Load up iTunes and click on Edit in the toolbar, followed by Preferences.If you use Apple’s iTunes software, then you can convert those tracks from within the app on your computer. Related: What will happen when iTunes disappears? How do I convert an M4A audio file to MP3 using iTunes? However, you may still want to convert to MP3 to improve the compatibility. M4A tracks are supported by a wide range of players and devices these days, not just iPhones and other Apple gadgets. Better still, M4A files often take up less storage space than MP3s, so it’s the best of both worlds. Apple’s Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC for short) means your music is stored without information loss, so you’ll get a rich, full-bodied sound. It’s not the best option for audio quality, as tracks are compressed quite significantly and some precious data is lost in the process, but that compression also means that MP3s take up comparatively little storage space.Īpple, always one to buck a trend, instead plumped for the newer M4A format on iTunes. MP3 remains one of the most popular formats for music, as these files are supported by pretty much any media player out there. However, you may need to convert your music tracks to the better-supported MP3 format to enjoy them on any device. This is the last chunk, so total file size is 93,622+2,476 =96,098 bytes.The M4A format, also known as MPEG-4 Audio, has been popularised in recent times by Apple with its iTunes service. The next chunk is located at offset 24+8=32 (hex: 20) and has a size 93,590 (hex: 00 01 6D 96) and type mdat (hex: 6D 64 61 74) at offset 36 (hex: 24). We can see it starts with a signature ftyp (hex: 66 74 79 70) at offset 4, which defines QuickTime Container File Type.įile sub-type is M4A_ (hex: 4D 34 41 20) which points to M4A file type.įirst block size is 24 (hex: 00 00 00 18, big-endian, highest byte first), size located at offset 0.Īt offset 24 (hex: 18) is located the second chunk, which has a size of 8 and type free (hex: 66 72 65 65). When inspecting sample.m4a file's binary data using any Hex Viewer, like Disk Editor Iterating chunks, until chunk of unknown type is detected, we compose MPEG-4 Audio file. M4A defined by sub-type which must be "M4A_", for M4B sub-type must be "M4B_" and for M4P sub-type must be "M4P_". "kmat", "clip", "crgn", "sync", "chap", "tmcd", "scpt", "ssrc", "PICT".įirst chunk must be of type "ftype" and has a sub-type at offset 8. Each chunk has 8 byte header: 4-byte chunk size (big-endian, high byte first) and 4-byte chunk type MPEG-4 Part14 (M4A,M4B,M4P) files consist of consecutive chunks. This is the format used for protected music purchased from the iTunes Music Store. M4P is Apple's version of the M4A format that includes DRM protection, called FairPlay. M4B is popular for audiobooks and podcasts for this very reason. M4B format is only different from M4A because it can be bookmarked allowing an MP3 player to return exactly to the last listening point. The reason that these file extensions are so common is that they have been adopted by Apple for use in the iTunes Music Store. M4A files sound better than MP3 files when encoded at the same bit rate. M4A file quality is better and file sizes smaller compared to MP3 files. The MPEG-4 file format specification was based on the QuickTime format specification. Audio-only MPEG 4 container files usually have an M4A file extension. M4A is a file extension for an audio file encoded with Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) which is a lossy compression. MPEG-4 Part 14 Audio (M4A,M4B,M4P) Format & Recovery Example
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