MP3 vs AAC & 128 vs 192
AlGarth
353 Posts
I've got a grip of CD's to encode using itunes.I'm curious what people's opinions/experiences are using the various options for format and bitrates etc.. I'm leaning toward AAC.
Comments
the 'custom' option lets you choose a setting > 196 k
Because of its exceptional performance and quality, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) is at the core of the MPEG-4, 3GPP and 3GPP2 specifications and is the audio codec of choice for Internet, wireless and digital broadcast arenas. AAC provides audio encoding that compresses much more efficiently than older formats, such as MP3, yet delivers quality rivaling that of uncompressed CD audio.
AAC was developed by the MPEG group that includes Dolby, Fraunhofer (FhG), AT&T, Sony and Nokia???companies that have also been involved in the development of audio codecs such as MP3 and AC3 (also known as Dolby Digital). The AAC codec in QuickTime builds upon new, state-of-the art signal processing technology from Dolby Laboratories and brings true variable bit rate (VBR) audio encoding to QuickTime.
Movie properties dialog box
Because of its incredible quality at a wide range of data rates and ratification as an industry standard, AAC audio is gaining wide adoption in the marketplace. For example, all of the music sold in the iTunes Music Store uses AAC, for playback on desktop or iPod. AAC has also been adopted by the major standards organizations including the ISO MPEG (MPEG-4), 3GPP and 3GPP2, DVB, as well as XM satellite radio. As a result of its support for this technology, the audio you create with QuickTime is interoperable with a wide range of devices and media players.
When compared side-by-side, AAC proves itself worthy of replacing MP3 as the new Internet audio standard. Take a look at these AAC advantages over MP3:
* Improved compression provides higher-quality results with smaller file sizes
* Support for multichannel audio, providing up to 48 full frequency channels
* Higher resolution audio, yielding sampling rates up to 96 kHz
* Improved decoding efficiency, requiring less processing power for decode
The Data Speaks for Itself
In numerous comparison tests, AAC comes out on top. Check out these impressive results:
* AAC compressed audio at 128 Kbps (stereo) has been judged by expert listeners to be ???indistinguishable??? from the original uncompressed audio source.*
* AAC compressed audio at 96 Kbps generally exceeded the quality of MP3 compressed audio at 128 Kbps. AAC at 128 Kbps provides significantly superior performance than does MP3 at 128 Kbps.*
* AAC was the only Internet audio codec evaluated in the range ???Excellent??? at 64 Kbps for all of the audio items tested in EBU listening tests.*
* Information provided by Dolby Labs.
"FairPlay is a Digital rights management (DRM) technology created by Apple Computer, built in to the QuickTime multimedia technology and used by the iPod, iTunes, and the iTunes Store. Every file bought from the iTunes Store with iTunes is encoded with FairPlay. It digitally encrypts AAC audio files and prevents users from playing these files on "unauthorized" computers.
While the iTunes jukebox remains the most popular method to buy and play FairPlay-protected files, the actual decoding is performed by Apple's QuickTime. In fact, every player that can use the QuickTime-plugin is capable of using these files, including RealPlayer, Media Center, and Media Player Classic."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FairPlay
So...
Although you probably won't be creating DRM affected files, the files may not be readable on many people's computers unless they are already using itunes, or they download a plug-in to process the file.
its funny how no one really talks about variable bit depth vs. fixed. variable is FAR more efficient in the way it does the compression... without getting to dorky, it's basicaly compression specific to the audio file. if you do it at vari 320 bit, your file may end up bing 292 or something. comparied to the fixed 320, your fidelity will be unmistakably similar and you will end up with a slightly smaller file in terms of mb.
also i would do mp3 cause if you ever go microwave, you'll be
if so stick with MP3 and the highest bitrate you have the HD space for cuase if you get into digital DJaying you can't use AAC's with Microwave...yet
unless Microwave/rane is bought out by apple... dont think this will ever happen. i can only imagine how
TOO LATE.
Hi **j**!
+
=
Also on a seperate note.... I am not getting ANY emails for my favorite threads. I checked all my settings and everything looks fine. Boy it sure is a pain in the ass to follow all my threads manually. Anyone else ever had this problem?
what is that? is it spelled with one 'r' ?
Why you bustin' my old balls? (no ayo)
OKAY.... Microwave?
And yes I already tried googling rane microwave.
Forgive me I live in a hot cave with 10k records and that's 9k more than I want.
Also... nobody ever answered whether or not dildo/microwave plays AAC format without any problems?
Thanks!
why don't you just burn the cd's you want to seel and stick them in a binder. Therefore you have the flexibility to re-rip when newer formats emerge.