Autoconversion of media files

[MarkKahrs]

I just ran up against this and will relate my experience.  For instructional reasons, I want my students to use a .wav file.  When I upload it, it is converted (automagically) to a .m4a file.  This is against my wishes and furthermore, there isn't a way to avoid it.

I was advised to change browsers and the behavior didn't change.  And, to add insult to injury, the extension of the file isn't changed from .wav!  Can you imagine?  They change the format and not the extension!

There are three very bad design decisions here: (1) Thinking that behavior should vary with the browser  (2) Changing file formats without user approval and finally (3) not changing the extension.  If the designers were my students (I teach Computer Engineering), I would give them a very bad grade.

The way around this is to encapsulate them in a .zip file.  When uploading, you are given the option to not unzip it.  Choose that and the format should remain as it is.

Shameful.  Very bad decisions with implications.

The way around

[Chris_Hofer]

Hello there, @MarkKahrs ...

When you are uploading these audio files to your course, are you following the steps outlined in this Guide?  How do I upload and embed a media file from my com... - Canvas Community  Or, are you first uploading the files to your course "Files" area of your course and then linking to them within the content pages of your course?  Also, this next statement is purely speculation on my part, but I wonder if your *.wav files are being converted because these file types have been known to carry malware or malicious code in them.  I'm not saying that your files would contain anything like this, but I did find a couple articles via Google search that might help to shed some light on the subject:

• Malicious WAV files can be used to deliver malware and cryptominers | TechRadar.
• WAV audio files are now being used to hide malicious code | ZDNet

I may be completely wrong in my thinking here, so feel free to shoot down my idea about these kinds of files.

One other thought I just had... *.wav files can get to be quite large in file size, so I wonder if Canvas is just converting them behind the scenes so that the files don't take so long to download for the end user.

• What is the difference between a WAV and M4A file?
• What's the Real Difference Between .wav, .aiff, .mp3, and .m4a?

Also, have you tried reaching out to Instructure's help desk folks to see what they have to say about this?  They might be able to give you a firm answer on why your *.wav files are being converted to *.m4a files.  How do I contact Canvas Support? - Canvas Community  If you do reach out to the Canvas help desk staff, it would be interesting to know what they had to say.

I hope this will be of some help to you, Mark.  Sing out if you have any other questions about this...thanks!  Take care...be well.

[MarkKahrs]

I appreciate the time you spent replying.  However...

1). As demonstrated by the Canvas help, it is possible to upload on a Mac in .wav format; therefore, your first supposition is incorrect.  This is a sin because it indicates that upload is platform dependent.  That is improper behavior.

2). I did indeed upload into the files "folder".  If you attempt to download it, it refuses and says "queued for conversion".  And we know what happens from there.

As I stated, these are improper design decisions by Canvas.  It's not just one decision, but several.  Here are basic guiding principles:

a). Behavior should be independent of the choice of browser

b). Behavior should be independent of the choice of operating system

c). File formats should never be converted without the express approval of the uploader

d). File formats should never be converted without an explanation.  No mysteries.

e). Converted files should always have their extensions changed.

As a computer system designer and implementer, I feel very strongly about these philosophies.

[Chris_Hofer]

Hello again, @MarkKahrs ...

Thank you for the extra explanation, and I would agree with your points a-e.  Just out of curiosity, did you try uploading the file via the instructions in How do I upload and embed a media file from my com... - Canvas Community to see if that would meet your needs?  Since I'm not able to view the content of your course, this may not be a workable solution for you, and you may have other reasons for providing a direct link to the audio files for your students instead of showing an embedded audio player for your files.

The only other thing I might suggest for you at this point, in addition to speaking with the Help Desk staff (if you've not done that yet), would be to submit this as a Feature Idea here in the Community.  This would give you and others a chance to request that Canvas make a change to how they, apparently, convert audio files to compress them to a different audio format.  Community members can evaluate your Feature Idea as well as give it a star rating.  I would support it if you did submit it to the Community.  From any screen here in the Community, click on the PRODUCT menu at the top of the page, and then select IDEA CONVERSATIONS.  Then, click on the "Suggest an idea" button.  Here are some documents for you to look through as you create your idea.

• How do idea conversations work in the Canvas Community?
• What is the feature development process for Instructure products?
• How do I create a new idea conversation in the Canvas Community?

Hope this helps a bit.  Have a great evening...