music, make sure that they are not DRM protected files. No one can play those except itunes. (although I thought they stopped doing that.)

[kliph_hanga]

Hi all,

i installed the Winamp essentials pack (filename: "Winamp_Essentials_6_7_8_9_10_11_12") from the winamp.com site and unfortunately, playing *.m4a files does not work. The files I want to play are downloaded via Apple's iTunes Match.
In the /winamp/system folder I can see the alac.* file. When I installed above the mentioned essentials pack, there was also no option for m4a decoder.

so long. Any help is much appreciated.

Best regards,
kliph

[NOPdat]

From the post right above yours:

If these files are just itunes purchased music, make sure that they are not DRM protected files. No one can play those except itunes

[kliph_hanga]

Originally Posted by NOPdat

From the post right above yours:

As mentioned, I can actually play all files with VLC, so basically there shouldn't be any problem right?

[kliph_hanga]

Does nobody else have this problem?

[DJ Egg]

1. Please attach your list of plugins

2. Confirm that Winamp\Plugins\in_mp4.dll exists and is listed in Winamp > Prefs (Ctrl+P) > Plugins > Input as Nullsoft MP4 Demuxer.

3. Tell us what Winamp says the Audio codec is under the Format Info section when you right-click one of these m4a files in the ML or Playlist and select "View File Info".

[kliph_hanga]

Thank you very much for replying.

Originally Posted by DJ Egg

1. Please attach your list of plugins

Installed Winamp plug-in list
Generated by 'One for Nunz v5.1' on 20.02.2012 at 17:45:25

<< Winamp Information >>

Winamp.ini path is: C:\Users\Shezan Kazi\AppData\Roaming\Winamp\Winamp.ini
Plug-in directory is: C:\Program Files (x86)\Winamp\Plugins
Visualisation directory is: C:\Program Files (x86)\Winamp\Plugins
DSP directory is: C:\Program Files (x86)\Winamp\Plugins
Skin directory is: C:\Program Files (x86)\Winamp\Skins
Language Pack directory is: C:\Program Files (x86)\Winamp\Lang

Using Winamp version: 5.62 (Build 3199 FINAL_2011_1209_165006)
Winamp Elevator build: Build 3199 FINAL_2011_1209_165006

Current skin: Bento (Modern skin)
Sonic Burning Engine is not installed

Using a language pack: C:\Program Files (x86)\Winamp\Lang\Winamp-DE-DE.wlz
Intended localisation language: de-DE


<< OS Information >>

Running on: Windows 7 (Service Pack 1)
Memory available: 7.89 GB


<< Input plug-ins >>

Nullsoft LineIn Plug-in v3.12 [in_linein.dll]
Nullsoft MPEG Audio Dekoder v4.98 [in_mp3.dll]
Nullsoft Waveform Wrapper v1.3 [in_wav.dll]
WavPack Dekoder v2.8.1 [in_wv.dll]

<< Output plug-ins >>

Nullsoft DirectSound-Ausgabe v2.6 [out_ds.dll] [active]

<< Visualisation plug-ins >>

Advanced Visualization Studio v2.81d [vis_avs.dll]
MilkDrop v2.24 [vis_milk2.dll] [active]
Nullsoft Mini-Vollbild v2.12 [vis_nsfs.dll]

<< DSP plug-ins >>

No plug-ins of this type are installed

<< General Purpose plug-ins >>

Album-Cover v0.85 [gen_classicart.dll]
Nullsoft Unterstützung von modernen Skins v1.42 [gen_ff.dll]
Zeige Datei im Explorer v3.0.3 [gen_find_on_disk.dll]
Nullsoft Globale Tastenkürzel v1.9 [gen_hotkeys.dll]
Springe zu Titel Extra v1.2.5 (Build 1160) [gen_jumpex.dll]
Nullsoft Medienbibliothek v3.61 [gen_ml.dll]
Winamp Einstellungen Lite v1.7 [gen_nopro.dll]
One for Nunz v5.1 [gen_nunzio.dll]
Skin-Manager v1.0.1 [gen_skinmanager.dll]
Automatische Wiedergabe v2.5.3 [gen_timerestore.dll]
Nullsoft Infobereich-Steuerung v2.41 [gen_tray.dll]
Playlist-Rückgängig v1.1 [gen_undo.dll]

