What Happened?

Yesterday, while I was working on a hi-res music test (which I won’t dive into again for a couple of weeks), I ran into a problem I’d describe as predictable—and honestly, it’s the same issue we’re going to face once we launch our app.

The Core Issue: Format Inconsistency

The problem is inconsistency in file format support across operating systems and browsers.

For example:

• A file that works fine on Android might not be supported on iOS.
• Even if it is supported on iOS, Safari might:
  • Not play it properly
  • Only partially support it
• And vice versa.

This kind of fragmentation is a lot more common than people think.

A Real Example: ALDAC vs Android

Take this one:

Apple’s proprietary hi-res codec, ALDAC (their version of LDAC), isn’t natively supported on any Android device.

And it’s not just about audio quality.

• Sometimes, the file just doesn’t play at all.
• Even worse, if it does play and you try to skip ahead, it might:
  • Crash the entire app
  • Or freeze completely (which happened to me—I had to restart the app)

The Simple Fix That Just Works

So what’s the solution?

Encode nearly all audio files—especially hi-res and unsupported formats—into .WAV files.

Here’s why:

• .WAV is a lossless format — meaning no quality loss
• It’s widely supported across platforms
• It’s the default audio format in Safari (which solves a ton of problems on iOS)

My app can:

• Detect and convert during upload, or
• Scan and convert later via IndexedDB

Why It Matters

Even if we don’t go all-in on building a hi-res player into Fanfares, I can still use this approach for the existing player.

All I need is:

One utility function — and it solves 90% of unsupported file format issues.

Final Thought

Sometimes, the fix isn’t flashy. It’s just practical. .WAV may not be trendy, but it just works—and that’s exactly what we need.