why would you use FLAC for sharing tracks with a collaborator over broadcast waves?

I don't usually use BWF, preferring the simplicity of trading files that all begin at 00:00:00. You just can't screw it up.

But mostly it's a question of file size. Standard compression utilities (zip, rar) use algorithms optimized for files with lots of repeating data, such as photographs, which compress very well. Audio files have very little repeating data, except for "black" sections where the data are all zeroes. You'll be lucky to reduce an audio file's size by 10% using zip unless it's mostly silence.  

FLAC, OTOH, being designed for audio, can typically get 50% compression and still decompresses back into a wave file with no data loss just like zip or rar. And does so more conveniently: it doesn't have to be decompressed before you can use it; you just import it into your project and let SONAR do the work.

A friend of mine loves FLAC.  I don't know if it has any connection, but he's a big Unix/Linux guy.  I've gotten files from him that sound good.  There was a little bit of a learning curve, but nothing serious.  A quick Google of "FLAC player" turned up a bunch of links.  

A FLAC file should sound identical to the wave file from which it was made. 

Has anybody ever tried this: if FLAC is truly lossless, then you should be able to import a FLAC into SONAR, export it as a wave and have it null with the original.

Eh. I've compared 320 to wavs before and there is an ever so slight loss in the high end, but I can only tell if I'm doing a direct A/B. I'm never going to hear it just listening normally so I don't bother. I just encode at 320. It's perfectly acceptable to me. Even 192 is pretty darn good and doesn't bother me at all for just normal listening. Flac just seems like a waste of time to me. I'm also an iTunes guy (out of habit) and flac doesn't work natively in iTunes so...

mattplaysguitar


 I'm also an iTunes guy (out of habit) and flac doesn't work natively in iTunes so...

you should really break bad habits... 
Much better players out there.

  In uploading to something like soundcloud FLAC might be an option if I were running low on space. If it really can decompress into the original wav. why not? Maybe not so good for downloads if players won't support it.

FLAC is just a codec and open source at that, any music player worth anything should be able to play FLAC, both on 32 or 64 bit OS.

Try Foobar2000, a free and awesome player that supports FLAC natively.

MP3 is proprietary, you're paying to use it in one form or another, not a good thing for a format used for sharing anything, if it has to be lossy, then I'd rather use Ogg Vorbis but it didn't catch on unfortunately.