QAAC: discussion, questions, feature requests, etc., [originally a thread for a feature request] Options

[xekon]

Why such different results? do the two applications really work that differently, when using more or less the same arguments?
I assumed since they both use quicktime that it would be similar results, just different methods of getting the job done.

Some of the tagging is different for the container, and a lot of that I dont even understand, but there is an obvious difference in the average bitrate for the audio stream between the two.

Both qtaacenc and qaac use a range of 0-127 for tvbr, so I am a little confused...

example:

CODE

E:\AviSynth\Wavi bd.avs - | qtaacenc --tvbr 90 --highest --samplerate keep --ignorelength - qtaacenc.m4a
E:\AviSynth\Wavi bd.avs - | qaac --tvbr 90 --quality 2 --rate keep --ignorelength - -o qaac.m4a

cmd window:


qaac encoded m4a mediainfo:

CODE

General
Complete name                    : E:\AviSynth\qaac.m4a
Format                           : MPEG-4
Format profile                   : Apple audio with iTunes info
Codec ID                         : M4A
File size                        : 1.17 MiB
Duration                         : 33s 259ms
Overall bit rate mode            : Variable
Overall bit rate                 : 295 Kbps
Encoded date                     : UTC 2011-10-23 03:57:01
Tagged date                      : UTC 2011-10-23 03:57:05
Writing application              : qaac 0.91, QuickTime 7.7.0, MPEG-4 AAC Encoder 1.7.1, Variable Bit Rate q91, Best

Audio
ID                               : 1
Format                           : AAC
Format/Info                      : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile                   : LC
Codec ID                         : 40
Duration                         : 33s 259ms
Bit rate mode                    : Variable
Bit rate                         : 288 Kbps
Maximum bit rate                 : 355 Kbps
Channel(s)                       : 6 channels
Channel positions                : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate                    : 48.0 KHz
Compression mode                 : Lossy
Stream size                      : 1.16 MiB (99%)
Encoded date                     : UTC 2011-10-23 03:57:01
Tagged date                      : UTC 2011-10-23 03:57:05

qtaacenc encoded m4a mediainfo:

CODE

General
Complete name                    : E:\AviSynth\qtaacenc.m4a
Format                           : MPEG-4
Format profile                   : Base Media / Version 2
Codec ID                         : mp42
File size                        : 1.62 MiB
Duration                         : 33s 259ms
Overall bit rate mode            : Variable
Overall bit rate                 : 409 Kbps
Encoded date                     : UTC 2011-10-23 04:56:58
Tagged date                      : UTC 2011-10-23 04:56:58
Writing application              : qtaacenc 20110816, QuickTime 7.7.0, True VBR Quality 90
Encoding Params                  : (Binary)

Audio
ID                               : 1
Format                           : AAC
Format/Info                      : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile                   : LC
Codec ID                         : 40
Duration                         : 33s 259ms
Bit rate mode                    : Variable
Bit rate                         : 407 Kbps
Maximum bit rate                 : 428 Kbps
Channel(s)                       : 6 channels
Channel positions                : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate                    : 48.0 KHz
Compression mode                 : Lossy
Stream size                      : 1.61 MiB (99%)
Language                         : English
Encoded date                     : UTC 2011-10-23 04:56:58
Tagged date                      : UTC 2011-10-23 04:56:58

This post has been edited by xekon: Oct 23 2011, 05:20

[nu774]

Hi,
As far as I know, 5.1ch encoding with qtaacenc is not properly working, due to QuickTime side mixer problem. qaac has built in workaround for it.
Listen to the result, and confirm the channel layout.

However, I also confirmed that qtaacenc doesn't produce the same bitstream as qaac, even on 2ch stereo.
I tried on qtaacenc version 20110816 by tmkk;

Try --cvbr 256 on qaac, and compare them with "iTunes Plus" encoding by iTunes.
Also, try the same with qtaacenc.

On qaac, at least --cvbr 256 produces the exactly same bitstream with iTunes Plus.
You can use foobar2000 "bit compare" menu or something for it.
Also, if you have working Python interpreter (version 2.x), you can use my silly script (mdatcmp.py) to simply compare mdat in mp4 files.
https://github.com/nu774/mdatcmp

However, I couldn't get the same result with qtaacenc.
Maybe I'm missing something...

[nu774]

I'm sorry, forget about 2ch difference in the previous post.
It seems there was a problem in my enviromnent / testing.

[nu774]

It seems that new iTunes 10.5.0 (which doesn't require QT) produces different result for iTunesPlus
compared to iTunes 10.4.1...

When I tested before, qaac -v256 used to produce the same result with iTunes 10.4.1, but not with 10.5.0;
I tried to downgrade iTunes to re-confirm it, but unfortunately my iTunes library is already upgraded to 10.5.0, so iTunes refused to start up.

