Questions[flac](ubuntu)

Since I can't find the answer here and I would like to be able to do so the next time I need to do this, here is how to convert shorten (.shn) audio files to another format that ffmpeg can handle (e.g., flac, wav). A lot of the old information out there points to getting the codec from etree.org and compiling it, but those links are dead and shorten is no longer being developed (see rationale below).

When you get this error:

shntool [conv]: warning: : [shn]
shntool [conv]:          + you may not have permission to read file: [jlc2003-02-14d1t01.shn]
shntool [conv]:          + arguments may be incorrect for decoder: [shorten]
shntool [conv]:          + verify that the decoder is installed and in your PATH
shntool [conv]:          + this file may be unsupported, truncated or corrupt

From https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Shorten_(file_format):

Shorten (file format)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Shorten Link dead: etree.org/shnutils/shorten/ Shorten Filename extension .shn Type of format Audio

Shorten (SHN) is a file format used for compressing audio data. It is a form of data compression of files and is used to losslessly compress CD-quality audio files (44.1 kHz 16-bit stereo PCM). Shorten is no longer developed and other lossless audio codecs such as FLAC, Monkey's Audio (APE), TTA, and WavPack (WV) have become more popular. However, Shorten is still in use by some people because there are legally traded concert recordings in circulation that are encoded as Shorten files. Shorten files use the .shn file extension.

Handling Shorten files Since few players or media writers attempt to decompress Shorten files, a standalone decompression program is usually required to convert to a different file format that those applications can handle. Some Rockbox applications can play Shorten files without decompression, and third-party Shorten plug-ins exist for Nero Burning ROM, Foobar2000, and Winamp. All libavcodec based players and converters support the Shorten codec.

Converting on Linux Current versions of ffmpeg or avconv support the shorten format. To convert all .shn files in the current directory to FLAC on Linux:

for f in *.shn; do ffmpeg -i "$f" "${f/%.shn/.flac}"; done

There are also various GUI programs which can be used, like SoundConverter

To split files with a .cue into tracks in .flac format:

shnsplit -P face -o flac -t "%p -- %n - %t" -f "file.cue" "file.shn"

(The various metadata for file names can obviously be arranged as you prefer. This also works for .ape & .wv files)

I am using the following one-liner to split my flac file with cue sheet into several flac files:

shntool split -f "Album.cue" -o flac -t '%n - %p - %t' "Album.flac"

Problem is: when the title in the cue sheet contains "ç" or "?" the corresponding splitted file seems corrupt, and I cannot listen to it. Of course if I remove the title altogether:

-t '%n - %p'

Files are created without any error.

So, how do I handle those special characters n the cue sheet (that arose with titles, but it could also impact performer's name")

so I have got a couple of SACD rips from my Windows-PC as .dsf files on my Hard-Drive. Now I would like to eventually encode those in opus , to play them on my phone. To be able to do that, I need to first convert them into some lossless audio codec [via PCM?!], preferably flac. Unfortunately the only device available to me now runs on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS.

So far I tried foobar2000 via Wine, which couldn't even play them.

Unfortunately i was not able to compile dsf2flac either.

Any suggestions?

I have some ALAC files (.m4a) that I want to convert to FLAC (.flac). How can I do this?

I have some CDs that I want to convert to FLAC. Banshee can't find their metadata, but Windows Media Player can.

I figured there are two workarounds:

• Rip all CDs using Windows Media Player WMA-lossless, and batch-convert to FLAC with metadata.
• Tweak Banshee to connect to Windows Media Player metadata sources

Any ideas how to do it? I'm preferably looking for a command-line method.