This I can actually do with audio from the timeline of my beloved Premiere Pro CS6, but I'm wanting to know if anyone has solutions whereby you can output from a proper audio editing software package. Not wanting to mess around with Handbrake.

mp3 for audio has been the defacto standard, but aac has very good compatibility now via smart phones and is ripe for coming into its own. The aac format is also even better for file sizes which is a bonus for less developed areas of the world where data is still an expensive component of internet access.

Andrew

I use Auphonic (the web based service) a fair bit for 'automatic' audio post production - does a great job and .aac is an output option.

https://auphonic.com/

Awesome. Didn't even know that service existed!

I've scouted a little further and this software enables you to batch convert to .aac and other formats. https://www.nch.com.au/switch/index.html (Armed with the knowledge that .aac is the same as .m4a, my googling has improved.)

Andrew

I'm confused - I've always looked on it as an inconvenience when I get that format. 320 mp3 works for me or 32/24 bit wav at 48K. I don't use it much, but Audition seems to be able to export to aac, but for me personally, I don't see the advantage, and as for data rate, the difference between mp3 and good quality aac is not very much, compared to wav, aif and flac which people seeking better quality want anyway? I can't imagine delivery in aac being any real advantage?

It's only been of late that I have been aware of how much aac is generationally better than mp3, and it hasn't been ubiquitous with the software I use else I might have tried it sooner. The real eye opener for me was that Android apps such as Rev's recorder and the stepsister Temi (for automated transcription) have brilliant quality and natively save to .aac format.

I suspect the reason we are happy with mp3 is that originally is was quite magical when it appeared on the scene, and it's since remained good enough as the remaining pain points were solved by faster connections to the internet and greater storage. But aac is a whole lot nicer with the quality of audio it reproduces.

Food for thought: just as the prevalence of "smart phones" (a computer that also makes phone calls) has caused redesigns of how we do websites because that's where over half the viewers are, there could well be a place there for aac to usurp mp3 as the gold standard. Maybe not for first world nations but definitely for third world nations for whom data is expensive.

Andrew

How about the versatile ffmpeg

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vn -c:a copy output.m4a

Doesn't look very drag and drop-ish to me. :-)

Andrew

There are many converters online. (.zamzar.com for instance) It is naturally best to upload PCM file When I need an AAC (Advanced Audio Codec) file for iTunes and such, I use Sound Forge (or Vegas) to encode an MP4 / AVC file, which contains only the audio, then change the file's extension to <.m4a>.

Doesn't look very drag and drop-ish to me. :-)

Andrew

You might even need to write a script. Horrors. :-)

At least this one has a user interface. :-)

https://www.freac.org/

fre:ac is a free audio converter and CD ripper with support for various popular formats and encoders. It converts freely between MP3, M4A/AAC, FLAC, WMA, Opus, Ogg Vorbis, Speex, Monkey's Audio (APE), WavPack, WAV and other formats.

The software is up to date for both Mac and Windows versions.

Andrew