Nero AAC Codec
{{use American English|date=August 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Short description|Audio codec}}
{{Infobox software
| name = Nero AAC Codec
| logo =
| screenshot =
| caption =
| collapsible =
| author =
| developer = Nero AG
| released = {{Start date and age|2006|05|01|df=yes}}
| discontinued = Yes
| latest release version = 1.5.4.0 (See table below)
| latest release date = {{Start date and age|2010|02|18}}
| latest preview version =
| latest preview date =
| programming language =
| operating system = Windows, Linux
| platform = IA-32
| size = {{Nowrap|2.1 MB}}
| language = English
| genre = Encoder/Decoder/Metadata Tool
| license = Freeware
| website = https://web.archive.org/web/20160310025758/http://www.nero.com:80/enu/company/about-nero/nero-aac-codec.php
}}
__NOTOC__
Nero AAC Codec is a set of software tools for encoding and decoding Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) format audio, and editing MPEG-4 metadata. It was developed and distributed by Nero AG, and is available at no cost for Windows and Linux for non-commercial use. The codec was originally part of Nero Digital, but was later released as a stand-alone package.
Nero's AAC encoder has been very competitive when tested against other encoders in scientific listening tests, for a time, second only to Apple's AAC encoder.{{cite web|title=Listening Tests|url=http://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=Hydrogenaudio_Listening_Tests|website=HydrogenAudio|access-date=29 September 2014}}
In 2006, Chip Magazine (Germany) found that AAC files encoded with the Nero AAC encoder would consume as little as half of the space on a portable music player when compared to MP3 files of similar audio quality.{{cite web|title=Double space free: Nero AAC encoder|url=http://www.chip.de/artikel/Nero-AAC-Encoder-Speicherplatz-gratis-verdoppeln_20096997.html|publisher=Chip Magazine|access-date=29 September 2014|date=30 June 2006}}
Components and Capabilities
The current package is labeled version "1.5.1.0", but contains the following three utilities:
| class="wikitable"
! Tool !! Role !! Latest Version | ||
| neroAacEnc | AAC encoder | 1.5.4.0 (Feb 18 2010) |
| neroAacDec | AAC decoder | 1.5.1.0 (Dec 17 2009) |
| neroAacTag | MP4 metadata editor | 1.5.1.0 (Dec 17 2009) |
The encoder and decoder support MPEG-4 AAC LC, HE-AAC (AAC LC + SBR), and HE-AACv2 (LC + SBR + PS) Audio Object Types. Sample rates up to 96 kHz, and multichannel audio up to six channels (5.1 surround) are supported.
The metadata utility can read and write Nero Digital, iTunes, and Memory Stick format tags to MPEG-4 containers.{{cite web|title=Nero AAC#NeroAACTag|url=http://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=Nero_AAC#NeroAacTag|website=HydrogenAudio|access-date=28 September 2014}}
These command-line tools are commonly used by shell scripts and programs like ABCDE, Exact Audio Copy and foobar2000 to convert audio to AAC.
History
The codec{{Anchor|VisualOn}}Former Nero CoDec competitors have become part of the industry's history.{{cite web |title=FFmpeg native encoder quality assessment
|url=http://d.hatena.ne.jp/kamedo2/20120729/1343545890
|access-date=2015-01-05 |language=ja |date=2012-07-29}}{{cite web| title=AAC Encoding Guide/FAQ
|url=https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/Encode/AAC#WhichencodershouldIuseWhatprovidesthebestquality|website=FFmpeg documentation|access-date=2015-01-05}} was originally part of Nero Digital, a complete MPEG-4 Audio/Video solution. The ASP/AVC (video) codec was developed by a French company called Ateme. Nero built an in-house team to develop the AAC (audio) codec that included Ivan Dimkovic, Menno Bakker, and others.{{cite web|title=Discussion regarding people associated with Nero AAC development
|url=http://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=106393&view=findpost&p=876214
|website=HydrogenAudio |access-date=2014-10-23}} Dimkovic was the author of the PsyTel codec, and the Nero AAC codec is said to be based on this work.{{cite web |url=http://www.afterdawn.com/guides/archive/neroaac.cfm |publisher=AfterDawn.com |title=Interview of Ivan Dimkovic - The man behind Nero AAC encoder (Interviewed on 2002-12-02)
|access-date=2007-10-08}} Menno Bakker was the developer of FAAC, one of the earliest widely available AAC encoders, and also what would become its companion decoder, FAAD.{{cite web|author1=Menno Bakker|title=AAC Library API Documentat ion|url=https://stuff.mit.edu/afs/sipb/project/vlcplayer/src/faad2/docs/Ahead%20AAC%20Decoder%20library%20documentation.doc
|access-date=2014-10-01 |date=2004-07-09}} The Nero AAC codec became a stand-alone package around 2006, although still called Nero Digital Audio until 2009. Nero apparently still uses the codec in its products. Neither Dimkovic nor Bakker currently work at Nero, and development of the codec has stalled, but the software is stable and remains a reliable, and high-quality, option for AAC encoding.
See also
References
External links
- {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304031341/http://www.nero.com/enu/company/about-nero/nero-aac-codec.php |date=March 4, 2016 |title=Official website }}
- [http://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=Nero_AAC Nero AAC] at HydrogenAudio Knowledgebase
- [https://www.rarewares.org/rrw/neroaac.php Download page] at ReallyRareWares
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