<< Media Library plug-ins >>

Nullsoft Wird gerade gespielt v3.9 [ml_nowplaying.dll]
Nullsoft Lokale Medien v3.03 [ml_local.dll]
Nullsoft Playlisten v1.2 [ml_playlists.dll]
Nullsoft Winamp Add-ons v1.1 [ml_addons.dll]
Nullsoft Online-Dienste v1.67 [ml_online.dll]
Nullsoft Podcasts v1.29 [ml_wire.dll]
Nullsoft Gerätemanager v1.0 [ml_devices.dll]
Nullsoft Rippen & Brennen v1.92 [ml_disc.dll]
Nullsoft Unterstützung für tragbare Mediengeräte v1.32 [ml_pmp.dll]
Nullsoft Lesezeichen v1.2 [ml_bookmarks.dll]
Nullsoft Verlauf v1.9 [ml_history.dll]
Nullsoft Auto-Tagger v2.04 [ml_autotag.dll]
Nullsoft Downloads v1.01 [ml_downloads.dll]
Einreihen und Abspielen v2.0.1 [ml_enqplay.dll]
Nullsoft Datenbank Import/Export v2.4 [ml_impex.dll]
Nullsoft Playlist-Generator v1.7 [ml_plg.dll]
Nullsoft Lautstärkeanpassung v1.2 [ml_rg.dll]
Nullsoft Formatkonverter v2.71 [ml_transcode.dll]

<< Portable Media Player plug-ins >>

Nullsoft Android-Geräte Plug-in v1.5 [pmp_android.dll]
Nullsoft iPod Plug-in v0.84 [pmp_ipod.dll]
Nullsoft Creative NJB Plug-in v0.54 [pmp_njb.dll]
Nullsoft PlaysForSure Plug-in v0.95 [pmp_p4s.dll]
Nullsoft USB-Geräte Plug-in v1.4 [pmp_usb.dll]
Nullsoft Wi-Fi-Geräte Plug-in v1.5 [pmp_wifi.dll]

<< Encoder plug-ins >>

[enc_vorbis.dll]
Ogg Vorbis Enkoder v1.4 (aoTuV b5.7)

<< Summary of system components (*.w5s) >>
(These are not included in the plug-in counts below)
a52.w5s (113kb)
aacdec.w5s (901kb)
alac.w5s (20kb)
albumart.w5s (22kb)
auth.w5s (170kb)
bmp.w5s (19kb)
dca.w5s (147kb)
devices.w5s (43kb)
dlmgr.w5s (16kb)
f263.w5s (50kb)
filereader.w5s (14kb)
gif.w5s (19kb)
gracenote.w5s (16kb)
jnetlib.w5s (609kb)
jpeg.w5s (151kb)
ombrowser.w5s (294kb)
playlist.w5s (82kb)
png.w5s (101kb)
primo.w5s (13kb)
tagz.w5s (21kb)
timer.w5s (34kb)
UnicodeTaskbarFix.w5s (11kb)
vlb.w5s (121kb)
xml.w5s (88kb)

<< Summary of all dlls in the root winamp folder (*.dll) >>
(These are not included in the plug-in counts below)
burnlib.dll (81kb) [not loaded]
elevatorps.dll (45kb) [not loaded]
nde.dll (77kb) [loaded]
nsutil.dll (407kb) [loaded]
tataki.dll (82kb) [loaded]
zlib.dll (46kb) [loaded]

<< Summary of all dlls in the plugins\gracenote folder (*.dll) >>
(These are not included in the plug-in counts below)
CDDBControlWinamp.dll (1577kb) [not loaded]
CddbMusicIDWinamp.dll (905kb) [not loaded]
CddbPlaylist2Winamp.dll (1101kb) [not loaded]

<< Summary of installed plug-ins >>

4 Input plug-ins installed
1 Output plug-in installed
3 Visualisation plug-ins installed
0 DSP plug-in installed
12 General Purpose plug-ins installed
18 Media Library plug-ins installed
6 Portable Media Player plug-ins installed
1 Encoder plug-in installed

Total: 45 plug-ins installed


************************************************************
************************************************************


Associated Winamp file extensions list

<< Reported extensions from Winamp >>

MP3
MP2
MP1
AAC
VLB
AUD
WV
< Playlist Formats >
M3U
PLS
M3U8
B4S

<< Reported extensions from each input plug-in >>
(This should match with Winamp's listing excluding playlist formats)

in_linein.dll No extensions reported

in_mp3.dll MP3 MP2 MP1 AAC VLB

in_wav.dll AUD

in_wv.dll WV


************************************************************
************************************************************


Listing of installed input plug-ins (in_*) and the relevent apis which they indicate that they
support to allow you to see how well the plug-in is likely to work with different Winamp builds.

