Nero AAC Codec 1.3.3.0

[menno]

We just released a new version of our command line AAC encoder, decoder and MPEG-4 tagger applications on our website.

EDIT:
The webpage for the Nero AAC Encoder on the Nero website is currently unavailable. For a direct download of the package click here (ftp://ftp6.nero.com/tools/NeroDigitalAudio.zip).
A temporary information page can be found here (http://www.audiocoding.com/nero_aacenc.html).

Release notes for version 1.3.3.0:

neroAacEnc:
Improved multichannel encoding
Solved compatibility issues with some hardware devices
Improved CBR bitrate control
Ignore wave file length of 0 on -ignorelength
Solved issue with very long files and -2pass
Removed special SSE compile, all optimizations have been merged with the normal compile
Linux version speed optimized
Encoder exits gracefully and writes valid MP4 file on ctrl+c

neroAacDec:
Fixed incorrect channel output for 7.1 encodings

neroAacTag:
Linux version available

[sehgal.v7]

Cheers!!

[fibbingbear]

This is awesome :) ND-AAC is my favorite. Thanks for letting us know ahead of time :) :) :)

[buzzqw]

Fixed incorrect channel output for 7.1 encodings

does it mean that Nero AAC is able to encode to 7.1 aac ?

BHH

[menno]

does it mean that Nero AAC is able to encode to 7.1 aac ?


Yes it does

[Gusar]

Linux version speed optimizedThank you especially for that one.

[burfadel]

The title in the link still shows Nero 1.1.34.2, however the download is 1.3.0.0.

[menno]

The title in the link still shows Nero 1.1.34.2, however the download is 1.3.0.0.

Yeah this is known, that's why I mentioned it in the first post ;)

[lexor]

So what is the difference between this and the encoder in Nero suit?

[menno]

So what is the difference between this and the encoder in Nero suit?

Technically there is no difference between the command line encoder and the DLL included with the suite. In the suite the applications usually determine what options and possibilities are exposed to the user (that usually means less than is actually possible). The command line encoder gives more freedom in that sense.
The version currently in the suite is from the 1.1 version range, with some bug fixes compared to the previous command line encoder. The 1.3 versions will be in the next generation of Nero Suite.

[madshi]

Thank you for the new version! :)

A few questions, if you don't mind:

(1) Is 6.1 encoding supported? If so, in which order do you expect the channels?

(2) Did you find the time to analyze if 2pass encoding really produces superior results compared to 1pass encoding? If so, can you describe in which situation 2pass encoding has advantages and in which maybe not? And what are the exact advantages? (Still trying to decide whether it's worth it to add 2pass encoding support to eac3to. The main problem with 2pass encoding is that I can't pipe the data directly to the encoder via stdin).

Thanks a bunch!!

[cubanresourceful]

So, I wonder, what would be the difference between using NeroAAC or iTunes encoder? If you don't mind me asking, I can use both through CLI, (though, only NeroAAC works in foobar for me).

[tebasuna51]

Thanks for the new version!
Really the multichannel encode is improved.
The "Ignore wave file length of 0 on -ignorelength" is also welcome.

@madshi
1) Seems 6.1 isn't supported:
"ERROR: could not open AAC encoder"

2) I think the ABR encode (the only than need a 2pass method) have a main advantage over VBR: know the final file size.
But the criterion to encode must be the quality instead the file size.
Talking about movie tracks (eac3to scope), the differences are very big and the needed bitrate can be unpredictable.

[menno]

thanks for answering that tebusana51.

We currently support mono, stereo, 5.1 and 7.1 (and 2.1, but good luck decoding that properly). More general input configuration support is on the list for next version.

[LoRd_MuldeR]

If so, can you describe in which situation 2pass encoding has advantages and in which maybe not?

I'd guess that 2-Pass has a significant advantage for a source with a long "silent" part at the end. While 1-Pass cannot look ahead (at least not very far) and has to reserve bits for the upcoming parts, 2-Pass can move the bits to the parts where they are really needed and it doesn't need to reserve any bits for "unknown" (not yet processed) parts...

And what are the exact advantages?

