M4A (ALAC) working only in Audio Station on NAS, not in DS Audio

[CzarnyLewis]

Since recently, my M4A (ALAC) files stopped working in preview in File Station (NAS) and in DS Audio (Android). Files only play in Audio Station (NAS).
In DS Audio I have message: "file format is not supported"

Why is this happening?

 

[fredbert]

I just tested on my setup and can play ALAC files:

1. Mac Safari web browser (v15.6.1 on macOS Catalina):
   1. File Station using Play action.
   2. Audio Station.
2. iPhone (iOS 16.0.3):
   1. DS audio.
   2. DS file.

Tested using the same ALAC files with latest DSM 7.1.1 and mobile apps. Also the equivalent AAC 320 kbps files play too.

Have you the latest Advanced Media Extension installed? I don't suppose the dropping of AAC transcoding in AME v3.0.0-2003 has anything to do with what you are experiencing?

 

[CzarnyLewis]

Thanks for the answer.

I have the latest DSM and the latest packages. Additionally:

• I moved the music elsewhere and indexed it
• restarted the NAS

M4A playback only works on Synology Audio Station, but not on File Station and DS Audio for Android.

I don't know what else can be done ...

 

[zorg]

Also has this issue.

2 weeks ago played normaly.

ALAC files from audio station, played in DS Audio Android App.

Today can't play any ALAC files on my Samsung device.

Found this in latest release note of Audio Station:

1. AAC-encoded content can be decoded and natively played back by most end devices, such as smartphones, tablets, computers, and smart TVs. Server-side transcoding of AAC-encoded content has been a redundant and resource-consuming process that was removed starting from DSM 7.1.1.
   • Streaming that requires transcoding AAC files, such as streaming AAC files via AirPlay or being able to specify transcoding settings when streaming via DLNA, will no longer be supported.

Maybe Samsung device hasn't native aac/alac decoder? And previously played over transcoding?

At this moment all ALAC file show Unsupported Format.

 

[IronRod]

I've been having the same issue. The latest version of Audio Station has stopped transcoding ALAC files in a 'feature update'. It's justification is that it's resource hungry and unnecessary since most devices can decode locally. See 7.02 update:

Release Notes for Audio Station | Synology Inc.

Release Notes for Audio Station | Synology Inc.

www.synology.com

However DS Audio on Android does not appear to support ALAC playback natively. See (near the bottom):

Audio Station Technical Specifications | Synology Inc.

With Audio Station and its mobile app DS audio, you can enjoy high-quality playback, listen to radios, manage your music collection, create personal playlist, and share with friends anywhere.

www.synology.com

I do t quite understand why it supports ALAC for streaming but not native playback.....or what that actually means for playing files from the server?

Maybe the server and client software updates are out of sync and it'll get fixed but at the moment ALAC is not working on for me on Android.

 

[CzarnyLewis]

Summarizing the problem:

1. I understand that Synology Audio has stopped supporting ALAC on mobile devices?
2. If I currently have 80% of my music collection in this codec, can I forget about using DS Audio?
3. Is it possible to download an older version that will play ALAC?
4. Is it possible to install the native ALAC codec on Android?

 

[IronRod]

Summarizing the problem:

1. I understand that Synology Audio has stopped supporting ALAC on mobile devices?
2. If I currently have 80% of my music collection in this codec, can I forget about using DS Audio?
3. Is it possible to download an older version that will play ALAC?
4. Is it possible to install the native ALAC codec on Android?

I've tested DS Audio on an Apple device and it works OK. So I guess it's just android devices that are affected.

On my Android phone I can use other software to play my library of mixed ALAC, MP3 and MP4 files just using DLNA. I've been using Bubble uPnP and MX Player Pro without any problems. There's probably a bunch of other players that'll work too (VLC or Kodi?).

 

[CzarnyLewis]

Hello,

In Version: 3.15.4-524 they fixed the error. ALAC files now work properly in DS Audio on Android.
I've been testing YouTube Music for a few months and prefer DS Audio playback.

 

[IronRod]

I saw that the android app had been updated, however it still doesn't work for me. I tried clearing the app cache and clearing the download folders, also uninstalling and reinstalling, but it still doesn't work.

My other players still work fine, it's just a shame because DS Audio was much slicker and easier to use than the two apps I'm currently using.

The changelog for the android version of DS Audio does claim that this bug is fixed, so at least we now know it's a bug

 

[ctrlaltdelete]

• Playback of M4A (recordings made on iPhones) is no longer supported?

 

[CzarnyLewis]

IronRod maybe report it to the Support Center. They're slow, but so far they've helped me with everything.

 

[IronRod]

An update for anyone else still struggling with this issue (it might just be me). After making some updates to my music library, I realised that my latest ALAC additions played fine in DS Audio. The original files still didn't work though. Weird because after ploughing through the meta-data and trying to find what was different, I was still at a loss. The codec used for the encode was also the exactly same version for both, although I have updated foobar2000 to the latest version.

Anyway, after an hour or so of digging and experimenting I found a way to fix it. Basically by re-saving the meta-data to each file makes the issue goes away. I have no explanation for why this works, but I have fixed all my non-playing ALAC albums.

Basic instructions:
First clear all the downloaded files from DS Audio on your phone (Settings ->downloaded songs->automatic->remove songs). Next use iTunes to select an album (right click album->album info). Then you need to modify a property that will be written to every file in the album (album title, album artist, artwork etc.). Let iTunes write the updates to the files and that is all.

If anyone else is still having the same problem, hopefully this will help fix it.

 

[fredbert]

More recently I've been using PerfectTUNES, which costs a bit but I found it was easier to manage tags for multiple files at a time and then update file specific tags.

Glad you found a fix.