"Hi, I just downloaded a song in FLAC format online, but I can't play it on iTunes. How can I import FLAC to iTunes and play it?"
FLAC is a lossless format, which means it retains all the information of a song, unlike AAC or MP3, which are compressed to smaller size with quality lost. And iTunes only supports limited audio format and FLAC ain't one of them. Both Windows and Mac OS version of iTunes are not compatible with FLAC files. So if you want to play FLAC on iTunes or import FLAC to iTunes on Windows or Mac, you are going to do some extra work to make this happen. This post would present you a few way to play FLAC on iTunes and import FLAC to iTunes on Windows and Mac.
Play FLAC on iTunes by Converting FLAC to iTunes Compatible Format
The most direct way to play FLAC on iTunes is to convert FLAC to iTunes compatible format. You can convert FLAC to formats like MP3 and M4A, which are all compatible with iTunes.
Now you have the solution to the problem, what you need now is the tool to make it happen. You need a audio converter that's able to recognize FLAC and convert it into a format that's supported by iTunes. I would recommend Leawo FLAC Converter and Foobar2000 to you, both of which are great FLAC to iTunes converters to convert FLAC to iTunes compatible format.
Leawo FLAC Converter
- Supports converting audios between all formats.
- Abundant audio parameters provided for setting.
- Convert FLAC to other audio formats with minimum quality loss.
Foobar2000
- Supports a wide range of audio formats and more with additional components.
- Supports converting all supported audio formats using the converter component.
Check out the content below to see how to use these two programs as FLAC to iTunes converters to convert FLAC to iTunes compatible format and import FLAC to iTunes.
Leawo Video Converter
Foobar2000
Step 1: Open Leawo Video Converter, and enter "Video Converter" section. Add the source FLAC file to the converter by clicking "Add file" button at the top-left hand side of the interface or directly dragging the file to the interface.
Step 1: Open Foobar2000, add FLAC to it by directly dragging the file to the playlist or go to File>Open to choose the source FLAC file from the computer. Right-click the file and move your mouse over to "Convert" and click the option marked on the picture.
Step 2: Click the button on the left side of the green "Convert" button and click "Change" on the following menu to go to the format choosing panel.
Step 2: The picture is the setting panel of the output file. Click "Output Fotmat" to choose the output format for the source FLAC file.
Step 3: Click "Edit" on the previously mentioned menu to enter the parameter setting panel for the output audio file. You can set detailed parameters and values like Audio Codec, BitRate, Sample Rate and Channel.
Step 3: There are a lot of output formats available for you to choose, choose one that's compatible with iTunes like MP3 or Apple lossless format which has the extention of .M4A.
Step 4: When you finish setting the parameters, click the green "Convert" button on the interface to call out a sidebar, set output directory for the output file on the sidebar and then click "Convert" button at the bottom of the sidebar to start converting FLAC to iTunes compatible format.
Step 4: After you choose a format from the format list, click "Back" to go back to the format setting panel. as you can see, the output format has become Apple lossless. Click "Convert" at the bottom to start the conversion, but before that, you'll be asked to set the output directory for the output file first.
Now you know how to use the FLAC to iTunes converters to convert FLAC to iTunes compatible format. They are two totally different types of programs but they can both do a great job in converting FLAC to iTunes compatible format. But which one is more suitable for this job? Let's compare them with each other as a FLAC to iTunes converter and see what pros and cons they have that would make you like them or make a deal breaker.
Leawo Video Converter
Pros:
1. Clear interface which makes it user-friendly and easy to use.
2. Supports both Windows and Mac OS.
3. Merge different audios into one file.
Foobar2000
Pros:
1. Completely free.
2. Supports more audio format with third-party components.
Cons:
1. Doesn't support Mac OS
2. The converting process is not as user-friendly as Leawo Video Converter.
They also have their own merits in their respective fields, let's see what features they have that can make them stand out from their respective fields.
Leawo Video Converter
1. Supports converting not only audio but also basically all video formats to other formats.
2. Comes with abundant video editing features that would allow you to trim, crop, add watermark and effect to the video.
3. Supports converting videos from 2D to 3D.
4. Supports choosing internal audio track and adding external subtitle to the video.
Foobar2000
1. Supports gapless playback with highly customizable user interface layout.
2. Advanced tagging capabilities.
3. Open component architecture enabling third-party developers to extend functionality and capability of the player.
4. Supports ripping audio from CDs.
5. Customizable keyboard shortcuts.
Note:
While Foobar2000 doesn't have Mac OS version, Leawo Video Converter does support Mac OS, and the converting process on Mac OS and Windows are pretty much identical, So if you are a Mac OS user and importing FLAC to iTunes, you can still follow the instruction of Leawo Video Converter on Windows to convert FLAC to iTunes losslessly on Mac OS using Leawo Video Converter for Mac
Add FLAC to iTunes by Installing a Plug-in on Mac
There's a simple way to add FLAC to iTunes on Mac, that is to install a plugin that would allow you to add FLAC to iTunes without the need of converting FLAC to iTunes compatible format. Fluke is a plug-in designed specifically for iTunes on Mac OS to add FLAC to iTunes.
Below is the guide for using Fluke to import FLAC to iTunes on Mac.
Step 1:Install Fluke on your Mac OS.
Step 2:Close iTunes.
Step 3:Right-click the FLAC file you want to import to iTunes, click "Open With>Other", search "Fluke" in the pop-up window.
Step 4:Find "Fluke" in the search result, click "Open". And there would be a pop-up window asking "Do you want to import all 1 items into iTunes?". Click "Yes" and then you can find the FLAC file on iTunes' playlist.
Step 5:Now you can play FLAC on iTunes. Actually Fluke is making iTunes to recognize FLAC as a QuickTime movie file. But it works and you get to enjoy the lossless quality music.