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Supported audio formats

J

john gerard

New Member
I've been trying to find a defintive list of supported audio formats for the HDR FOX T2 for streaming from a potential NAS. Some people say it won't play MP4 at all, others say "oh, yes it does, works a treat on mine" and the same of AAC. It's like reading a bad panto.

Just what is the deal with the supported audio formats? I've seen that it only supports MP3, but I find even just writing that looks ludicrous in this day and age. Surely it doesn't just support MP3? That would be daft.

Thanks in advance for your advice, I appreciate it.
 
I think you are getting muddled up. The likes of .mp4, .ts, .mkv are "container" formats, which can accommodate a variety of video and audio formats within. Sometimes a program or device won't accept a particular container, but it might be sufficiently similar to another container format that you can kid it by changing the file name extension. In the case of the Humax, we can easily change the .ts container to .mpg by recoding it, which does nothing to the actual audio and video streams within.

AAC is an audio stream, and it's standard on HiDef transmissions so the Humax will have no problem with it, neither will it have a problem with MP3 or many other audio formats. Problems start with some of the video formats.
 
Thanks Black Hole.

The reason I posted a question on here, although the question may seem low-level to most, is because it's obvious many people viewing know what they're talking about. My technical knowledge is nowhere near up to scratch as I'm a newbie, and I'm finding some information contradictory or not clear enough.

My music's all listed as .m4a, which is essentially the same thing as .AAC or .mp4 with a different extension name, right? Which should work fine with a HDR Fox T2 from a NAS.
 
Black Hole said:
Sometimes a program or device won't accept a particular container, but it might be sufficiently similar to another container format that you can kid it by changing the file name extension. In the case of the Humax, we can easily change the .ts container to .mpg by recoding it, which does nothing to the actual audio and video streams within.
Click to expand...

Sorry to jump in but this is interesting.
OK. May I ask a couple of things to clarify here?

Are you saying there are 3 things to consider about a file being playable. 1) The file extension. 2) the container within the file. 3) The data stream within the container? Do we have any compatibility information on any of these anywhere?
Lastly, is there any difference in what it can play from its own drive, a plug in USB and a NAS box?
 
john gerard said:
I'm finding some information contradictory or not clear enough.
Click to expand...

Yep, unfortunately there are many posts on this subject where the writers of those posts are professing opinion or flawed reasoning as knowledge. In general, if somebody says "it can't be done" read it as "I haven't found a way to do it" ...but give a bit more credance if it comes from one of the forum elders.

john gerard said:
My music's all listed as .m4a, which is essentially the same thing as .AAC or .mp4 with a different extension name, right?
Click to expand...

I have no idea what .m4a is.

mightyoakbob said:
Are you saying there are 3 things to consider about a file being playable. 1) The file extension. 2) the container within the file. 3) The data stream within the container? Do we have any compatibility information on any of these anywhere?
Click to expand...

As far as I know there is no definitive source of what the Humax can or cannot handle. It would be nice if somebody conducted a systematic study, but there are many variables to deal with even within one format (is it encoded fully to specification, even if it is to specification does it rely on an aspect which the Humax doesn't implement).

mightyoakbob said:
Lastly, is there any difference in what it can play from its own drive, a plug in USB and a NAS box?
Click to expand...

You've hit the nail on the head there. Internal and USB should be the same, but DLNA streaming supports fewer types of file.
 
iTunes audio downloads have not had DRM for quite a while, but their videos still do. In fact, I would be very interested in knowing any iTunes audio track that is still subject to DRM for the purpose of iPhone app testing.
 
sooty83 said:
iTunes audio downloads have not had DRM for quite a while, but their videos still do. In fact, I would be very interested in knowing any iTunes audio track that is still subject to DRM for the purpose of iPhone app testing.
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Any time that I have purchased audio tracks and transferred them to an unauthorised computer in my network, they will not play without that computer being authorised first. Is this not a type of DRM?
 
brian said:
Any time that I have purchased audio tracks and transferred them to an unauthorised computer in my network, they will not play without that computer being authorised first. Is this not a type of DRM?
Click to expand...
That's interesting. Could you try something like VLC (anything other than iTunes) and see if these audio tracks (.m4a files) would play? My understanding is that .m4a files are not DRMed. The ones with DRM have a .m4p file extension.
 
sooty83 said:
That's interesting. Could you try something like VLC (anything other than iTunes) and see if these audio tracks (.m4a files) would play? My understanding is that .m4a files are not DRMed. The ones with DRM have a .m4p file extension.
Click to expand...
I'm afraid that I won't be able to try this myself for a few days, so perhaps someone else may be able to give it a go.
 
brian said:
I'm afraid that I won't be able to try this myself for a few days, so perhaps someone else may be able to give it a go.
Click to expand...

VLC played a .m4a track (the audio was aac) with no problem. Exported from a HD Video clip from Freeview-HD using Sony Movie Studio software. I guess other audio formats will work as well.
 
grahamlthompson said:
VLC played a .m4a track (the audio was aac) with no problem. Exported from a HD Video clip from Freeview-HD using Sony Movie Studio software. I guess other audio formats will work as well.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that Graham, but sooty83 wanted to know if an iTunes purchased .m4a audio track would play on VLC.
 
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