apple lossless files compatibility

[jp2]

Hi. wondering your thoughts on how portable / transferrable - without any loss in quality - the apple lossless format is.

i know that it is a truly lossless format, but wondering how much of a P.I.T.A. it is to transfer to FLAC or windows media lossless, for example.
thanks
jp

[xoas]

Re: apple lossless files compatibility

Depends. In theory it should be no more bothersome than converting monkeys to wma lossless or either to FLAC. Theoretically, any lossless to lossless conversion should be lossless. I tend to suspect that there is some amount of error that can creep in terms of assuring that input and output files are identical just due to mechanical error. But unless you were doing a very large number of conversions/reconversions I don't think it would amount to anything.
Practically, it seems like partly a matter of how many files you are talking about and also why you would see a need to convert to another lossless format anyway. Obviously, iPod supports Apple Lossless, there are some portable players that support FLAC, but your computer should support either/both.

I don't know if this helps, but that's my take on it.

Best wishes,
Bill