Can we have a dedicated FLAC support thread?

[hellraiserpop]

I'm still freaking out over this issue.

All my stereo FLACs (44/16) play flawlessly.

But none of my surround FLACs (96/24; 3F2R/LFE) play. They are totally unplayable in the current build(1.50.0), music (Data corrupted) or movies(Not Supported). I installed an older version (1.20.397; one with green arrow icon). It managed to play them, but when I checked input info it was only 48kHz and 2channel.

I've googled this issue a TON. Scoured through DOZENS of threads on PMS forums alone. But I still can't get a closure on this matter. Would really help if someone flat out told me if surround/24bit FLACs can be streamed or not.
And apparently tons of other people have this issue as well. Hence the suggestion in the title.

Win7, PMS 1.50.0, AMD triple core X3 Phenom 720, 2GB ram.
Streaming to PS3.
Wi-Fi connection.
Older build (1.20.397) played with MPlayer tag. Current (1.50.0)build shows High Fidelity Audio, and then Not Supported message when played.

[Coltaine79]

You can't play them in any recent version (within the past 18 months) of PMS. That's why your rigorous Google search had no success. I did the same thing 6 months ago and also couldn't find anything. It seems every few months somebody will post a msg about this very topic, I did the same thing

Our only hope is that one day in the future, a talented Java developer who's addicted to multichannel FLAC will join the PMS project and fix up FLAC support

[hellraiserpop]

... At least I have some sense of closure now :{

[Nurn]

I am able to stream 5.1 FLAC using PSMediaServer 1.10.51. My FLAC files are 96000 Hz, 6 channel, 24 bits per sample, typical bitrate around 7500 kbps

I need to access the files through the PS3 Mediaserver's video tab, though. If I play them through the Music tab, my Denon receiver shows them as stereo input, (and my Denon will convert them to 5 channel stereo - but that's just not the same), but in Video Tab they show up as High Fidelity Audio, and the Denon shows the tracks as 5.1 in and 5.1 out.

The problem (until today) was that it would only play one single track at a time, rather than automatically play all tracks in the folder. After each track, I would need to use the remote to select the next track. Pain in the ass to do that every 4 or 5 minutes.

Discovered a way to merge multiple FLAC files into one, using Foobar 2000. You need to download and copy flac.exe into your Foobar program folder (google it). Then, load an album playlist of your 5.1 flac, and (to stay within a 2 GB file size threshold) choose half of the tracks, and "convert" them the flac with the "merge into one track" option checked. You will end up with half an album (or "side 1" if you like) of multichannel flac - good for maybe 25 or 30 minutes of listening.

Then select the "converted" file for playback, via the video tab in PS3 Mediaserver.

I could not get this to work for a "full" (i.e. 4 GB album) - got a corrupted data message - even with a modified version of flac.exe that allegedly bypasses the 2 GB barrier during conversion.

Interesting twist, though. With the modified flac.exe file (from http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/ind ... ntry725304) I can convert multiple tracks into a single large (i.e. 4 GB and up ) FLAC 5.1 track that works fine when playing back through my PC's 5.1 system, but "corrupted data" message when trying to stream it through my PS3 and receiver. More experimenting needed.

Equipment:
Quad Core intel with Win7
PSMediaServer 1.10.51
Foobar 2000 v1.1.5
wireless streaming from PC to router
PS3 hard wired to router
PS3 connected to Denon 3808 via HDMI
KEF 5.1 speaker system