2-Pass should deliver "constant quality" in ABR mode, while 1-Pass ABR can only optimize locally...

[hubblec4]

does it mean that Nero AAC is able to encode to 7.1 aac ?

BHH

How can I make a 7.1encode with neroaac.
I use eac3to. there i load a 7.1channel wav or a 7.1 dts hi-res file.
as output i use neroaac quallity 0.35 but the encoder shows the message neroaac can only convert to 6channel and downconvert the surround-channles to 5.1

maybe madshi can help??


hubble

[tebasuna51]

How can I make a 7.1encode with neroaac.

Until madshi modify eac3to you can use this command line:

NeroAacEnc -q 0.35 -if 8_Ch.wav -of 8_Ch.mp4

Warning: At least my ffdshow version and Bass libraries can't decode properly 7.1 mp4.
Faad, Foobar2000 and of course neroAacDec seems decode without problems.

[skromnibog]

I'd guess that 2-Pass has a significant advantage for a source with a long "silent" part at the end. While 1-Pass cannot look ahead (at least not very far) and has to reserve bits for the upcoming parts, 2-Pass can move the bits to the parts where they are really needed and it doesn't need to reserve any bits for "unknown" (not yet processed) parts...
2-Pass should deliver "constant quality" in ABR mode, while 1-Pass ABR can only optimize locally...
Great answer! Thank you!

[tebasuna51]

We currently support mono, stereo, 5.1 and 7.1 (and 2.1, but good luck decoding that properly). More general input configuration support is on the list for next version.

Good to know, thanks.

There are different bitrate range for 1, 2, 6 or 8 channels?
Valid values for -br and -cbr parameters?

[hubblec4]

Until madshi modify eac3to you can use this command line:

NeroAacEnc -q 0.35 -if 8_Ch.wav -of 8_Ch.mp4

Warning: At least my ffdshow version and Bass libraries can't decode properly 7.1 mp4.
Faad, Foobar2000 and of course neroAacDec seems decode without problems.

thanks for helping.

right, i can encode it but i cant hear it. i guess the coreaac-decoder filter dont support 7.1

hubble

[Kurtnoise]

Linux version speed optimized

http://pix.nofrag.com/d/3/6/f04d84c7c8d1708b163e70df8f535.png (http://pix.nofrag.com/d/3/6/f04d84c7c8d1708b163e70df8f535.html)

http://pix.nofrag.com/c/7/5/8b288473f3a1305c40769f67d984c.png (http://pix.nofrag.com/c/7/5/8b288473f3a1305c40769f67d984c.html)

nice...:)

w/ Core2 Duo T550 @1.83GHz

[menno]

Good to know, thanks.

There are different bitrate range for 1, 2, 6 or 8 channels?
Valid values for -br and -cbr parameters?

I won't post the exact ranges here, but in general, 3 times more channels will have 3 times higher bitrate limits, etc :)

[shon3i]

Good to know, thanks.

There are different bitrate range for 1, 2, 6 or 8 channels?
Valid values for -br and -cbr parameters?

For 6 channels:

HE-AAC 192-256kbps (128kbps in some cases)
LC-AAC everything above.

If you want good/transparent quality.

for 8 channels maybe HE-AAC @320 and above.

[tomos]

hi, is this multithreaded?

also, can anyone recommend a good GUI for this (in windows i mean)?

thanks guys :)

[LoRd_MuldeR]

also, can anyone recommend a good GUI for this (in windows i mean)?

I might be prejudiced, but:
http://forum.doom9.org/showpost.php?p=920811&postcount=1

And this one is multi-threaded, independent from the encoder in use ;)

[tomos]

ahh, nice.

will check it out. thanks mate :)

[KornX]

Hey menno,

are there any plans for that?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG-4_SLS

Just curious!

KornX

[menno]

Hey menno,

are there any plans for that?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG-4_SLS


Plans yes (for a lot of things, BTW ;) ), but nothing has been decided yet. The technology is certainly very interesting.

