ALAC / Apple Lossless Support

[mindspyk]

HI

I use Mixed in Key, and to increase my workflow speed while saving on hard drive space, I wanted to start using ALAC (Apple Lossless) instead of FLAC files. I don't use .mp3's much anymore. This is not what the question is about....

Anyway, I use XLD or xACT to encode my .wav's or Flac Files into ALAC, as Mixed in Key only reads ALAC on a mac and not FLAC. Before I had to encode things as an .mp3 to check key/tempo data, which is store for use during dj sets. I decided to skip this and encode into ALAC to save time with Mixed in Key, however, my ALAC files, which are output as .m4a files, do NOT load into ableton. I usually just click and drag from the finder or my Mixed in Key software.

Am i doing something wrong or does ableton really not support .m4a? This is stupid if it doesn't.....

THANKS

[beats me]

Snarky comment ahead:

Be an old school hero and just use your ears to determine if a song is in key.

Between pre-warped tracks and auto key detection you probably have enough free time to do a legitimate paying job while DJing. You could probably make bank this time of year prepping people’s taxes while rocking the floor.

[mindspyk]

Snarky comment ahead:

Be an old school hero and just use your ears to determine if a song is in key.

Between pre-warped tracks and auto key detection you probably have enough free time to do a legitimate paying job while DJing. You could probably make bank this time of year prepping people’s taxes while rocking the floor.

thanks but....no

i use mixed in key to organize my music that i perform with, as my iTunes library is enormous, it isn't always right about the key but it saves a lot of time, load samples into an ableton set FROM MiK, then export a set to my laptop

my question had nothing to do with what i'm doing while performing, I'm wondering if .m4a files are compatible with Ableton or not,

[steko]

Live 8 manual p.42:

Live can play both uncompressed file formats (WAV, AIF, REX and Sound Designer II for Mac) and compressed file formats (MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, Ogg FLAC and FLAC)

So no ALAC - .m4a is just a container for .aac or .alac

[jonny72]

Live 8 does support Apple Lossless, so I'd guess you're doing something wrong - maybe the software you're using to convert them.

I use iTunes to rip to Apple Lossless and have no problems loading them in Live.

The Apple codec that Live doesn't support is CAF - this is used by Apple for all their loop libraries.

[steko]

Always better to try yourself first... Fuck the manual!

Works fine here too - just tested with some .aif files encoded to ALAC (.m4a) with XLD (20120226).

[icedsushi]

I've been using Apple Lossless w/Live for a few years now. Almost my whole iTunes library is Apple Lossless, I just drag them from the iTunes browser right onto the clip slots in Live. Easy.

The only thing I wish for is Live to read the .m4a files without having to store a .wav as a buffer. The sets would open quicker, less rewriting files over & over to my HD & I'm guessing would also use less RAM that way? Maybe it would use too much CPU or increase latency to uncompress several files in a Live set and that's why they haven't done it.

Even though I download most of my tracks as .wav, it's impractical for me to catalog them that way. iTunes won't attach artwork to a .wav so it wouldn't be as easy to find tracks.

I think iTunes will attach artwork to .aif files and that should play directly in Live without the buffer files needed. However, I haven't found a reliable way to batch convert .wav to .aif and they take almost twice the HD space as Apple Lossless does.

So that's why I chose Apple Lossless. It has the highest quality, still saves space, more future proof & retains album artwork. Live still makes the same .wav out of an mp3 and AAC anyway, so might as well use the best quality.

[pencilrocket]

enclosure?

[mindspyk]

I've had success loading ALAC .m4a files encoded with xACT into my Live Set.

[steko]