Anyway, this is what I have encoded with the both version;
https://sites.google.com/site/qaacpage/cabi...rects=0&d=1
Could someone confirm this?

[Larson]

I found a bug with QAAC when converting to tvbr with -q value 1 (since there's a bug with latest quicktime version and -q 2 as far as I've read). For instance with TVBR 113 (around 256 kbps) the resulting bitrate is much lower than it should be. There's no problem with CVBR instead.

[nu774]

I found a bug with QAAC when converting to tvbr with -q value 1 (since there's a bug with latest quicktime version and -q 2 as far as I've read). For instance with TVBR 113 (around 256 kbps) the resulting bitrate is much lower than it should be. There's no problem with CVBR instead.

Thanks for reporting this. I could confirm it;
Running directly from command-line, it's visible that displayed TVBR quality value is already broken when you specify -q1 (q0 and q2 seems OK).
This is very strange, since qaac just passes -q value (0, 1, 2) to QuickTime, and it's transparent to qaac (Displayed value is re-fetched from QuickTime after configuration of the encoder finished).
However, it seems that 0.90 doesn't suffer from this. So, please use 0.90 for now.

I'm currently investigating another strange problem on 0.91.
I will release new version (0.92) when it is settled and fixed.

[xekon]

Hi,
As far as I know, 5.1ch encoding with qtaacenc is not properly working, due to QuickTime side mixer problem. qaac has built in workaround for it.
Listen to the result, and confirm the channel layout.

I believe you are correct. I encoded a 2 channel file with the same cmd as I did for the 6 channel file and both qaac and qtaacenc output the same bitrate, thank you so much for clearing that up.

edit: testing the file you sent me now.

for whatever reason quicktime is reporting as the correct version now. I cannot even seem to reproduce the problem where it reported as 0.9.13

This post has been edited by xekon: Oct 24 2011, 00:30

[nu774]

Hi, forget about this post.
It seems that iTunes 10.5 installs new CoreAudioToolBox.dll. It's version is 7.9.7.3, and the same as QT 7.7.0; However, it's a bit bigger in size, and seems AAC encoder is updated.
I confirmed qaac -v256 produces identical bitstream as iTunesPlus of iTunes 10.5.

It seems that new iTunes 10.5.0 (which doesn't require QT) produces different result for iTunesPlus
compared to iTunes 10.4.1...

When I tested before, qaac -v256 used to produce the same result with iTunes 10.4.1, but not with 10.5.0;
I tried to downgrade iTunes to re-confirm it, but unfortunately my iTunes library is already upgraded to 10.5.0, so iTunes refused to start up.

Anyway, this is what I have encoded with the both version;
https://sites.google.com/site/qaacpage/cabi...rects=0&d=1
Could someone confirm this?

[Boulder]

Hi, forget about this post.
It seems that iTunes 10.5 installs new CoreAudioToolBox.dll. It's version is 7.9.7.3, and the same as QT 7.7.0; However, it's a bit bigger in size, and seems AAC encoder is updated.

I just downloaded the 32-bit installer of iTunes 10.5 and got CoreAudioToolBox.dll version 7.9.7.8, according to the file properties it was modified on Sept 27. It would be really nice to know what has changed between the many versions to help decide whether to upgrade or not.

[nu774]

Hi,

Oh, really? From explorer property view, in my environment it has the same time stamp as yours (Sept 27 2011, 7:22:30), file size is 4,880,232 bytes, and product version is displayed as 7.9.7.3. FYI, md5sum is caae337ba3baa5590a595dc57e6c5d16.
This is apparently updated, so probably yours is right.
I wonder why explorer says 7.9.7.3 in my environment...

This post has been edited by db1989: Oct 26 2011, 11:53

Reason for edit: deleting pointless full quote of last post (and please quote above your reply when you need to)

[Boulder]

Seems that my version also has the same md5 sum so we have the same file.

[lvqcl]

I wonder why explorer says 7.9.7.3 in my environment...

It depends on the system locale. The file contains the following strings (in unicode encoding): "7.9.7.7", "7.9.7.3", "7.9.7.8"

[nu774]

I wonder why explorer says 7.9.7.3 in my environment...

It depends on the system locale. The file contains the following strings (in unicode encoding): "7.9.7.7", "7.9.7.3", "7.9.7.8"

Hi, thanks.
I opened up CoreAudioToolbox.dll with Visual Studio, and confirmed FILEVERSION (and PRODUCTVERSION) for most locale are 7,9,7,3 (7,9,7,7 for ar-SA, and 7,9,7,8 for en-US).
Really confusing...

[Larson]

nu744 could you please tell me how refalac works? What is the command line setting to use to convert to Alac with dbpoweramp for example? -A -o [outfile] - doesn't work

[nu774]

nu744 could you please tell me how refalac works? What is the command line setting to use to convert to Alac with dbpoweramp for example? -A -o [outfile] - doesn't work

CODE

-o [outfile] -

will work.

