AC3 to AAC/MP4 with foobar2000

tiki4 · 30th December 2003, 16:19

Topic:

My friend tuning asked me about different ways to transcode AC3 to the AAC format. There are quite some options now that all make use of the Nero AAC encoder. Nero AAC is the only publically available codec that provides the 'High Efficiency' (HE-AAC) profile for low bitrate encoding which comes in very handy for DivX/XviD movies. Currently Nencode, Oagmachine (featuring BeSweet/bsn.dll) and foobar2000 make use of the Nero engine. However, foobar2000 is a little bit different it seems, as it doesn't use the Nero libraries directly, but the Nero API IMHO.

Aim:

Well, aim of this thread should be to compile a guide how to trancode AC3 to AAC/MP4 in foobar2000. fb2k isn't the easiest program to use IMHO and people who did it could share their experience here.

Differences to Oagmachine:

THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT IS NO LONGER VALID, RESAMPLING ISSUE IS SOLVED WITH BeSweet 1.5b25, THANKS DSPGuru

Well, Nencode and BeSweet share a common problem which has to do with resampling. Choosing a certain bitrate or VBR profile the Nero encoder expects certain sampling rates to be provided. Now all DVD audio is 48 kHz and the current solution is to resample in BeSweet/Oagmachine to 44.1 kHz, otherwise the output file gets broken in certain scenarios. fb2k on the other hand seems to manage this 'more correctly'. In what sense is to be found out.

Preliminary how-to (for 5.1 output):

In the first place you need foobar2000 from Case's site. It is labeled 'special installer'. During installation make sure that AC3 is selected in the optional components/Input section and also the disk writer component. Also you need the Nero encoder/decoder from the same site. Copy the included foo_nero.dll to your foobar2000/components folder. Finally you need a full version of Nero 6 installed.

Now here begins the fun: Add an AC3 file to the fb2k playlist. Now in the preferences look for components/diskwriter. Select 'Nero encoder' as output format. Check that DSP and replaygain isn't used. Now check for 'Nero encoder' component and select "MPEG4 Advanced Audio Coding" as output format. Configure the Nero plugin to your likings. Don't forget to enable 'dynamic range reduction' in the AC3 component settings. Now close preferences again and right click your AC3 in the fb2k playlist window. Choose convert. That's it in principle. You may change the output naming and the output directory.

Feeback:

Now, please provide your feedback and corrections! Tell us your findings and remember that the AC3 decoding part in foobar isn't azid, but liba52 like Valex's AC3filter uses it. Thus different results are absolutely possible.

Thanks to tuning for the idea.

30th December 2003, 16:19	#1 \| Link
tiki4 Registered User Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Who Knows? Posts: 929	AC3 to AAC/MP4 with foobar2000 Topic: My friend tuning asked me about different ways to transcode AC3 to the AAC format. There are quite some options now that all make use of the Nero AAC encoder. Nero AAC is the only publically available codec that provides the 'High Efficiency' (HE-AAC) profile for low bitrate encoding which comes in very handy for DivX/XviD movies. Currently Nencode, Oagmachine (featuring BeSweet/bsn.dll) and foobar2000 make use of the Nero engine. However, foobar2000 is a little bit different it seems, as it doesn't use the Nero libraries directly, but the Nero API IMHO. Aim: Well, aim of this thread should be to compile a guide how to trancode AC3 to AAC/MP4 in foobar2000. fb2k isn't the easiest program to use IMHO and people who did it could share their experience here. Differences to Oagmachine: THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT IS NO LONGER VALID, RESAMPLING ISSUE IS SOLVED WITH BeSweet 1.5b25, THANKS DSPGuru Well, Nencode and BeSweet share a common problem which has to do with resampling. Choosing a certain bitrate or VBR profile the Nero encoder expects certain sampling rates to be provided. Now all DVD audio is 48 kHz and the current solution is to resample in BeSweet/Oagmachine to 44.1 kHz, otherwise the output file gets broken in certain scenarios. fb2k on the other hand seems to manage this 'more correctly'. In what sense is to be found out. Preliminary how-to (for 5.1 output): In the first place you need foobar2000 from Case's site. It is labeled 'special installer'. During installation make sure that AC3 is selected in the optional components/Input section and also the disk writer component. Also you need the Nero encoder/decoder from the same site. Copy the included foo_nero.dll to your foobar2000/components folder. Finally you need a full version of Nero 6 installed. Now here begins the fun: Add an AC3 file to the fb2k playlist. Now in the preferences look for components/diskwriter. Select 'Nero encoder' as output format. Check that DSP and replaygain isn't used. Now check for 'Nero encoder' component and select "MPEG4 Advanced Audio Coding" as output format. Configure the Nero plugin to your likings. Don't forget to enable 'dynamic range reduction' in the AC3 component settings. Now close preferences again and right click your AC3 in the fb2k playlist window. Choose convert. That's it in principle. You may change the output naming and the output directory. Feeback: Now, please provide your feedback and corrections! Tell us your findings and remember that the AC3 decoding part in foobar isn't azid, but liba52 like Valex's AC3filter uses it. Thus different results are absolutely possible. Thanks to tuning for the idea. Last edited by tiki4; 8th January 2004 at 09:44.