Nero Releases FREE Reference Quality MPEG-4 Audio Command Line Encoder

[Ivan Dimkovic]

I am pleased to announce the launch of FREE Reference Quality MPEG-4 Audio solution from Nero, in the command line form!

* First in the world FREE 2-Pass MPEG-4 AAC Encoder
* Compression Ratios ranging from ultra high (58 CDs fit on one!) to High-End Audio (2.5:1), for absolutely perfect audiophile encodings
* Crystal Clear, Award Winning Sound Quality at every compression ratio and bit rate!
* Support for Embedded Album Art (Covers, Booklets, Lyrics!)
* Store Entire Audio Album in a Single .mp4 File with all the Features of an Audio CD embedded inside, but at a fraction of the space!
* Reference Quality MPEG-4 Audio Codec
* Fully Compatible with the Latest Version of the State-of-the-art MPEG-4 Audio Standard (LC-AAC, HE-AAC and HE-AAC v2)

http://www.nero.com/nerodigital/eng/Nero_Digital_Audio.html

[layer3maniac]

Right on Ivan!!! Very nice surprise indeed!

[buzzqw]

a very nice gift ! :thanks:

BHH

[Naito]

Thanks. Thanks. An one more ... thanks.

[layer3maniac]

I tested the 2 pass, using an old frontend I originally made for PsyTEL. Seems to work beautifully.

What a long, strange trip it's been.

[shon3i]

Encoder not working propertly i tried to encode and get fatality close app. cmd used

"neroAacEnc.exe" -he -br 96000 -if "proba.wav" -of "proba.mp4"


same thing i get when try to view help neroAacEnc.exe -help

[GmorG McRoth]

As I read on Hydrogenaudio forums there is some problems with AMD XP cpus (they don't support SSE2 or something like that)

I wonder do this support 5.1 sound encoding?

[shon3i]

As I read on Hydrogenaudio forums there is some problems with AMD XP cpus (they don't support SSE2 or something like that)New encoder and very big bug

I wonder do this support 5.1 sound encoding?
Yes support it, i tested with earlier version now can be good as Coding Technologies, maybe 2-pass can help something with better quality but will see

[GmorG McRoth]

Yes support it, i tested with earlier version now can be good as Coding Technologies, maybe 2-pass can help something with better quality but will see
hmm I think this is new encoder it's in exe state not in DLL like when it was part of nero package. I was wondering if they did not cripple it since it's free and all.

[shon3i]

hmm I think this is new encoder it's in exe state not in DLL like when it was part of nero package. I was wondering if they did not cripple it since it's free and all.
Yes i know what you think. This is only cli app for dll from nero 7.2.0.3b and worked with 5.1 via nero apps, so why work now. You think, is free app then have some limit. I don't think that

[GmorG McRoth]

I just have very little trust to ahead, I know I shuld have little more of it but after nero 7 I realy been unhappy with them.

[shon3i]

I just have very little trust to ahead, I know I shuld have little more of it but after nero 7 I realy been unhappy with them.
Totality i agree with you. I totaly disaponted with old AAC codec especialy 5.1 encoding. My favor is Coding Techologies. Whole Nero 7 package is so bugy.

[GmorG McRoth]

what was bad with 5.1 audio in nero 7? I did not notice anything horrifing at ~250 bitrates I was using for my encodes.

Off topic --- man I'm so happy I can uninstall nero, and never install it again (hopefully)

[shon3i]

Not only with HE and bitrates forom 96-128kbs, wihich is very terrible. You should be try Coding techologies for example @ 96kbs to see what is excelent quality for low rate comparing to old nero 7. Aslo CT is better at higer rates and LC fo 6ch for now. I not test this new encoder propertly becouse i don't have much wish to extract ac3->5.1wav and then covert it to aac using bugy NeroWave Editor. Now wait this cli app without sse2 support to see results.

btw. Encoding to AAC with high rate have no sense better keep ac3. Right

[GmorG McRoth]

I kinda like having mp4 file and this makes me use mp3 or AAC for audio and since i like to keep 5.1 audio directs me to AAC.

I never had chance to use CT. CT is included in pro version of winamp right? but i though it supports only stereo (I don't know I don't use winamp)

[shon3i]

I kinda like having mp4 file and this makes me use mp3 or AAC for audio and since i like to keep 5.1 audio directs me to AAC.Yes that's the mp4 limit.

