Where is Apple Lossless Encoder?

[shacker]

The docs at

http://wiki.audacityteam.org/index.php? ... s_and_iPod

say "You can also choose "Apple Lossless Encoder" . I have installed the ffmpeg binaries, and Audacity has located them. I have restarted Audacity, but still, there is no ALE encoder option in the Export dialog's Format dropdown. I'm using 1.3.12 beta. Am I missing something, or are the docs wrong?

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

[kozikowski]

You can get there by exporting as WAV and importing into iTunes set for ALE encoder.
I can't find it either. I was half-way expecting Quicktime Pro to be able to do it, but not so far.

Koz

[steve]

The docs ... say "You can also choose "Apple Lossless Encoder" .

The docs say:
"Audacity 1.2 cannot export to Apple formats, but you can export to WAV or AIFF and convert to M4A in iTunes by choosing "AAC Encoder" in iTunes preferences as above. You can also choose "Apple Lossless Encoder"."
I agree that the wording is not very clear, but it means "In iTunes you can also choose Aple Lossless Encoder".

It goes on to say:
Current versions of Audacity 1.3 can export directly to compressed M4A by installing the optional FFmpeg library
It is the lossy Apple format (M4A) that is supported by FFmpeg and can be accessed toward the bottom of the file format list in the Export dialogue as "M4A (AAC) Files (FFmpeg)"

If anyone would like to suggest better wording for that part of the documentation please feel free to make suggestions.

[Gale Andrews]

If anyone would like to suggest better wording for that part of the documentation please feel free to make suggestions.

Sorry if you were confused. I''ve rewritten that "What format should I export to?" section so I hope it is clearer now:
http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Expor ... s_and_iPod




Gale

[steve]

Thanks Gale,that looks clearer.
There's a couple of little comments that I'd like to make re. the exact wording of the text. Should I post that here, on the wiki discussion page, or as in-line <!-- comments -->

[Gale Andrews]

Thanks Gale,that looks clearer.
There's a couple of little comments that I'd like to make re. the exact wording of the text. Should I post that here, on the wiki discussion page, or as in-line <!-- comments -->

You may as well make them here since we started this here.

But it was only chance I happened to see this thread. Generally it may be better to comment on the Wiki talk page rather than ask for suggestions here (or at least, do that as well as ask here).


Thanks


Gale

[steve]

Quotes from http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Expor ... s_and_iPod

If burning that file to a CD, make sure the exported file is stereo.

Is that strictly necessary? Most CD burning applications will accept mono WAV files.
Perhaps something like:
"Some CD burning programs require stereo files, in which case ...."

Click Edit > Preferences (Audacity > Preferences on a Mac computer) then File Formats tab: "Uncompressed Export Format" section, and choose WAV (Microsoft 16 bit PCM) or AIFF (Apple/SGI 16 bit PCM).
In the current Audacity 1.3 Beta, do not open Preferences, but after the File > Export step, choose the WAV 16 bit PCM or AIFF 16 bit PCM option in the export window.

As Audacity 1.2.x is due for replacement, would it be better to reverse the order and put the Audacity 1.3 method first?

AAC produces a slightly smaller file than an MP3 of comparable quality.

Is that true?
Apple claim that AAC is best, Microsoft claim that WMA is best, Xiph claim that Ogg is best, Lame claim that MP3 is best.
I thought that most ABX testing indicated no significant difference between modern lossy codecs at comparable bit rates: http://listeningtests.t35.com/

Audacity 1.2 cannot export to either variant of M4A, but you can export to WAV or AIFF and convert to M4A in iTunes. To do this, follow the MP3 conversion steps above but instead of "MP3 Encoder", choose "AAC Encoder" for lossy AAC encoding or "Apple Lossless Encoder" for lossless ALAC encoding.

Current versions of Audacity 1.3 (Beta) can export directly to M4A (AAC, but not ALAC) by installing the optional FFmpeg library. If you are exporting an AAC file for mobile devices, you can change the M4A extension after the filename and dot to M4R or 3GP as required by the device.

Again would it be better to put Audacity 1.3 first?
The Google Code download page seems to suggest that 1.3 has become the dominant version.

Vorbis is a lossy compressed format similar to MP3 and M4A (AAC), but takes less space than either for a file of comparable quality.

As much as I like Ogg, I don't think that is true either.

Export Location

Is it worth mentioning write permissions?
Is it worth mentioning "valid characters" here?
There's been a few posts recently from users that have been burnt by these issues.

[waxcylinder]

AAC produces a slightly smaller file than an MP3 of comparable quality.

Is that true?
Apple claim that AAC is best, Microsoft claim that WMA is best, Xiph claim that Ogg is best, Lame claim that MP3 is best.
I thought that most ABX testing indicated no significant difference between modern lossy codecs at comparable bit rates: http://listeningtests.t35.com/

My understanding is that bit-rate for bit-rate and size for size AAC is generally reckoned to give better audio quality than MP3. It is also my understanding that the difference is more noticeable at lower bitrates and that if you are using 256 or 320 then the difference between the two is somewhat minimal.

WC

[steve]

My understanding is that bit-rate for bit-rate and size for size AAC is generally reckoned to give better audio quality than MP3.

That's not what the 128 kbps ABX tests from October 2008 show.
http://listeningtests.t35.com/mp3-128-1/results.htm

For reasonably good sound quality there's probably not much point considering anything below 128 kbps for stereo audio.

[waxcylinder]

I'm still cross with myself that I started out with 192 rather than 256 or 320. I did this at a time when iPod disks we maxing out at 60gB so it was a compromise between qulaity and size occupancy - now you can go up to 160gB I record/rip now at 256VBR, but I'm being lazy about re-ripping the earlier stuff that I did at 192 (for a start it would screw up my playlists

But yes 128 is the absolute lowest for music that anybody should consider - and as you say Steve that is "reasonable" rather than "good". Below that it will sound bubbly/gargly.

WC