A FLAC player is one that supports FLAC files. FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) files are a type of audio compression codec that compress audio files to 50%-60% of their original size and decompress them to their original size without any data loss. As a result, FLAC files are much smaller than other audio formats. Though many devices do not support FLAC files as they do other audio formats, several major media players as well as all FLAC players support FLAC files.

How FLAC Players Work
A FLAC player is simply any media player that is capable of FLAC compression and decompression. Generally, FLAC players include easy options for creating, editing, and decompressing FLAC files and may or may not be capable of handling other audio files. Some FLAC players can handle CDs and DVDs in addition to FLAC files in order to better assist the user with transferring or creating FLAC files.

Applications
FLAC files compress audio files in order to transfer them across the Internet or onto an external media device. They also compress entire music archives, voice recordings, or other audio files in order to preserve them in case of data loss. All audio files compressed with FLAC can be decompressed later to produce exact copies of their original files.

Advantages
FLAC files have several important advantages. They reproduce exact copies of original audio files without sacrificing data. FLAC files also support tagging, cover art, and fast seeking. FLAC players generally support ripping, burning, and transferring FLAC files as well as converting other audio files into FLAC files. FLAC is also entirely free and anyone can modify it in order to produce better versions of the software so that it has more functions and becomes more compatible with media players.

Disadvantages
Although FLAC files and players are advantageous, many media players or hardware devices do not support them.

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