Serato DJ Pro General Discussion

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 Serato DJ Pro General Discussion
Frustrated by no .m4a Support?
Talk about Serato DJ Pro, expansion packs and supported hardware

Frustrated by no .m4a Support?

branwall 6:02 PM - 14 September, 2013
I've created a little script (for Windows 7+) that copies my iTunes library to a new location, then scans each file and replaces the m4a extension with .mp3.

This is not a real file converter: none of the file data is changed, just the extension. However, it allows unprotected iTunes songs that were otherwise unsupported to be played in Serato DJ. To reiterate, there is no real difference between "I gotta feeling.m4a" (if it wasn't protected) and "I gotta feeling.mp3", so this script changes the file extensions.

A typical song converter would
A) be slower than this script
and
B) probably not go recursively through your iTunes library (this means that you would have to select a folder of all of your songs to convert, but the iTunes library is typically organized into folders by artist and album. So unless you wanted to convert each album individually, you would need a different tool)

So, if you're looking for a way to play your unprotected iTunes library in Serato, I have the tool for you.

It takes anywhere between 45 and 90 seconds per 1,000 songs, give or take a little based on your PC's speed and number of albums in which those songs are contained. Much faster than any real song converter.


If anyone is interested in this tool, please, let me know! I'm new to the forums but I'm sure I'm not the only person who likes his iTunes library structure and wants to be able to use it in Serato.
DJ Quartz 6:13 PM - 14 September, 2013
Did you place a feature request for supporting this file extension?
branwall 6:17 PM - 14 September, 2013
No, but I've noticed a few others who have complained before.

I suspect there is no support because .m4as allow for protected files as well, and Serato doesn't want to deal with DRM. But since .m4as can just as easily be unprotected, I figured this tool was helpful
phatbob 6:23 PM - 14 September, 2013
Serato DJ supports unprotected .m4a files just fine, in both AAC and Apple Lossless formats.

I have thousands in my library.

If they aren't working in yours, then you need to open a help request, because they should be.
branwall 6:28 PM - 14 September, 2013
According to (serato.com):

Supported File Types
.MP3
.OGG
.AAC
.ALAC
.AIF
.WAV
.WL.MP3
.FLAC



I think my problem (and that of a few others on the forums) stems from iTunes Match. I always download MP3 320s, but they get uploaded into iCloud and re-downloaded via iTunes match as m4as, which, for some reason, serato won't play. I've found a workaround with this little script I've created. But if nobody else finds it useful, no big deal.
phatbob 6:35 PM - 14 September, 2013
Serato putting the dots before each format is what's misleading you.

AAC files in a .m4a wrapper are absolutely supported, and my previous advice stands.

(I also use iTunes Match. Again, zero issues.)
branwall 6:45 PM - 14 September, 2013
That's really interesting.

So once I've downloaded my songs through iTunes match, even if they appear to be .m4as, Serato DJ should be able to play them? Is there some special import process I need?

It shows my my iTunes library in the media browser, but whenever I try to load a .m4a, it gives me an error. The (few) mp3 files load just fine.

I'm not sure what else is going on, I just assumed there was no support for m4as! Thanks for letting me know that it *should* work
phatbob 7:09 PM - 14 September, 2013
Sorry dude, as it all works for me I can't be much more help to you!

But open a help request and I'm sure the support staff will get you sorted.
Serato, Forum Moderator
Samuel S 12:06 AM - 16 September, 2013
You can open a help request here branwall:

serato.com
branwall 12:07 AM - 16 September, 2013
Thanks! I've done that. Now just waiting on a reply and I'll update with what my problem was!
signs 8:22 AM - 16 September, 2013
Try installing serato video plugin (demo) this might help. I've got hundrets of .m4a files, too. But i use serato video. So i don't know if this helps
Daniel D. 10:35 AM - 16 September, 2013
be sure to have the latest quicktime version installed! It's mandatory to play AAC files because of it's codec!
Culprit 6:54 PM - 16 September, 2013
Quote:
Try installing serato video plugin (demo) this might help. I've got hundrets of .m4a files, too. But i use serato video. So i don't know if this helps


This should fix that problem but they should be supported regardless
branwall 12:58 AM - 17 September, 2013
Daniel, you're right. Despite an up-to-date iTunes, quicktime was somehow severely outdated. Thank you all so much!
Mike Novelli 5:35 AM - 2 January, 2015
So does it support .m4a audio files? Or do I need to convert to .mp3 or FLAC?

Thanks!
Culprit 7:11 AM - 2 January, 2015
Its supported
Mike Novelli 7:16 AM - 2 January, 2015
Sweet. Thanks! I will test it with a single file when I get a chance before I test a batch.
I appreciate your reply.
*I have the latest Quicktime installed so I'm thinking it should work, and that maybe that was why others couldn't get the format to work previously.
njp6000 8:58 PM - 31 December, 2017
Quote:
I've created a little script (for Windows 7+) that copies my iTunes library to a new location, then scans each file and replaces the m4a extension with .mp3.

This is not a real file converter: none of the file data is changed, just the extension. However, it allows unprotected iTunes songs that were otherwise unsupported to be played in Serato DJ. To reiterate, there is no real difference between "I gotta feeling.m4a" (if it wasn't protected) and "I gotta feeling.mp3", so this script changes the file extensions.

A typical song converter would
A) be slower than this script
and
B) probably not go recursively through your iTunes library (this means that you would have to select a folder of all of your songs to convert, but the iTunes library is typically organized into folders by artist and album. So unless you wanted to convert each album individually, you would need a different tool)

So, if you're looking for a way to play your unprotected iTunes library in Serato, I have the tool for you.

It takes anywhere between 45 and 90 seconds per 1,000 songs, give or take a little based on your PC's speed and number of albums in which those songs are contained. Much faster than any real song converter.


If anyone is interested in this tool, please, let me know! I'm new to the forums but I'm sure I'm not the only person who likes his iTunes library structure and wants to be able to use it in Serato.


Hey do you still have that script and some instructions on how to do this? I've recently run into this problem however on windows 10? Thanks!