.M4A File Format
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File Description | M4A is an file name extension for MPEG-4 format audio. There are no format differences between M4A and MP4 audio files. In Windows, the system recognize the media type and find the associated programs based on its filename extension. But MP4 may contain either audio, video, or even subtitle streams of any number. This makes it impossible to determine the file type and find the associated software. Therefore, Apple started using and popularizing the .m4a filename extension in iTunes and iTunes Store. M4A files could contain audio data either encoded in the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) compression or its own Apple Lossless (ALE, ALAC) compression. M4A files are similar to .MP4 video files since both file types use the MPEG-4 container format. However, M4A files only contain audio data. The use of the ".m4a" extension arose due to the confusion between MPEG-4 video files and MPEG-4 audio-only files. Notes: 1. iTunes Store songs that include copyright protection have an .M4P extension. 2. Windows Media Player 12 (included with Windows 7) supports M4A format natively, but Windows Media Player 11 requires extra codec like the K-Lite Codec Pack to play M4A files. |
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How to Open .M4A Files |
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M4A Programs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
M4A Topics | File Extensions M4A Frequently Asked Questions None. |
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Related Books | Understanding Audio | Free eBooks on Amazon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source | - Official File Extension Library |
How to select a program to open M4A files? |
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When you double click M4A files on computer, the associated program will be launched to open the selected M4A file. But you can change it to any program at your pleasure. a) Select a program to open M4A files on WindowsRight-click on the M4A file and go through 'Open with' > 'Choose default program'. In the pop-up windows, choose a program as the M4A file opener. If you decide to always open M4A files with the program, only check the option 'Always use the selected program to open this kind of file'. b) Select another application to open M4A files on MacFirst Get Info about any one of M4A files by right-clicking or Command-I, and click 'Open with' arrow to choose a program to start your M4A file. Click 'Change All' button to set the selected application as the default M4A file opener app. |
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