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Topic: Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC (Read 11188 times) previous topic - next topic
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Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Just thought you might be interested in knowing how to create high quality .M4A files with EAC (Exact Audio Copy), that can be imported into iTunes and, most important, with tags that work!

I set up a small page with explanations and screen captures at the following address:
http://lynx256.free.fr/ipod/.

Comments are welcome. Enjoy !

Lionel

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #1 –
Quote
Just thought you might be interested in knowing how to create high quality .M4A files with EAC (Exact Audio Copy), that can be imported into iTunes and, most important, with tags that work!

I set up a small page with explanations and screen captures at the following address:
http://lynx256.free.fr/ipod/.

Comments are welcome. Enjoy !

Lionel
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=277095"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Good guide. Thanks for your time and effort.
But I was in the belief that FAAC was not the best AAC encoder around.
So it would not be that "high quality", would it?
I'm the one in the picture, sitting on a giant cabbage in Mexico, circa 1978.
Reseñas de Rock en Español: www.estadogeneral.com

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #2 –
If you want to have iTunes do the AAC encoding, with EAC ripping and passing the tags to iTunes, then I wrote this a while back to do just that.

http://otto.homedns.org:8888/iTunes/iTunesEncode46.zip

It's basically a command line encoder for iTunes. Works with EAC, foobar's clienc, CDex, Audiograbber, probably anything that can call a CLI encoder.

And if you work it properly, you can even have it add the files into iTunes' Library automatically. Just leave off the -d option.

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #3 –
Quote
But I was in the belief that FAAC was not the best AAC encoder around.
So it would not be that "high quality", would it?
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=277098"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Hmm, I'm surprised to hear that. I have a friend with a very sharp ear and high end equipment (24/96 sound card, Sony MDR-R10 headphones), and he was just thrilled by the result.
If you have another (free) AAC or MP4 encoder to recommend (besides iTunes itself), I'd be willing to make other tests, and possibly add further information to my web page.

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #4 –
Quote
If you want to have iTunes do the AAC encoding, with EAC ripping and passing the tags to iTunes, then I wrote this a while back to do just that.

http://otto.homedns.org:8888/iTunes/iTunesEncode46.zip

It's basically a command line encoder for iTunes. Works with EAC, foobar's clienc, CDex, Audiograbber, probably anything that can call a CLI encoder.

And if you work it properly, you can even have it add the files into iTunes' Library automatically. Just leave off the -d option.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=277126"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Sounds great. I'll give it a try!

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #5 –
Quote
Hmm, I'm surprised to hear that. I have a friend with a very sharp ear and high end equipment (24/96 sound card, Sony MDR-R10 headphones), and he was just thrilled by the result.
If you have another (free) AAC or MP4 encoder to recommend (besides iTunes itself), I'd be willing to make other tests, and possibly add further information to my web page.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=277223"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


FAAC is generally perceived to be of bad quality because it did quite poorly in one of the earlier tests (it did better in the later one though). But I still think it's safe to say iTunes is quite a lot better than FAAC..

Let's hope a new listening test will be conducted soon (when the constant quality mode finds its way to iTunes and the Nero encoder reaches version 3 for real)

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #6 –
Quote
If you want to have iTunes do the AAC encoding, with EAC ripping and passing the tags to iTunes, then I wrote this a while back to do just that.
http://otto.homedns.org:8888/iTunes/iTunesEncode46.zip
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=277126"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Well, I tried it, and it works fine, there's no question about it. However, the purpose of my searching for an alternate method was twofold:
(1) iTunes' ripping control is rudimentary ("Use error correction" - Yes/No...)
(2) iTunes' AAC encoding is CBR only. Not much control either.
Hence the need for an alternate ripping program - and an alternate encoder.
Regarding point (1), I think everybody will agree that EAC is one of the best rippers around, if not the best.
As for point (2), I understand early versions of FAAC were indeed far from satisfactory, but it sounds like the latest one (1.24+) brought much improvement.

Lionel

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #7 –
I have read this thread and Otto's regarding EAC and Apple's audio formats. Since what I am after is simply to use EAC to rip CDs, and compress them to Apple Lossless without bothering with any tags (I prefer it that way), would it be possible to modify the procedure in this thread to do that? I.e. since I couldn't care less about the tags, there would be no need to pass them to an Apple Lossless encoder: what I am basically asking is, what settings and command line do I put in EAC's compression tab to accomplish this?

