How can I import .m4a files

dazzathedrummer · 04-02-2008, 12:44 PM

I bought the Radiohead "Nude" multitracks from iTunes and there in .m4a format - I cant seem to import them, can they be imported or, failing that, is there a way that I can play them in iTunes and record them into Reaper?

dazzathedrummer · 04-02-2008, 01:01 PM

I've just tried setting my sound card to Stereo mix(built in sigmatel on a Dell D810 laptop) and recorded the output into Reaper - sounds rough though, lots of hiss.

bigwoody · 04-02-2008, 02:58 PM

iTunes has a convert to MP3 function. Convert it in iTunes then use the MP3 in Reaper.

dazzathedrummer · 04-03-2008, 01:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigwoody

iTunes has a convert to MP3 function. Convert it in iTunes then use the MP3 in Reaper.

Has it - I didn't notice that, thanks for the info.

I discovered Foobar2000 while searching the forum and was able to use this to convert to .wav, which I think is lossless - so i've now got the track in reaper, the next task is to decide what to do with them - i'm not sure that I can improve on perfection!

drillbit · 04-03-2008, 02:39 AM

Foobar is the best. It converts iTunes files and compresses brilliantly from wav or whatever. The fastest and best. You just have to download the AAC/MP4 codec from here:

http://www.nero.com/ena/technologies-nerodigital.html

dazzathedrummer · 04-03-2008, 03:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drillbit

Foobar is the best. It converts iTunes files and compresses brilliantly from wav or whatever. The fastest and best. You just have to download the AAC/MP4 codec from here:

http://www.nero.com/ena/technologies-nerodigital.html

is this codec better than the one its already got?

I didnt need to add anything else to convert AAC/MP4, it just did straight off - right click/convert to

drillbit · 04-03-2008, 03:33 AM

Hmm, well you must have Nero installed already or something. Cool.

DuX · 04-07-2008, 07:30 AM

Ditto for Foobar. It industrial electronica [rocks...]. There's no better and more useful audio player for a DAW as you can convert so many audio formats to another audio format. It's got ASIO and supports VST, too. Hell, you can ReaRoute it directly into Reaper if you want

.

v0.951 works wonderfully. There were some ASIO issues concerning different sample rates before, but now it works flawlessly. Nice simple and usable GUI, too.

Cheers!

Brendan27 · 02-24-2010, 02:19 PM

Why would you want to take a compressed file and re compress it?? So much sound quality would be lost. Mp4 is lossy, then converting it to mp3 compresses it even more.

dazzathedrummer · 02-24-2010, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brendan27

Why would you want to take a compressed file and re compress it?? So much sound quality would be lost. Mp4 is lossy, then converting it to mp3 compresses it even more.

to bring it into reaper

nofish · 02-24-2010, 04:21 PM

Brandan27 is right of course.

Makes no sense re-encoding to mp3. Converting to .wav and then importing to Reaper makes more sense.

Btw .m4a is a lossless codec, afaik.

dazzathedrummer · 02-24-2010, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nofish

Brandan27 is right of course.

Makes no sense re-encoding to mp3. Converting to .wav and then importing to Reaper makes more sense.

Btw .m4a is a lossless codec, afaik.

of yeah correct of course, but this was just for playing around with - it wasn;t a serious thing.

...and anyway, it was two years ago, I'm way past that now

nofish · 02-24-2010, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dazzathedrummer

of yeah correct of course, but this was just for playing around with - it wasn;t a serious thing.

...and anyway, it was two years ago, I'm way past that now

Ah ok...so all good then
Didn't even notice that the thread is two years old.

DeyBwah · 08-29-2010, 03:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuX

Ditto for Foobar. It industrial electronica [rocks...]. There's no better and more useful audio player for a DAW as you can convert so many audio formats to another audio format. It's got ASIO and supports VST, too. Hell, you can ReaRoute it directly into Reaper if you want

.

v0.951 works wonderfully. There were some ASIO issues concerning different sample rates before, but now it works flawlessly. Nice simple and usable GUI, too.

Cheers!

Hey DuX,

By supports VST, you mean I can run VST plug-ins in Foobar? For example, I have the ARC System VST plug.. would I be able to run that in Foobar? I looked into it for the last 30 minutes and can't seem to figure out how to do this. :/

JohnI · 08-29-2010, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeyBwah

By supports VST, you mean I can run VST plug-ins in Foobar?

Not directly. You have to install George Yohng's VST wrapper first: http://www.yohng.com/foobarvst.zip

Installation etc is explained in the readme file.