[Larson]

still not working for me but thanks for answering!

This post has been edited by Larson: Oct 31 2011, 10:21

[nu774]

still not working for me but thanks for answering!

Can you run refalac directly from command prompt?

[Pusherman]

still not working for me but thanks for answering!

CODE

' -A -o "[outfile]" - --no-optimize '

Try with spaces in begin and end (--no-optimize last).

[Larson]

EDIT: it works now, thank you!

This post has been edited by Larson: Oct 31 2011, 13:56

[overfloater]

I confirmed qaac -v256 produces identical bitstream as iTunesPlus of iTunes 10.5.

Interesting. I'm not getting identical files with qaac -v256 and iTunes Plus via iTunes 10.5.0.142. CoreAudioToolbox.dll is version 7.9.7.8.

Disclaimer: I'm no expert. (I only just registered to post this!) Source material was a standard CD quality WAV ripped by EAC, than manually pushed through iTunes and qaac separately. I assumed I'd see identical output files from each, hence I stumbled across this thread. But perhaps I'm making a newbie mistake, overlooking something obvious, or simply don't know what I'm talking about.


Edit: Ignore me. I keyed in on the "bitstream" part and realized that the files can be non-identical while the bitstream is the same. (Though I'm not 100% sure I understand where the file differences actually are.) Downloaded and used the foobar Bit Compare component to confirm the qaac/iTunes bitsreams are, in fact, identical. My bad! Told you I was a newbie...

This post has been edited by overfloater: Nov 5 2011, 23:06

[kareha]

Has anyone managed to get the --artwork option to work when using refalac with foobar as I'm struggling atm, any advice would be great I'm using

CODE

-o %d -

just to do the normal conversion, but whenever I add in --artwork folder.jpg to add my artwork it just doesnt want to know

[lvqcl]

Copy folder.jpg to the destination folder and see if it works.

[nu774]

Hi,
It will work only if you have folder.jpg in encoding destination folder.
Since foobar spawns CLI encoder in destination folder as it's current directly, if you have folder.jpg in somewhere else, it won't work.

I should have mention it more clearly in the usage page; updated it now.

[kareha]

Still can't get it to work, I'm encoding from the directory that has both the FLAC files and the folder.jpg but it won't work. This is what I'm using, maybe I've got it wrong

CODE

-o --artwork folder.jpg %d -

These are the error's I'm getting within foobar:

CODE

Could not load info (Object not found) from:
"D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\01. only my railgun.m4a"
Could not load info (Object not found) from:
"D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\02. LEVEL5 -judgelight-.m4a"
Could not load info (Object not found) from:
"D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\03. everlasting.m4a"
Could not load info (Object not found) from:
"D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\04. late in autumn.m4a"
Could not load info (Object not found) from:
"D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\05. future gazer.m4a"
Could not load info (Object not found) from:
"D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\06. kanashii seiza.m4a"
Could not load info (Object not found) from:
"D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\07. crossing over.m4a"
Could not load info (Object not found) from:
"D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\08. closest love.m4a"
Could not load info (Object not found) from:
"D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\09. meditations.m4a"
Could not load info (Object not found) from:
"D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\10. trusty snow.m4a"
Could not load info (Object not found) from:
"D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\11. lost answer.m4a"
Could not load info (Object not found) from:
"D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\12. eternal pain.m4a"
Could not load info (Object not found) from:
"D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\13. stay with you.m4a"

CODE

13 out of 13 tracks converted with major problems.

Source: "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\01. only my railgun.flac"
  An error occurred while writing to file (The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters) : "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\01. only my railgun.m4a"
  Additional information:
  Encoder stream format: 44100Hz / 2ch / 16bps
  Command line: "K:\Stuff\Foobar Components\qaac\refalac.exe" -o --artwork folder.jpg "01. only my railgun.m4a" -
  Working folder: D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\
  
  Conversion failed: The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters
Source: "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\02. LEVEL5 -judgelight-.flac"
  An error occurred while writing to file (The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters) : "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\02. LEVEL5 -judgelight-.m4a"
  Additional information:
  Encoder stream format: 44100Hz / 2ch / 16bps
  Command line: "K:\Stuff\Foobar Components\qaac\refalac.exe" -o --artwork folder.jpg "02. LEVEL5 -judgelight-.m4a" -
  Working folder: D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\
  
  Conversion failed: The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters
Source: "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\03. everlasting.flac"
  An error occurred while writing to file (The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters) : "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\03. everlasting.m4a"
  Additional information:
  Encoder stream format: 44100Hz / 2ch / 16bps
  Command line: "K:\Stuff\Foobar Components\qaac\refalac.exe" -o --artwork folder.jpg "03. everlasting.m4a" -
  Working folder: D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\
  
