Transcoding

The Squeezebox and Transporter family are capable of playing a number of music formats using codecs (see Beginners Guide To File Formats) in their firmware (see Firmware update). Other formats are also playable using the transcoding feature of Squeezebox Server.

In general this feature uses a PC-based decoder to uncompress the data to PCM (WAV or AIFF) and then (again on the PC) re-encodes the data into a format the Squeezebox can understand (often FLAC).

Due to the processing on the PC, files played in this manner can't be controlled with fast forward and fast rewind. Track advance and track rewind work normally, though.

The behavior of this feature is governed by the 'File Types' page in the 'Server Settings' for Squeezebox Server, which writes in turn to a file called convert.conf.

Some interesting hacks are possible if you are interested in undertaking them. Some examples:

• AAC
• AAC+
• Apple Lossless Unix
• Brutefir Filter
• WMA

See also

• Sound eXchange (SoX)