Note: This is a best guess at how well the plug-ins shown should work with Winamp and until
you actually use the plug-ins with Winamp in normal use you will not otherwise know.


A * means the plug-in has support for metadata queries on a file (2.9+)
A # means the plug-in supports saving modified metadata via Winamp apis (2.9+)
A % means the plug-in supports the unified file info dialog and a '%+' shows it adds its own pages (5.5+)
A || means the plug-in supports the api_decoder used for transcoding/replaygain/etc (5.34+)

A || means the plug-in supports the api_decoder used for transcoding/replaygain/etc (5.34+)
and '(Seekable)' indicates extra support in processing of audio data via api_decoder

A {} around a symbol means the plug-in supports the unicode version of the api


in_linein.dll
in_mp3.dll {*} {#} %+ {||} (Seekable)
in_wav.dll {*} {#}
in_wv.dll {*} {#} % || (Seekable)


Summary:

'One for Nunz' found 4 installed input plug-ins in 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Winamp\Plugins'
75% (3) of the plug-ins installed provide the needed 5.x api ("winampGetExtendedFileInfo(..)
or winampGetExtendedFileInfoW(..)") to allow the formats provided by the plug-ins to work with
most of Winamp 5.x's features (more important with higher versions).


************************************************************
************************************************************


Unicode Taskbar Compatibility Listing


The plug-ins listed below show references to the SetWindowLongA(..) OS api. If this api is used to
subclass Winamp's main window, it can cause Winamp's display of unicode text in the taskbar to fail.
For a plug-in to be compatible it needs to use the unicode version of the api - SetWindowLongW(..).

Being listed here does not mean a plug-in will cause the issue as there are legitimate reasons for
a plug-in to be using SetWindowLongA(..) but it is a good indicator for people who know which ones
are compatible to route out plug-ins which are likely to be causing the issue. Only those plug-ins
which do not also show references to the SetWindowLongW(..) OS api have been included in this list.

If you do experience the issue then there is a way to fix the plug-in(s) if the original author is
no longer supporting or around to fix the plug-in(s) to use SetWindowLongW(..) for the subclassing
by installing the Unicode Taskbar Fix from http://nunzioweb.com/daz/unicodetaskbarfix/index.html


C:\Program Files (x86)\Winamp\Plugins\ml_rg.dll
C:\Program Files (x86)\Winamp\Plugins\vis_avs.dll

Originally Posted by DJ Egg

2. Confirm that Winamp\Plugins\in_mp4.dll exists and is listed in Winamp > Prefs (Ctrl+P) > Plugins > Input as Nullsoft MP4 Demuxer.

in_mp4.dll does not exist

Originally Posted by DJ Egg

3. Tell us what Winamp says the Audio codec is under the Format Info section when you right-click one of these m4a files in the ML or Playlist and select "View File Info".

Attached I have a screenshot. The yellow highlighted text means: "Error when starting database". This only appears when I open a *.m4a by clicking on it in explorer.


Thank you very much!

[DJ Egg]

Okay, you need to reinstall Winamp 5.623
and this time, make sure FLAC Support and MP4 Audio Support are checkmarked
under the "Multimedia Engine > Audio" section on the Choose Components page of the installater options.

You may also want to checkmark Ogg Vorbis Support, and any others...

You are also missing the FLAC, MP3 & M4A/AAC Audio Encoders (for Transcoding & CD Ripping).


Now let us know if your M4A files play ok.
If not, again, tell us what Winamp says the Audio codec is (it'll work now that Nullsoft in_mp4.dll is present).

To fix the Database error, close Winamp, go to the %appdata%\winamp\plugins\ml folder
and delete main.idx

[kliph_hanga]

Thank you very much! That did the trick. Finally I can listen to all my music