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status		
	
	
	
	
	
FLAC 1.1.2 is available.  New in this release are small decoding speedups for all platforms, small encoding speedups in fast (non-LPC) mode, streaming support in the XMMS plugin, and several bug fixes.  For developers there are also a few additions and changes to the metadata API to make working with tags easier.  See the changelog.html#flac_1_1_2changelog entry  for complete details.  This release actually wasn't supposed to happen so soon, but needed to be made to fix library naming and build problems in FLAC 1.1.1 that caused trouble for package maintainers, so unless you are having trouble with one of the particular bugs that got fixed in 1.1.2 then there is not much of a need to upgrade.
	
Another handful of devices that support FLAC are out or announced: the http://www.zensonic.com/press_z500.phpZensonic Z500 Networked DVD Media Player , Escient's http://www.escient.com/releases/escient_jan0605_2.htmlnew FireBall E2-40, E2-160, and DVDM-300 , the http://www.digitaltechniques.com/M300A_Overview.htmlM300A Digital Music Player  from Digital Techniques (see http://www.digitaltechniques.com/QuickStart.htmlmanual ), Meda Systems' http://www.medainc.com/Bravo servers  ( http://www.stereophile.com/news/092704medasystems/more info ), and the http://www.cesweb.org/attendees/show_floor/product_locator/product_details.asp?prodid=5181MS300 Music Server  by McIntosh Laboratory.
	
We just found out that http://www.skipjam.com/SkipJam 's line of networked audio/video components supports FLAC.  (Even though it's not mentioned on their site, I'm assured that's just because the site hasn't been updated yet.)
	
http://www.escient.com/Escient  has a new home stereo component that supports FLAC, the http://www.escient.com/fireballe2300.htmlFireBall E2-300 .
	
http://www.mindawn.com/Mindawn , a new online music service offering FLAC and Ogg Vorbis, is now open.  They also have a multi-platform (Windows, Linux, Mac OS X) CD ripper/encoder and are finishing up a multi-platform player.
	
Illiminable has updated his excellent http://www.illiminable.com/ogg/Directshow filters  to support native FLAC (in addition to Ogg FLAC/Vorbis/Speex/Theora).
	
last updated 2005-Feb-05
	
	
	
	
	
	
		
		
what is FLAC?		
	
	
	
	
	
		FLAC stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec.  Grossly oversimplified, FLAC is similar to MP3, but lossless, meaning that audio is compressed in FLAC without any loss in quality.  This is similar to how Zip works, except with FLAC you will get much better compression because it is designed specifically for audio, and you can play back compressed FLAC files in your favorite player (or your car or home stereo, see 
links.html#hardwaresupported devices ) just like you would an MP3 file.
	
	
		FLAC is freely available and supported on most operating systems, including Windows, "unix" (Linux, *BSD, Solaris, OS X, IRIX), BeOS, OS/2, and Amiga.  There are build systems for autotools, MSVC, Watcom C, and Project Builder.
	
	
		See the 
features.htmlfeatures page  for a complete list of features, or the comparison.htmlcomparison page  to see how FLAC compares with other lossless codecs.
	
	
		The FLAC project consists of:
	
	
	
		
the stream format		
reference encoders and decoders in library form		
flac, a command-line program to encode and decode FLAC files		
metaflac, a command-line metadata editor for FLAC files		
input plugins for various music players	
	
	
		When we say that FLAC is "Free" it means more than just that it is available at no cost.  It means that the specification of the format is fully open to the public to be used for any purpose (the FLAC project reserves the right to set the FLAC specification and certify compliance), and that neither the FLAC format nor any of the implemented encoding/decoding methods are covered by any known patent.  It also means that all the source code is available under open-source licenses.  It is the first truly open and free lossless audio format.  (For more information, see the 
license.htmllicense page .)
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
		
		
download		
	
	
	
	
	
		Visit the 
download.htmldownload page  for links to the source code or pre-built binaries.
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
		
		
documentation		
	
	
	
	
	
		The documentation is available online as well as in the distributions.  The general installation and usage documentation for 
flac and the plugins is documentation.htmlhere .  For a detailed description of the FLAC format and reference encoder see the format.htmlFLAC format page .
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
		
		
id registration		
	
	
	
	
	
		If you have an application that uses FLAC and would like it to be able to tag FLAC files with custom metadata, visit the 
id.htmlregistration page  to register an ID for your application.
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
		
		
news		
	
	
	
		
news.html#2005020505-Feb-2005  :  Version 1.1.2 released 		
news.html#2005011717-Jan-2005  :  Several new devices support FLAC 		
news.html#2004111212-Nov-2004  :  Escient's new FireBall E2-300 supports FLAC 		
news.html#2004110202-Nov-2004  :  New Mindawn music store offers FLAC and Vorbis 		
news.html#2004100101-Oct-2004  :  Version 1.1.1 released 		
news.html#2004072727-Jul-2004  :  The Furthur network now supports FLAC 		
news.html#2004062121-Jun-2004  :  Bonnaroo soundboard recordings available in FLAC 		
news.html#2004030303-Mar-2004  :  Metallica offers live shows in FLAC 		
news.html#2004020303-Feb-2004  :  Charlie Hunter makes select albums available in FLAC 		
news.html#2003111919-Nov-2003  :  PhatNoise's new Home Digital Media Player supports FLAC 		
news.html#2003111818-Nov-2003  :  Slim's new 'Squeezebox' supports FLAC 		
news.html#2003111111-Nov-2003  :  Primus offers live shows in FLAC 		
news.html#2003101313-Oct-2003  :  Magnatune catalog available in FLAC 		
news.html#2003081111-Aug-2003  :  New Rio Karma supports FLAC 		
news.html#2003062323-Jun-2003  :  livephish.com offers FLAC shows 		
news.html#2003020909-Feb-2003  :  ReQuest adds FLAC support 		
news.html#2003012929-Jan-2003  :  FLAC joins Xiph.org! 		
news.html#2003012626-Jan-2003  :  Version 1.1.0 released 		
news.html(all news) 	
	
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