DeyBwah · 08-29-2010, 10:52 PM

Wow... this is awesome! I can use the ARC System now with my music without having to pull it into REAPER.

Thanks so much.

hopi · 08-30-2010, 08:31 AM

it's not that hard to convert that format, but it would be nice if reaper could just do it on the fly... so we could drag them in like any other audio file.

ngarjuna · 08-30-2010, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hopi

it's not that hard to convert that format, but it would be nice if reaper could just do it on the fly... so we could drag them in like any other audio file.

Agreed, likewise for WMA files. I wouldn't be doing production work on any of those formats but sometimes I need to give something a quick listen for reference.

Bevosss · 08-31-2010, 10:24 PM

Reaper can import .mp4s and .movs now (and also export .movs with FFmpeg).

Just rename .m4a or .m4r to .mp4, its the same container(.mov).

(Would be nice not to rename them before importing, and also export without renaming after, I have asked a few times already so not likely soon imo)

The Walrus · 05-28-2011, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bevosss

Reaper can import .mp4s and .movs now (and also export .movs with FFmpeg).

Just rename .m4a or .m4r to .mp4, its the same container(.mov).

(Would be nice not to rename them before importing, and also export without renaming after, I have asked a few times already so not likely soon imo)

Is this true? I tried it with no luck. I know its an old thread so maybe things have moved on a bit since then (hope so). I just want to use some music in my iTunes library to make a track for a slideshow I'm making. I've had no luck importing iTunes music into Reaper...any ideas?

WyattRice · 05-28-2011, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Walrus

Is this true? I tried it with no luck. I know its an old thread so maybe things have moved on a bit since then (hope so). I just want to use some music in my iTunes library to make a track for a slideshow I'm making. I've had no luck importing iTunes music into Reaper...any ideas?

Yes it works, but you have to rename the extension to .mp4

If using a Windows computer, find folder options, then view, and uncheck "hide extensions for known file types", and apply, then rename the end to mp4.

It's kinda weird for now because Reaper thinks it's a .mov file, an displays the video preview, but it will play. Maybe they will fix that soon.

Hope this helps.
Regards, Wyatt

The Walrus · 05-28-2011, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WyattRice

Yes it works, but you have to rename the extension to .mp4

If using a Windows computer, find folder options, then view, and uncheck "hide extensions for known file types", and apply, then rename the end to mp4.

It's kinda weird for now because Reaper thinks it's a .mov file, an displays the video preview, but it will play. Maybe they will fix that soon.

Hope this helps.
Regards, Wyatt

I'm using a Mac and I'm just renaming the file with .mp4 but reaper doesn't like it?

WyattRice · 05-28-2011, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Walrus

I'm using a Mac and I'm just renaming the file with .mp4 but reaper doesn't like it?

Oh,
Sorry about the windows screenshot.

I have a Macbook, and just checked it, and it worked.

Here's what I did for a test.

1. I copied a .m4a out of my itunes music folder, and pasted that on the desktop
2. Rename the .m4a to .mp4
3. Open Reaper, make it smaller, and drag the file into Reaper.

See if that works

The Walrus · 05-28-2011, 07:06 PM

Thanks WyattRice, but it didn't work...I'd been trying that as it seems a pretty straightforward thing to do, but I'm suspecting I have something wrong with my preferences or something.

This is the first time Ive used Reaper at home and at work it seems to import anything with no issues at all, which makes me think its something to do with the way I'm set up!

Thanks anyway...

WyattRice · 05-28-2011, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Walrus

Thanks WyattRice, but it didn't work...I'd been trying that as it seems a pretty straightforward thing to do, but I'm suspecting I have something wrong with my preferences or something.

This is the first time Ive used Reaper at home and at work it seems to import anything with no issues at all, which makes me think its something to do with the way I'm set up!

Thanks anyway...

Your welcome.
Maybe post something in the Reaper Mac forum, and someone might take a look, for I'm not really a Mac guru yet. What version of Mac do you have, or what's your system specs?

The Walrus · 05-28-2011, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WyattRice

Your welcome.
Maybe post something in the Reaper Mac forum, and someone might take a look, for I'm not really a Mac guru yet. What version of Mac do you have, or what's your system specs?

Thanks mate. Its OS X and all up to date. Just imported a track from a CD with no problems so its clearly able to import, it just seems to be an issue with an iTunes file! Its not a major issue but I was going to buy the required tracks from iTunes and use them but I'll try another option...

Thanks