[menno]

New link: http://www.nero.com/eng/downloads-nerodigital-nero-aac-codec.php

[LoRd_MuldeR]

New link: http://www.nero.com/eng/downloads-nerodigital-nero-aac-codec.php

Damn, this breaks the suggested download link in my applications :D

Why did you guys not add a redirect at least? :p

[madshi]

This page is still not updated:

http://www.nero.com/eng/down-ndaudio.php

Will that be updated sooner or alter? I'm asking because eac3to polls this page to find out whether there's a new Nero AAC version available. Or is there a better page I should check? It would be nice if you could keep the URL stable. Thanks! :)

[menno]

I think that page will be removed, but I'm not sure. The web team has been notified that this page is still there with the old version numbers.

[madshi]

Will the new URL stay constant for future updates?

I'm wondering whether it makes any sense to keep an "is a new version available?" check in my tool if Nero keeps changing the URLs with every new version! ;)

Thanks!

[LoRd_MuldeR]

I think that page will be removed, but I'm not sure. The web team has been notified that this page is still there with the old version numbers.

They could add a simple redirect instead of removing it...

And they should remember the existence of this URL too:
http://www.nero.com/enu/down-ndaudio.php


Will the new URL stay constant for future updates?

I hope so, too :)

Of course one could check for "http://www.my-server.com/check-nero.php" and redirect to the actual Nero site from there.
This way you could keep URL changes transparent to the application, but it adds dependency to another server...

[Kurtnoise]

why not using the ftp instead ?

ftp://ftp6.nero.com/tools/NeroDigitalAudio.zip

[menno]

Yes, I think the ftp location will remain constant. The current change in web address is mostly due to the total redesign that was launched today, I don't expect this to happen often. The old address has been constant for at least a couple of years.

[LoRd_MuldeR]

why not using the ftp instead ?

ftp://ftp6.nero.com/tools/NeroDigitalAudio.zip

I don't think the Nero AG will be happy if I deeplink to files on their FTP server, skipping the license agreement :p

[madshi]

I don't think the Nero AG will be happy if I deeplink to files on their FTP server, skipping the license agreement :p
Also I'd have to completely download the file to check if it's new or not. What I want is just notifying the user that there's a new version available.

Anyway, if there's hope that the new web URL will stay the same for a while then that's good enough for me. Thanks!

[LoRd_MuldeR]

Also I'd have to completely download the file to check if it's new or not. What I want is just notifying the user that there's a new version available.

You could check the file date without downloading it...

[madshi]

You could check the file date without downloading it...
True.

[plonk420]

this encoder blew my mind ... after looking at multiple multi-channel encoders, this one worked on my first try...! (source was 24-bit 5.1 48khz audio from DVD-A discs) no issues with winamp, MPC, or even quicktime that somehow got loaded on one of the computers here at work...

i really didn't want to have to do a 24bit-to-16bit conversion for each mono file for BeSweet or the old DTS encoder. thanks guys!

[JustABDFan]

Is there any way to tell neroaacenc to output a raw aac stream instead of an .mp4?

[menno]

Is there any way to tell neroaacenc to output a raw aac stream instead of an .mp4?

No, only mp4 is supported

[Wedgedkc]

Great job! Any chance of an osx version?

[LoRd_MuldeR]

Is there any way to tell neroaacenc to output a raw aac stream instead of an .mp4?No, only mp4 is supported

MP4Box can be used to extract raw AAC from MP4 container...

[menno]

Great job! Any chance of an osx version?

It's on the list and we understand that many people would like this, but no guarantees that it will ever come.

[lexor]

Shouldn't the Linux version run in command prompt on OS X? I recall running a bunch of linux apps under osx back in university, hell I even ran Octave (matlab clone), and that baby is anything but a simple app (it did require installation of X11 though).

[LoRd_MuldeR]

If possible at all, then a Linux-x86 build would run on OS X on Intel-x86 CPU only. Running on OS X on PowerPC CPU is impossible, except for using an emulator (and loosing a LOT of speed) maybe...

[Selur]

Would be nice if one could set the channel order in neroaacenc so when piping multichannel ac3/dts/.. from ffmpeg to neroaacenc one would not have a wrong channel mapping,...

[menno]

Why doesn't ffmpeg output MS channel order?