Guide · Reference
Supported audio formats
MineVinyl accepts most common audio formats. Here's what's supported, how conversion works, and how to get the best quality output.
Accepted input formats
| Format | Extension | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| MP3 | .mp3 | Most compatible. Recommended for simplicity. |
| WAV | .wav | Lossless source — good for high-quality conversion. |
| FLAC | .flac | Lossless. Larger files but best source quality. |
| OGG Vorbis | .ogg | Re-encoded to guarantee a mono channel layout. |
| AAC | .aac, .m4a | Common on Apple devices and streaming rips. |
| AIFF | .aiff, .aif | Lossless, common on macOS. |
| Opus | .opus | Modern codec — fully supported. |
| WMA | .wma | Supported via FFmpeg. |
If your format is not in this list, try it anyway — MineVinyl uses FFmpeg under the hood, which supports a very wide range of containers and codecs. If conversion fails, converting to MP3 or WAV first usually resolves it.
Per-format notes
| Format | Best use | Conversion behaviour |
|---|---|---|
| MP3 | Small files and easy uploads; use 192 kbps or better when possible. | Decoded then encoded to mono OGG, so very low-bitrate MP3s can sound dull. |
| WAV | Excellent source quality but large uploads. | Converted cleanly; the output will be much smaller than the source. |
| FLAC | Lossless source with smaller files than WAV. | A strong choice for archiving, then MineVinyl makes the game-ready OGG. |
| AAC | Common from phones and music libraries. | Works well if DRM-free; heavily compressed AAC may reveal artefacts after re-encoding. |
| M4A | Usually an AAC container from Apple apps. | Treated like AAC when it contains standard audio; protected purchases may fail. |
| OGG | Useful if you already made a Vorbis file. | Still re-encoded so channel count, sample rate and metadata are predictable. |
How conversion works
Minecraft's sound engine requires audio in OGG Vorbis format, and jukebox audio must be mono for the game's positional audio to work. MineVinyl converts every upload automatically using FFmpeg compiled to WebAssembly — everything runs in your browser, no server involved. The output is mono OGG Vorbis at 44.1 kHz with metadata stripped.
Files that are already OGG Vorbis are re-encoded too, to guarantee the mono channel layout — a stereo OGG would load fine but play at full volume everywhere in the world instead of fading with distance. The mono OGG guide explains this behaviour in depth.
Recommended bitrate and quality settings
Minecraft plays music disc audio at whatever bitrate it is stored at. For a good balance of quality and file size, target 128–192 kbps OGG Vorbis. Going higher (320 kbps+) increases pack size without a noticeable in-game difference, since the audio plays through Minecraft's own mixer at whatever volume the player sets.
If you care about quality, start with a lossless source (WAV or FLAC) rather than re-encoding an already-compressed MP3. Re-encoding lossy-to-lossy always degrades quality.
For compressed sources, aim for the best original you have: 192 kbps MP3/AAC is a practical minimum, 256–320 kbps is safer, and anything below 128 kbps may sound noticeably thin once Minecraft plays it back. Lossless WAV or FLAC is ideal when you have it, but it cannot create quality that the game output path will not preserve. MineVinyl still encodes the final file as mono OGG Vorbis, and Minecraft mixes it through the player's audio settings, distance falloff and device speakers. Once the source is clean enough to survive that encode, higher-than-lossless studio masters or extremely high sample rates mostly increase upload time rather than improving what players hear from a jukebox.
File size guidance
There is no server-side file size limit. The practical limit is your browser's available memory — conversion happens in-memory. Most tracks under 50 MB convert without issue. Very large files (>200 MB) may be slow or fail on devices with limited RAM.
For very long tracks (podcasts, ambient mixes), consider trimming them to the section you actually want to hear on the disc before uploading.