Apple’s Adoption of HE-AAC (aacPlus) Now Official

[MacBytes]

Category: Apple Software
Link: Apple’s Adoption of HE-AAC (aacPlus) Now Official
Posted on MacBytes.com

Approved by Mudbug

[Windowlicker]

This news sounds VERY good! Now I'm waiting for Tiger even more! I really really hope it's not gonna be until WWDC'05 :P

[stoid]

Will you have to buy Tiger to use aacPlus or H.264? Or might these codecs just be part of QuickTime 7 for Panther? IIRC each previous Star Wars prequel International trailer has been released shortly after new QuickTime versions and requires the update. Star Wars Ep III in H.264 anyone?

[mkrishnan]

So what is the big prize in aacPlus? I read the article but didn't really understand....is the hope smaller file sizes, or the ability to get closer to lossless at the same size, or...is it tied in to digital surround or somesuch?

[mainstreetmark]

aacPlus does sound nice. Better sound in a smaller size. Look forward to it.

If iPod supported FLAC or SHN, I'd have two more iPod sales lined up for Apple.

[shamino]

Originally Posted by mkrishnan

So what is the big prize in aacPlus? I read the article but didn't really understand....is the hope smaller file sizes, or the ability to get closer to lossless at the same size, or...is it tied in to digital surround or somesuch?

A bit of both. Higher quality at the same bitrate or the same quality at a lower bitrate, or both, depending on how you configure your encoder.

WRT surround, it almost certainly supports it. According to this link, AAC supports up to 48 channels - more than enough for any surround system you're likely to find now or in the near future. I would be shocked if AAC+ didn't support at least the same number of channels.

Also of possible interest is this page which describes AC-3 (aka "Dolby Digital"). This spec is a predecessor of AAC and is what most DVDs use for their audio.

It should be noted that almost any surround format can be used to carry more traditional mono and stereo audio programming. The AAC files you make when ripping CDs use two channels out of a possible 48. Similarly, a lot of Dolby Digital DVDs (especially of old movies) only use one or two channels out of a possible 6 (5 plus subwoofer.)

[dejo]

Is it just me or is the headline "Apple’s Adoption of HE-AAC (aacPlus) Now Official" a little confusing? It's not Apple that's adopting HE-AAC, it's the DVB. Apple is the company proposing this solution. I think a headline more akin to the MacCentral one of "Apple supported technologies approved by DVB" would've been more appropriate.

[aswitcher]

I really hope they add a new tool to iTunes that allows all of us with existing music recorded at 320kbps to automatically shrink our music whilst still retaining 320kbps...

[applextrent]

Originally Posted by mkrishnan

So what is the big prize in aacPlus? I read the article but didn't really understand....is the hope smaller file sizes, or the ability to get closer to lossless at the same size, or...is it tied in to digital surround or somesuch?

This article explains more about accPlus itself: http://www.apple-x.net/modules.php?o...ticle&sid=1162

--Trent
CEO of Apple-X.net

[dlfitch]

I think this will be key to the flash iPod release - a 512 mb player would be a lot more appealing if I could shrink my music collection down to half its present size. The best option would be a feature in iTunes that would automatically re- encode your files as the went onto the iPod, without modifying the originals on your computer.

[mkrishnan]

Thanks, Trent & Shamino! What about DRM? Does a proprietary standard like Fairplay continue to layer over aacPlus, or does it also incorporate DRM directly? I'm guessing no DRM standard is included in aacPlus, since that would be a big strategic change for Apple?

[Mord]

if it truely is 128kbps quality at 48kbps then this could allow apple to claim much higher song number capasity on ipods and higher battery life (more songs stored in flash memory = longer battery life.

[nagromme]

Sounds too good to be true, but cool if it is Especially if/when iTunes gains support for it.

[shamino]

Originally Posted by aswitcher

I really hope they add a new tool to iTunes that allows all of us with existing music recorded at 320kbps to automatically shrink our music whilst still retaining 320kbps...

Ummmmmm...... If the file shrinks then it won't be 320Kbps anymore!

I assume you really mean you want to be able to use a lower bit-rate and keep the sound quality of your existing 320kbps files, right?

[Santaduck]

After you read the article,

also read the comments thread immediately after it.

What's most interesting to me here is the reporter, his following, and his method of analyzing the news trends to come up with predictions. I'll be following him to see what else he digs up...