Posted on Mon 06/06/05 in Technical Interleude
The short answer is no. The longer answer is yes. See below:
What is the .M4A format?
Files in .M4A format are actually the audio layer of (non-video) MPEG 4 movies. M4A is slated to become the new standard for audio file compression. This format is also known as Apple Lossless, Apple Lossless Encoder, or ALE. It is a new codec designed to provide lossless encoding in less storage space.
*Taken from http://filext.com/detaillist.php?extdetail=M4A
How can I play these files with WMP?
At the present time, WMP does NOT support playback of .M4A files, nor is a plug-in offered by Microsoft. You can use a decoder pack with WMP, such as Satsuki’s Decoder Pack. You can simply install the .MP4 Splitter module if you do not wish to install all of the other decoders.
Or, you can play them with Quicktime or another player which supports the format.
My advice is to switch to a non-biased, third-party audio/video player. As iPODs and Apple company increase their presence in the technology world, Microsoft will try to distinguish itself by not supporting competitors’ formats.
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