How to add music in FLAC to WMP 12 library?

[Klaw117]

Everyone has said the Win7Codecs allow WMP 12 to play FLAC files, but this has never worked for me. Anyone know why? I just use Winamp now.

 

[AngelProcesser]

I am sure that there has been no information presented by any qualifying authority noting that shared copyrighted music files ripped to any format would run properly in any media player.

 

[Tim De Baets]

Everyone has said the Win7Codecs allow WMP 12 to play FLAC files, but this has never worked for me. Anyone know why? I just use Winamp now.

Did you try installing the Xiph.org codecs? These might work better. To make WMP use these, you possibly need to remove Win7Codecs first.

 

[Klaw117]

I did, but it hosed part of the player.

 

[Shark007]

I am sure that there has been no information presented by any qualifying authority noting that shared copyrighted music files ripped to any format would run properly in any media player.

Does the above text have a particular meaning or were you just intoxicated when you posted it?

I did, but it hosed part of the player.

I personally informed Tim De Baets and he was fully aware of the damage the xiph codecs cause before he made that recommendation. Shame on him.

If you have the Win7codecs installed, the attached registry file will fix your FLAC playback issue. You would have solved this alot sooner (without hosing your media player) had you brought the issue to my forum. I can't be expected to see every post over the entire internet.

uninstall the xiph codecs 1st, before applying the regfile
if you have x64, uninstall and re-install my x64 components AFTER uninstalling xiph

Since Tim De Baets knowingly suggested you hose your media player,
maybe he'll followup with a resolution...

 

[Klaw117]

Sorry Shark, I didn't even know you had your own forum for this, but it was probably my fault for not looking for it. I'll post this message on your forums as well as here.

I uninstalled the xiph codecs and reinstalled the Win7codecs (both the x86 and x64 parts) and then used the x64 .reg file, but WMP still will not play .flac files and I have no idea why. I'm positive I did everything you told me to, so why is this not working?

 

[whs]

Rather than playing around with Codecs that can be a pain, I suggest you convert the music filetypes to e.g. .wma or some other format that win7 can deal with. use Format factory ( Format Factory - Download ) which works real well and is easy to use.

 

[Shark007]

Rather than playing around with Codecs that can be a pain, I suggest you convert the music filetypes ....

The simple FACT that almost 10,000 people have read this thread,
makes your suggestion useless.

It may work for you, but the masses have flac that needs playback support.

I suppose you also suggest we convert all of our mkv's to mpegs.

 

[whs]

Rather than playing around with Codecs that can be a pain, I suggest you convert the music filetypes ....

The simple FACT that almost 10,000 people have read this thread,
makes your suggestion useless.

It may work for you, but the masses have flac that needs playback support.

I suppose you also suggest we convert all of our mkv's to mpegs.

Shark, I know you are big on Codecs and with your level of knowledge about them, you can probably manage. But a lot of people get into trouble with them and then conversion is the safer way. And I don`t suggest anything, I just point to an alternative. But everybody can have as much rope as he/she likes.

 

[Shark007]

I'm sorry if i came across a bit agressively but that many people aren't reading this thread looking for conversion solutions, they are reading this thread for playback solutions.

 

[whs]

No problem.

 

[Pikey]

I did, but it hosed part of the player.

What part did it hose?

I used the xiph codec and Tim De Baets WMPTagplus and everything is fine! .. despite what sharc says ..

Perhaps you have been mixing together too many codec packs ..

 

[Tim De Baets]

Klaw117 and Shark007 are referring to a bug in the Xiph.org codecs installation, which breaks the "Files of type" drop-down of WMP's File open dialog.

Klaw117, looks like you said in a previous message in this thread that you tried the Xiph codecs. I should have noticed this, before pointing you to something you obviously already knew of, my apologies.

Since Tim De Baets knowingly suggested you hose your media player,
maybe he'll followup with a resolution...

Oh hi Shark007. I have found that exporting the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Player\Extensions registry key to a REG file, and then re-importing this file usually fixes the problem. If you are running the 32-bit version of WMP on 64-bit Windows, you will need to do the same for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Player\Extensions

LOL @ works perfectly...
Nice solution except for the fact that it breaks several aspects on WMP.

Breaking the "Files of type" drop-down is the only problem I am aware of. Do you care to explain the other 'aspects'?

I personally informed Tim De Baets and he was fully aware of the damage the xiph codecs cause before he made that recommendation. Shame on him.

Quite frankly, I feel much better pointing users to the Xiph codecs than to a codec pack. The Xiph codecs have this relatively small bug, which most users won't even notice, and which can easily be fixed. But they will work well for what they are installed in the first place: playing FLAC and OGG in WMP.

On the other hand, a codec pack is a one-size-fits-all solution that frequently causes conflicts. Users also have no idea of what exactly gets installed on their system.

 

[Shark007]

Attached are registry files that will fix the damage caused by the installation of the xiph codecs. It would be nice if Tim posted these on his site along with his suggestion of using the xiph codecs so that people arent left without a clue.

I suggest you review the registry files to realize the full extent of the damge.
These registry files contain ORIGINAL Windows 7 keys and values wiped out by the xiph installer.
I would not have found this to be an issue if uninstalling xiph would have replaced the keys/values.

 

[Tim De Baets]

I have tested those fixes but they didn't work, not on Vista and not on Win 7. I am suspecting that the problem is really caused by the REG_SZ value that is added to the MUIDescriptions key. All the other values in this key are REG_EXPAND_SZ, and making the new value REG_EXPAND_SZ too does seem to fix this.

I can only see things related to the "Files of type" drop-down in those REG files, so that still makes me wonder what other aspects you were referring to.

 

[duyhung]

nice topic, i wish my lover windows media player will be able to manage Flac as great as mp3 , so foobar will not be used as much as now.

 

[giospurs]

Hi there, I'm new to the board, I'm hoping someone can help me out with my FLAC/WMP troubles. I've just installed Shark's codec pack, and it's allowing me to play the FLAC files, but I can't edit any of the tags in the player, and the files aren't showing up in the WMP 12 library. Any suggestions?

 

[giospurs]

I've solved the problem. I just had to re-build my library. Tools > Advanced > Restore Media Library
So now I can play FLAC in WMP. Thank you Shark! No more converting FLAC into huge .wav files!

The only slight problem is the track's lengths don't always come up which makes seeking a problem. But I can deal with it!

 

[giospurs]

I've got another problem now.
When playing FLAC in WMP 12 there is an annoying gap as the track changes. Albums that have segued tracks sound really jarring between tracks as a result.
Does anyone know if there is a fix giving gapless FLAC playback in WMP12?

 

[noobvious]

I've got another problem now.
When playing FLAC in WMP 12 there is an annoying gap as the track changes. Albums that have segued tracks sound really jarring between tracks as a result.
Does anyone know if there is a fix giving gapless FLAC playback in WMP12?

I can't test for gapless FLAC playback in my WMP12 right now because my Win7 PC is down.
All I can tell you for now is that foobar2000, which you'll see recommended fairly often in these threads, does support gapless playback, and it's a pretty light install, and easy on system resources. But if you like WMP12, and would prefer to stick with it, maybe someone else has the answer you need. Good luck!