  Conversion failed: The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters
Source: "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\04. late in autumn.flac"
  An error occurred while writing to file (The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters) : "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\04. late in autumn.m4a"
  Additional information:
  Encoder stream format: 44100Hz / 2ch / 16bps
  Command line: "K:\Stuff\Foobar Components\qaac\refalac.exe" -o --artwork folder.jpg "04. late in autumn.m4a" -
  Working folder: D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\
  
  Conversion failed: The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters
Source: "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\05. future gazer.flac"
  An error occurred while writing to file (The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters) : "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\01. only my railgun.m4a"
  Additional information:
  Encoder stream format: 44100Hz / 2ch / 16bps
  Command line: "K:\Stuff\Foobar Components\qaac\refalac.exe" -o --artwork folder.jpg "01. only my railgun.m4a" -
  Working folder: D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\
  
  Conversion failed: The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters
Source: "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\06. kanashii seiza.flac"
  An error occurred while writing to file (The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters) : "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\02. LEVEL5 -judgelight-.m4a"
  Additional information:
  Encoder stream format: 44100Hz / 2ch / 16bps
  Command line: "K:\Stuff\Foobar Components\qaac\refalac.exe" -o --artwork folder.jpg "02. LEVEL5 -judgelight-.m4a" -
  Working folder: D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\
  
  Conversion failed: The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters
Source: "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\07. crossing over.flac"
  An error occurred while writing to file (The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters) : "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\03. everlasting.m4a"
  Additional information:
  Encoder stream format: 44100Hz / 2ch / 16bps
  Command line: "K:\Stuff\Foobar Components\qaac\refalac.exe" -o --artwork folder.jpg "03. everlasting.m4a" -
  Working folder: D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\
  
  Conversion failed: The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters
Source: "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\08. closest love.flac"
  An error occurred while writing to file (The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters) : "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\04. late in autumn.m4a"
  Additional information:
  Encoder stream format: 44100Hz / 2ch / 16bps
  Command line: "K:\Stuff\Foobar Components\qaac\refalac.exe" -o --artwork folder.jpg "04. late in autumn.m4a" -
  Working folder: D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\
  
  Conversion failed: The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters
Source: "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\09. meditations.flac"
  An error occurred while writing to file (The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters) : "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\01. only my railgun.m4a"
  Additional information:
  Encoder stream format: 44100Hz / 2ch / 16bps
  Command line: "K:\Stuff\Foobar Components\qaac\refalac.exe" -o --artwork folder.jpg "01. only my railgun.m4a" -
  Working folder: D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\
  
  Conversion failed: The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters
Source: "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\10. trusty snow.flac"
  An error occurred while writing to file (The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters) : "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\02. LEVEL5 -judgelight-.m4a"
  Additional information:
  Encoder stream format: 44100Hz / 2ch / 16bps
  Command line: "K:\Stuff\Foobar Components\qaac\refalac.exe" -o --artwork folder.jpg "02. LEVEL5 -judgelight-.m4a" -
  Working folder: D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\
  
  Conversion failed: The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters
Source: "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\11. lost answer.flac"
  An error occurred while writing to file (The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters) : "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\03. everlasting.m4a"
  Additional information:
  Encoder stream format: 44100Hz / 2ch / 16bps
  Command line: "K:\Stuff\Foobar Components\qaac\refalac.exe" -o --artwork folder.jpg "03. everlasting.m4a" -
  Working folder: D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\
  
  Conversion failed: The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters
Source: "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\12. eternal pain.flac"
  An error occurred while writing to file (The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters) : "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\04. late in autumn.m4a"
  Additional information:
  Encoder stream format: 44100Hz / 2ch / 16bps
  Command line: "K:\Stuff\Foobar Components\qaac\refalac.exe" -o --artwork folder.jpg "04. late in autumn.m4a" -
  Working folder: D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\
  
  Conversion failed: The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters
Source: "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\13. stay with you.flac"
  An error occurred while writing to file (The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters) : "D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\01. only my railgun.m4a"
  Additional information:
  Encoder stream format: 44100Hz / 2ch / 16bps
  Command line: "K:\Stuff\Foobar Components\qaac\refalac.exe" -o --artwork folder.jpg "01. only my railgun.m4a" -
  Working folder: D:\Music\Lossless\fripSide\infinite synthesis (2010)\
  
  Conversion failed: The encoder has terminated prematurely with code 2 (0x00000002); please re-check parameters

[nu774]

Still can't get it to work, I'm encoding from the directory that has both the FLAC files and the folder.jpg but it won't work. This is what I'm using, maybe I've got it wrong

CODE

-o --artwork folder.jpg %d -

Please try again with

CODE

-o %d --artwork folder.jpg -

-o is a option to specify output file name. Therefore, %d (placeholder for output filename used by foobar) must come just after -o.