I never had chance to use CT. CT is included in pro version of winamp right? but i though it supports only stereo (I don't know I don't use winamp)
No CT is completly free, and you can use it via BeHappy/BeLight/BeSweet, my favor is BeHappy. In Winamp is only stereo encoder becouse for audio cr rips only need stereo right, and winamp have little limited encoder, but when you register you get all acees to encoder and all options for stereo encoding, but you don't need register for normal rips

With BeLight/BeHappy/BeSweet and other third party apps, you have full support to encoder which including HE-AAC, HE-AACv2, LC-AAC, 5.1 encoding everything

[GmorG McRoth]

I noticed that nero encoder has problem with getting proper bitrates

I set it to encode at 192 kbit/s and file comes at 158

and the bigger the sampling rate the bigger the problem with 24bit 96KHz file reasult is at 115 (though at more silent parts avarage is about 80 kbit and sounds very smeared).

[shon3i]

Of curse first download BeHappy form here (http://www.mytempdir.com/642371), in this package have everything you need for CT encodig. You aslo need NicAudio.dll (http://www.mytempdir.com/642384)if you sorce will be ac3,dts etc you must put it into AviSynth directory. for more info about behappy search audio forum, Thanks

[Ivan Dimkovic]

hmm I think this is new encoder it's in exe state not in DLL like when it was part of nero package. I was wondering if they did not cripple it since it's free and all.

First of all, I would kindly ask you to stop this FUD - Nero Command Line encoder has absolutely no limits and it has highest possible quality - in fact, it has more options than Nero 7.2 plug-in, aimed for professionals.

Second, regarding the 5.1 encoding - shon3i, I would really like if you you test it before making any quality claims - I am quite sure you will be positively surprised.

Third, AMD bug has been fixed just now - new version will be online very soon.

And, last - but not least - may I also point out the three things:

- This is the first in the world, completely legal, and unlimited command line encoder (it is not a hack of third-party application) - with most powerful options you would expect from the command line app, e.g:

* Support for sampling rates of 8 kHz to 96 kHz
* Support for CBR, VBR, 2-PASS CBR and ABR
* Support for 32-bit floating point PCM input
* Full support for up to 7.1 channels
* Support for hinting for streaming

- HE-AAC encoder was proven to be the top performer in the 48 kbps area - ahead of Coding Technologies encoding solution. In fact, I have a very strong belief that you will find it the same, top-performing quality for 5.1

So, please - once again, do the tests and you will figure out why Nero is different.

[Ivan Dimkovic]

I noticed that nero encoder has problem with getting proper bitrates

I set it to encode at 192 kbit/s and file comes at 158


How about using -cbr 192000 switch? There is a readme.txt in the package.

[Skuto]

As I read on Hydrogenaudio forums there is some problems with AMD XP cpus (they don't support SSE2 or something like that)


The (currently available) encoder requires an SSE2 capable processor.

It has nothing to do with AMD, other than that the AMD Athlon XP doesn't have SSE2 capability (but neither does the Pentium III, whereas the Athlon64 or Opteron does and works with the published package).

[GmorG McRoth]

hard day Ivan Dimkovic huh, you sound stressed.

First of all I did not intended to spread any FUD if it sounds that way i'm sorry at the time it was just plain question for me.

my bad about bitrate thing, I typed just 192 without zeros no wonder bitrate was wird heh... I depend on GUIs too much lately.

[Skuto]

hmm I think this is new encoder it's in exe state not in DLL like when it was part of nero package. I was wondering if they did not cripple it since it's free and all.

The encoder is full featured and in fact newer than the one shipped in Nero 7.2.

[GmorG McRoth]

The encoder is full featured and in fact newer than the one shipped in Nero 7.2.
Yes, I understand.

[FFWD]

Just curious; has work started on integrating this encoder with Exact Audio Copy & MeGUI?

[Skuto]

Not only with HE and bitrates forom 96-128kbs, wihich is very terrible. You should be try Coding techologies for example @ 96kbs to see what is excelent quality for low rate comparing to old nero 7. Aslo CT is better at higer rates and LC fo 6ch for now.

I'm sorry, but this is just...not correct. Please see for example the latest test from the LAME authors which clearly show Nero to be equal or better than CT. I think I'll trust the results from a public, open test much more than numbers made up by some random person, thank you very much.

http://www.mp3-tech.org/tests/aac_48/results.html

There was also an 128kbps test, in which Nero scored equal with iTunes, LAME and Vorbis.

[Ivan Dimkovic]

hard day Ivan Dimkovic huh, you sound stressed.

Nothing beats travelling to three countries in 3 days :) But no, I am not stressed.

