Getting iTunes on MACOSX to play FLAC files natively

Download FLUKE. http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/28768/fluke/   I'm assuming your using a Mac.

Get max and just convert them to ALAC. It will save alot of headache.

I use XLD to rip from CDs and to convert FLAC to ALAC though I don't have any trouble with FLAC in iTunes using FLUKE I just don't like Quicktime in the picture.

 

Kind of a headache but what you could do is convert the .flac files .wav, upload to iTunes, and then convert the .wav files to .m4a (ALAC).

Ditch iTunes. 

Foobar2k isn't always convenient

Try clicking on the FLAC files you want iTunes to recognize. After clicking on them they should be recognized by iTunes.

OH you could also get DBpoweramp! You can select the files you want to convert and (if using Windows 7) just right click and select the "convert to" option. Apple lossless is one of the things it can convert to

Still though FLUKE should work no problem as long as you click on the FLAC file wherever it is. After clicking on it FLUKE will put in in your iTunes list.

Whenever I've found Fluke to not work on it's own, for some reason installing Perian seems to make it all behave. Maybe Perian reminds iTunes that it can now play those formats, dunno, but I've heard of that working and found it to be true in my case.

 

Guys, can we stop with the "Ditch iTunes!" harping every time someone asks for help with it? It's not helpful and for those of you who don't know a number of the more common audiophile media players aren't available on the Mac. So please, your opinions are respected but in this case not needed.

This is why I still have a PC desktop at home, using foobar2000 and media player classic home. I use iTunes to sync my phone and buy apps.

IMO, iTunes is also an embarrassment to a company that excels and demonstrates over and over again they can create excellent user experiences. It needs to be redesigned and rewritten. Its passed its prime as a swiss army marketing tool/online retailer.

I agree that the swiss-army-knife approach isn't working but they are moving away from that a bit and trying to detach iOS from iTunes now. Dunno how that will happen for you Windows folk but for those of us who are getting Lion and iOS5 we're in for a few extra treats.

 

 

As from a UI perspective, iTues is actually extremely good. Given the amount of information and the power behind the app from a library organization standpoint, it's actually extremely user-friendly. I can nitpick and say, "That's a bad placement for that button as it's too far away from where the users is most likely to have their mouse and will decrease usability." but that's about as much as I can do. The audio playback capabilities aren't great but when Apple only sells 256 Kbps audio and the vast majority of people think Altec Lansing makes good speakers... We're in the minority so it's unfair to say the program sucks and needs to be redone because for who it's actually targeted at it does a great job.

 

Anyway, this is getting way off topic and turning into yet another "HERP! ITUNES SUCKS BECAUSE IT'S NOT AUDIOPHILE-GRADE!"-thread.