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Convert to compressed aac

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edbro:
I'm surprised to see that I can't convert to a compressed m4a file on my Mac. I understand that you need an external encoder on a PC but on the Mac it should all be native capabilities. As it is now, I have to use a third party utility (XLD) for my conversions. I don't understand why I can't use my "powerhouse" app to do the job. I see lossless aac but not compressed. Is the capability there and I'm missing something?

blgentry:
I'm not at my Mac right now, but I think there might be an AAC or "external program" option in the Handheld Sync area.  This is not the same as a straight conversion, but it's close.

Plus, it occurs to me that if you're converting lossless to AAC that you're probably doing it to use on a portable device.  So Handheld Sync probably makes a lot of sense for what you're trying to do.

It's worth noting that MP3s are far more compatible than AACs and the quality per bit isn't enormously different.  Not trying to convince you.  Just offering an opinion.

Brian.

blgentry:
Examining the options, I now see that Covert Format *does* have an External Encoder option.  ...I had forgotten that I had used this a while back as a test to convert some files to AAC. I used the command line ffmpeg program, which I had previously installed using HomeBrew.

I recall it working well, but it's been a while.  I have the command line parameters I used if that would be of any help.  Of course you'd have to install HomeBrew and ffmpeg first...

Brian.

edbro:

--- Quote from: blgentry on December 20, 2016, 12:46:15 pm ---Plus, it occurs to me that if you're converting lossless to AAC that you're probably doing it to use on a portable device.  So Handheld Sync probably makes a lot of sense for what you're trying to do.

--- End quote ---

I still use iTunes to sync my music to my phone. I keep master copies of my music in Flac and convert to m4a for the phone. I guess I'll continue to use my third party app. I'm just surprised that I have to resort to a freeware utility to do something my paid power app can't do. It shouldn't require ffmpeg to create an m4a on a Mac. It is the native file format and the codecs are already there.

k.e.:
I would like to dig this thread back up as I found it with Google.
Are there no plans yet to implement AAC support? I listen to lossless on my Mac but I actually find AAC to be transparent (TrueVBR q110) so that's what I use to sync with iDevices.

Also ALAC is poorly implemented. I have zero conversion options. Why? What if I want to downsize from 24-88.2 to 16-44.1?

Same as user edbro, I also have to rely on XLD. I think it should be very easy to implement.

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