Point of my post is - there is a significant amount of FUD-like information here especially coming from few people, and I would kindly ask all people to test the software before making the quality claims and that's all ;)

When it comes to bit-rate, the point was not in 192 vs. 192000 but in -cbr switch. -br is ABR, -q is VBR and -cbr means CBR.

If you want perfectly CBR 192 kbps encodings for some streaming purpose - please use the -cbr switch ;)

[layer3maniac]

CBR works fine for me. Thanks Ivan, very gracious to give this away.

[GmorG McRoth]

When it comes to bit-rate, the point was not in 192 vs. 192000 but in -cbr switch. -br is ABR, -q is VBR and -cbr means CBR.

If you want perfectly CBR 192 kbps encodings for some streaming purpose - please use the -cbr switch ;)

from readme

-br <number> : Specifies "target bitrate" mode.
<number> is target bitrate in bits per second.
-cbr <number> : Specifies "target bitrate (streaming)" mode.
<number> is target bitrate in bits per second.
When neither of above quality/bitrate options is used,
the encoder defaults to equivalent of -q 0.5

this is little vague. I think people already know terminology like ABR and CBR, using it in readme whuld not be going too far.

[Ivan Dimkovic]

I think it is a good proposal, thanks - I will look into changing the terminology.

On the other hand, the bug was not AMD-related, but related to CPUs without SSE2 - so latest Intel and AMD chips were not affected by this bug.

[layer3maniac]

I think people already know terminology like ABR and CBR, using it in readme whuld not be going too far. -cbr <number> : Specifies "target bitrate (streaming)" mode. If people already know terminology like CBR then shouldn't they be able to comprehend that?

[GmorG McRoth]

If people already know terminology like CBR then shouldn't they be able to comprehend that?
Switch names can mean meny things I think i'm not alone who reads switch discription without much of thought about switch name.

[siddharthagandhi]

is there a GUI available I'm not good with command lines i hate writing it in and all that

[shon3i]

Second, regarding the 5.1 encoding - shon3i, I would really like if you you test it before making any quality claims - I am quite sure you will be positively surprised.I can't test becouse i have AMD machine. btw i do a little test with nero apps and i very happy with quality of 5.1 encoding but quality is not much better than CT, Sometimes i think is much wrost but when i test 2pass and other things from cli encoder i say my final word.
I'm sorry, but this is just...not correct. Please see for example the latest test from the LAME authors which clearly show Nero to be equal or better than CT. I think I'll trust the results from a public, open test much more than numbers made up by some random person, thank you very much.

http://www.mp3-tech.org/tests/aac_48/results.html

There was also an 128kbps test, in which Nero scored equal with iTunes, LAME and Vorbis.I am talking about 5.1 (6ch) encoding not stereo, so lastest Nero 7 encoders are very bad in 5.1 encoding, until this last which is now good, but from my some short test i think is not again so good like CT, but i don't try 2-pass mode becouse have trouble with encoder and wait new realise. btw about this test @48kbs, now when nero have CBR implementation we have to do a new test and see what is better when both codec have same settings and we have to say what is better.

[SeeMoreDigital]

Oh wow Ivan, I really was not expecting this... Many thanks :)

I hope to test the encoder as soon as somebody incorporates it into a GUI ;)


Cheers

[Skuto]

I can't test becouse i have AMD machine. btw i do a little test with nero apps and i very happy with quality of 5.1 encoding but quality is not much better than CT, Sometimes i think is much wrost but when i test 2pass and other things from cli encoder i say my final word.
I am talking about 5.1 (6ch) encoding not stereo, so lastest Nero 7 encoders are very bad in 5.1 encoding, until this last which is now good, but from my some short test i think is not again so good like CT, but i don't try 2-pass mode becouse have trouble with encoder and wait new realise. btw about this test @48kbs, now when nero have CBR implementation we have to do a new test and see what is better when both codec have same settings and we have to say what is better.

So, you can't test because you have a non-SSE2 machine, you tested and it's worse but you can't test it and you wait for a new release, you need a CBR implementation (which Nero has always had)...nothing what you say makes any sense whatsoever.

[Skuto]

Oh wow Ivan, I really was not expecting this... Many thanks :)

I hope to test the encoder as soon as somebody incorporates it into a GUI ;)


Cheers

Aren't they selling the GUI for 60 bucks on nero.com? :)

[GmorG McRoth]

So, you can't test because you have a non-SSE2 machine, you tested and it's worse but you can't test it and you wait for a new release, you need a CBR implementation (which Nero has always had)...nothing what you say makes any sense whatsoever.
He meant he tested with older version that was bundled with nero, If i'm not mistaken.

