Program To Convert AAC to MP3?

[thisistoto]

I need to convert the CD's I download using iTunes with the ACC file to mp3's, any suggestion on programs?



Thanks Denners!

[irishcrazy2005]

I need to convert the CD's I download using iTunes with the ACC file to mp3's, any suggestion on programs?



Thanks Denners!

I know that you can do this right in iTunes. I haven't done it, so I don't know how good the quality of the transfer is. If I remember correctly you just right click and hit "Convert to mp3."

-Phil

[thisistoto]

Phil,

THere only is a "Convert To AAC" option :rolleyes:

[TVHeadAssPhuck]

go to preferences choose importing and choose what conversion you want.

[thisistoto]

Ah you so smart AssPhuck.

[thisistoto]

Thanks again AssPhuck, but christ this is going to take FOREVER.

[RainDawg]

How many times must this be reiterated :)? That answer to this, and every other question that relates to playing, converting, and tagging any audio file is....

(drumroll)

foobar2000!

http://foobar2000.blogsite.org/

One step anything to anything conversion. Now, the question of why you would want to convert from one lossy format to another and further degrade the sound quality....

[RainDawg]

BTW, I am going to move this to technobabble where it'll get some more response.

[U2Lynne]

Stephen, does foobar do AAC? That is Apple's 'mp3' format.

And Toto, you should be able to Shift + Select and grab a bunch of songs and then right click 'convert to mp3' and that should convert a whole lot of them at once.

[Greengoat]

dbpoweramp can convert apple tunes.

[RainDawg]

Stephen, does foobar do AAC? That is Apple's 'mp3' format.
Yes, foobar can playback AAC files, which means it can also one-step convert it to any other format you like. It even offers tagging and a special (pastel blue as I recall) icon for it.

AAC is not indigenous to Apple. iTunes is the most popular implementation of AAC perhaps, but in fact there are several versions of the AAC (actually MPEG layer 4) format. It stands for Advanced Audio Coding. Of course, keeping with the spirit of Apple's need to control their customer base, they use a form of AAC that contains certain copy protection schemes, so if toto is trying to convert files purchased from the iTunes store, he may have difficulty. If it was encoded without DRM, foobar will absolutely be able to work with it. If there is some kind of protection on the file, he may have to search a little deeper and use more...."unofficial" resources to remove it before making the transfer to mp3.

http://www.vialicensing.com/products/mpeg4aac/standard.html

Intestingly enough, this test (http://www.rjamorim.com/test/aac128v2/results.html) seems to suggest that Apple's AAC algorithm is the most transparent of the major competitors.

Edit to add: Basically, though, AAC is not Apple's format, Apple is just the first major company to popularize it's use.

[U2Lynne]

You are always full of so much information. Thanks for furthering my education. :)

[RainDawg]

Well...full of something for sure ;).

[uhclem]

Can you clarify a bit more why you need to convert to mp3?

[ssamadhi97]

[...]but in fact there are several versions of the AAC (actually MPEG layer 4) format.
Sorry about nitpicking, but: No, AAC is NOT "MPEG layer 4". AAC one of the various audio codecs specified in layer 3 of the MPEG-4 standard.

(see wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG-4) or Google for more details)

Intestingly enough, this test (http://www.rjamorim.com/test/aac128v2/results.html) seems to suggest that Apple's AAC algorithm is the most transparent of the major competitors.
Note that the result was a rather close call, and the test is almost a year old now - I'm not up to speed about Apple's encoder, but Nero's encoder has made quite some progress since that test.

[RainDawg]

SSamadhi corrects me again....

Thanks for the correction of terms, sometimes I do get those MPEG numbers screwed up. Yes, I know that it's only one isolated test there, and that the two were close, but I thought it was a relevant link to show that there are more than just Apple's version of AAC and that there are noticable quality differences between them. Nero's may very well be better now, but it's important to realize that AAC is not owned by iTunes and that you can work with AAC files in other programs. You don't need to chain yourself down to Apple's software.

[ssamadhi97]

Yeah, sorry about that. ;)

btw thisistoto there's one important rule about converting aac to mp3 (and about converting files from one lossy format to another): Don't do it.

The only situation in which it might be somewhat acceptable is if you want to play the file on a device that absolutely does not support the original file format.

[RainDawg]

No prob SS, no need to apologize :).

And yeah, I agree, unless you're somehow needed to play something or a portable with no support for AAC, don't ever, ever convert from lossy to lossy. Are you going to let us in on why you're attempting to make this transition?

[Karst]

Are you going to let us in on why you're attempting to make this transition?

Maybe just for storing it on an MP3 player (iPod)?