M4a to WAV converter

[joms]

Can someone recommend me a good M4a to WAV converter? Freeware would be nice.

I need it to be able to do batch conversions also.

Thanks

[ozok]

You can use TAudioConverter.

[mike20021969]

You could also try: LameXP:
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?t=157726

Freemake Audio Converter (just be sure to uncheck/decline any offers during install):
http://www.freemake.com/offline/offline_all/ (although I don't think it does batch jobs).

[jagabo]

Audacity with the ffmpeg source plugin. Open m4a, export wav.
http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/faq_installation_and_plug_ins.html#ffdown

[V1de0Luvr]

for %%i in (*.m4a) do ffmpeg.exe -i %1 -f wav -ac 2 %~n1.wav

[Keyser]

foobar2000.

Not only a good converter, but also one of the best audio players around.

[jagabo]

for %%i in (*.m4a) do ffmpeg.exe -i %1 -f wav -ac 2 %~n1.wav

I had to make some changes to make that work in a batch file:

for %%F in (*.m4a) do "X:\path\to\ffmpeg.exe" -i "%%F" -f wav -ac 2 "%%~nF.wav"

[joms]

why so much config and options? isn't this like a simple conversion since both are lossless? I was hoping that i could just drag all the m4p songs then set output folder hit START

[jagabo]

Just put the batch file with the above command line (you'll need to change the path to the location of ffmpeg on your computer) in the folder full of m4a files and double click on it.

Put this batch file in your SendTo folder:

 "x:\path\to\ffmpeg.exe" -i %1 -f wav -ac 2 "%~n1.wav"

And you can right click on any m4a file and select Send To -> (name of batch file) from the context menu. Again, change the path to ffmpeg.exe on your computer.

[joms]

ok i got audacity with ffmpeg. will try it out.

where do i put the command line though?

Also, i tried to click export and theres no WAV (ffmpeg) option. Only options for ffmpeg are:

M4a
AC3
AMR
WMA
Custom ffmpeg export

[jagabo]

Using the above batch files, Windows Explorer is your GUI front end.

[joms]

wait i don't get it. i don't use audacity? how do i make a batch file? do i copy/paste this on the Run line of windows?
x:\path\to\ffmpeg.exe" -i %1 -f wav -ac 2 "%~n1.wav

then what?

can you give me a step by step procedure on how to do this? sorry for being such a noob. Is there a simpler way? is ffmpeg really that good that all these are worth doing? I was hoping for a simple drag and drop batch file then export all to .wav

1 more thing, do i download the static,shared or dev in ffmpeg?

[jagabo]

Use notepad to create a batch file: Start Notepad. Paste one of the commands I gave into the file. Change the path to where ffmpeg is stored on your computer . Save As a new file -- change the extension from .TXT to .BAT. You now have a batch file. If you save (or copy, or move) that to your SendTo folder you can access the batch file from Explorer's right click context menu.

You can quickly open the SendTo folder on XP by pressing Start -> Run and typing shell(colon)sendto in the edit box and hitting enter. On Win7 press Start -> type shell(colon)sendto into the edit box, and hit enter.

The batch files don't have to be in your SendTo folder. You drag and drop on them in any folder.

Attached is a ZIP file with two batch files: OneM4a2Wav.bat and AllM4a2Wav.bat. You may have to edit them to change the path to ffmpge.exe.

OneM4a2Wav.bat will convert the one selected file (via SendTo or drag/drop) to uncompressed WAV. The file doesn't have to be m4a. It works with any A/V file that ffmpeg can read.

AllM4a2Wav.bat will convert all m4a files (via SendTo or drag/drop) in a folder to uncompressed WAV. This only works with m4a but you can modify the batch file for other source file types. Just change the "*.m4a" to the file type you want. Like "*.AVI".

[joms]

Thanks! I will be trying it out.

By the way, will there be any Sound quality loss if i convert it from m4a to wav? both are lossless right? so there should be none.

Im just wondering since m4a is around 22MB while wav is 39MB for the same file

[jagabo]

By the way, will there be any Sound quality loss if i convert it from m4a to wav? both are lossless right? so there should be none.

Both are lossless only if you use lossless codecs.

Your m4a files probably use Apple's lossless audio codec. The WAV files created by these ffmpeg command lines are uncompressed.

[bat999]

Thanks! I will be trying it out.

Life's too short.
Much less hassle to use WinFF, it's a gui for FFmpeg.
From here ---> http://winff.org/html_new/

[jagabo]

Once you have the batch files in your SendTo folder using them is trivial. Both easier and faster than starting up some GUI. What you lose is flexibility. But if you perform the same simple task often it's worth setting up a batch file to do it.

[joms]

Thanks for the replies.

I just did the single sendto conversion.

Is it really that fast to convert it? it took like 1 second for the wav file to appear. or did i do something wrong?

how does the batch conversion work? I have a folder (music) and inside that there are tons of other folders (artist) then another folder (album) then the songs.

if i use batch convert, will it copy the folder structure too and convert it to wav?

or will all the wav output all be in 1 folder only?

[jagabo]

I just did the single sendto conversion.

Is it really that fast to convert it? it took like 1 second for the wav file to appear. or did i do something wrong?

It depends on how long the source file was. If it was a 2 hour movie track 1 second is too fast. If it was a 3 minute song one second is about right.

how does the batch conversion work? I have a folder (music) and inside that there are tons of other folders (artist) then another folder (album) then the songs.

if i use batch convert, will it copy the folder structure too and convert it to wav?

or will all the wav output all be in 1 folder only?

It only works in one folder. It does not recurse through sub folders. Drag/drop any file in that folder onto the batch file, or right click and select SendTo->Allm4a2wav.bat. Only m4a files in that folder will be converted to WAV. A more complicated batch file would be needed to recurse subfolders.

[joms]

well, i guess the bat file you gave me for batch convert would be good for my new songs

it would sure be nice though if i could have a fast way to convert all my m4a collection files right now to wav with intact folders/subfolders.

note: the reason why im converting this to wav is because my car pioneer head unit can only play wav and not m4a. Bummer that I have to do this after all the work i did back then in ripping my CDs to m4a. (I don't want to re rip the CD again)

[jagabo]

Ok, I worked it out. Attached is RecursiveM4a2Wav.bat that will convert all m4a files in a folder and all subfolders from there into uncompressed WAV files. Each WAV file will be in the same folder as its m4a file. You can place the bat file in a folder and double clock on it, or you can place it anywhere and drag/drop a folder or file on it.

[joms]

terrific !!! thanks a million!

[joms]

WOW!!! i just tried it out (still going on, not yet finished) but i checked the first few folders and there are now duplicate WAVs for each of my m4a! you are a GENIUS sir jagabo !!!!!!!!!!!

[joms]

if it would be ok to suggest 1 more thing,

Can the batch converter file automatically skip the file if there is already a .wav file found? as of now it asks me everytime it finds a wav file already if i want to overwrite or not. This would pause things and would not be good if you intend to have it run while you sleep.

It's not actually for me since I already finished converting my collection but maybe someone else would need it.

Just a thought.

[jagabo]

You can add -y to the ffmpeg command line to automatically overwrite any existing files. Add -n to automatically skip any existing files.

[joms]

terrific !

Thanks again!