[GodofaGap]

First of all, I want so say: many thanks! This is the first time I can try AAC with the same ease and comparable quality as LAME and Vorbis. :)

About the bitrate, I encoded about half an hr of 5.1 audio with "-br 192000 -he". Afterwards, foobar2000 reported it to have 198 kbps. Is this an issue due to container overhead? Or did the encoder really miss the bitrate by 6 kbps (which wouldn't be that bad, just wondering)?

[Ivan Dimkovic]

If you used -br switch, you activated the ABR mode - which might have a miss in bit-rate within 5% range.

If you want to have 192 kbps constant bit-rate file, you could use -cbr instead of -br (however I would recommend this unless you have some very strict streaming requirements in mind)

[layer3maniac]

Just to clarify, 2pass is useless in cbr mode, no?

[Ivan Dimkovic]

Currently - 2pass should be used with -br command line switch

[GodofaGap]

If you used -br switch, you activated the ABR mode - which might have a miss in bit-rate within 5% range.

5 % deviation is acceptable to me. Thanks for the clarification!

[layer3maniac]

I just did the soundtrack for American Beauty using -br 192000, -2pass, in 6 channel. The quality is SUPERB!

[shon3i]

So, you can't test because you have a non-SSE2 machine, you tested and it's worse but you can't test it and you wait for a new release, you need a CBR implementation (which Nero has always had)...nothing what you say makes any sense whatsoever.
You not understand me, i doing test with new encoder via NeroWave Editor, but not with this cli. So this is same encoder from nero 7.2.03b but in exe file. So 5.1 encoding sounds good but not good as i like.

About CBR. I think at last public test @48 nero uses ABR vs CT CBR and prove that ABR is better than CBR, everyone know that ABR is much better in any case. So Nero now have real CBR then if we have a real winner of some test we need to compare codec with same settings. Nero CBR vs CT CBR

[layer3maniac]

You not understand me, i doing test with new encoder via NeroWave Editor, but not with this cli. So this is same encoder from nero 7.2.03b but in exe file. So 5.1 encoding sounds good but not good as i like. Once again...
This is NOT "the same encoder from nero 7.2.03b but in exe file".

[BigDid]

Oh wow Ivan, I really was not expecting this... Many thanks :)

I hope to test the encoder as soon as somebody incorporates it into a GUI ;)


Cheers
Hi SMD,

Check out Belight next rev, Kurtnoise is stating (in a french forum) that he is working on it :)

And my thanks to the devs and NERO for this gift.

Did

[Rockaria]

Finally, a great (official : legit) addition to the AAC (he) (multi channel) users community. Hope h/w vendors provide the fully supported(he/hev2, vbr, 6~ch) portable firmwares widely very soon (& cheap)!;)

I was able to integrate the cli encoder to foobar2k 0.83 for 1pass (vbr he) encoding and also have tested some 2 pass encoding with a foobar-decoded 6ch temp wav. Although it's somewhat earlier to talk about the encoding quality, I admit myself very much amused and encouraged by the quality service you provide in both ways. Thanks Nero...

By the way, maybe by the nature of the AAC codec, I found the AAC CBR bit rate fluctuates while decoding (with foobar faad & recent ffdshow with faad2 decoder) unlike other codecs, which was why I thought they were ABR or VBR before. Both CT & Nero version shows the fluctuations in CBR decodings. Any clarifications would be welcomed.

And while this version seems to support 4 bitrate modes : CBR(bitrate), VBR(quality/bitrate) and VBR(bitrate) 2pass with optional average segment period adjustment, I wonder if the last mode is anyhow related to the ABR or if the ABR mode is actually not released yet. Thanks again Ivan.

[edit] mistyping : CBR(quality/bitrate)->CBR(bitrate)

[CruNcher]

Hi Ivan :)
neroAacEnc.exe -br 160000 -2pass -if test.wav -of test

*************************************************************
* *
* Nero Digital Audio Reference MPEG-4 & 3GPP Audio Encoder *
* Copyright (C) 2006 Nero AG *
* All Rights Reserved Worldwide *
* *
* Package build date: May 1 2006 *
* *
* See -help for a complete list of available parameters. *
* *
*************************************************************
_


no current status indicator ?
at least something like 1pass running please wait... would be nice ;)

[setarip_old]

@Ivan Dimkovic

My compliments to both you and NERO ;>}

Is v.050106 the version that's been adjusted to deal properly with AMD systems?