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #8 –
Quote
(2) iTunes' AAC encoding is CBR only. Not much control either.
Hence the need for an alternate encoder.[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=278149"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


That sounds stupid to me! First of all, it's not cbr anymore, since it uses bit-reservoir. Secondly, more "control" usually means that people apply some semi l33t settings that hurts quality. The engineers at Apple has optimized the quality at each bit-rate for you, much like the presets in LAME, and it is widely regarded as the best AAC encoder as a result 

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #9 –
Quote
First of all, it's not cbr anymore, since it uses bit-reservoir.
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I beg to differ, but "bit reservoir" doesn't imply "CBR". Depending on the size of the reservoir and the behavior of the encoder, it can be CBR or ABR.  (see [a href="http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=8835&st=0&p=96327&#entry96327]that post[/url] for an excellent explanation.) ABR suits me fine. But is iTunes' encoder ABR ?

Quote
The engineers at Apple has optimized the quality at each bit-rate for you, much like the presets in LAME, and it is widely regarded as the best AAC encoder as a result.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=278172"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

"widely regarded" is not good enough for me 
Has anybody done some ABX testing on different (and recent) implementations of AAC encoders?

Lionel

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #10 –
Quote
(2) iTunes' AAC encoding is CBR only. Not much control either.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=278149"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Yes, but is it really annoying? iTunes AAC is (much?) better with CBR than faac with VBR, even on killer-samples (at least pre-echo ones).
Wavpack Hybrid -c4hx6

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #11 –
Quote
I have read this thread and Otto's regarding EAC and Apple's audio formats. Since what I am after is simply to use EAC to rip CDs, and compress them to Apple Lossless without bothering with any tags (I prefer it that way), would it be possible to modify the procedure in this thread to do that? I.e. since I couldn't care less about the tags, there would be no need to pass them to an Apple Lossless encoder: what I am basically asking is, what settings and command line do I put in EAC's compression tab to accomplish this?
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=278165"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Sure. EAC with iTunesEncode can do this. Try this command line:

-e "Lossless Encoder" -i %s -o %d -d

That'll make lossless encoded files for you without tagging them. If you want to leave them in iTunes library, leave off the -d option. Although the song name will be set to essentially crap because of how EAC uses temporary files and how iTunes creates file tags. You may want to add the song name tag to prevent that from occurring.

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #12 –
Quote
Well, I tried it, and it works fine, there's no question about it. However, the purpose of my searching for an alternate method was twofold:
(1) iTunes' ripping control is rudimentary ("Use error correction" - Yes/No...)
(2) iTunes' AAC encoding is CBR only. Not much control either.
Hence the need for an alternate ripping program - and an alternate encoder.
Regarding point (1), I think everybody will agree that EAC is one of the best rippers around, if not the best.
As for point (2), I understand early versions of FAAC were indeed far from satisfactory, but it sounds like the latest one (1.24+) brought much improvement.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=278149"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Right, I disliked iTunes ripper myself, which is why I wrote iTunesEncode in the first place.

And while VBR is nice, iTunes AAC encoder is currently at the top of the pack, or Nero's AAC encoder is. I would like to see tests done on different AAC encoders though, my own ability to do testing is limited.

And I think iTunes is expected to include VBR encoding in the next major revision.

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #13 –
Quote
Right, I disliked iTunes ripper myself, which is why I wrote iTunesEncode in the first place.

And while VBR is nice, iTunes AAC encoder is currently at the top of the pack, or Nero's AAC encoder is. I would like to see tests done on different AAC encoders though, my own ability to do testing is limited.

And I think iTunes is expected to include VBR encoding in the next major revision.
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Just need to wait for Apple's next move, then. Hopefully your nice little iTunesEncode utility will still work...

Speaking of AAC encoders, did anyone test the [a href="http://www.compaact.com/aacPage.php?SPRACHE=UK&PAGE=compaact]Compaact[/url] implementation ? According to the product manual, it look serious, but it costs 20 euros - is it worth it ?

Lionel

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #14 –
Quote
Quote
I have read this thread and Otto's regarding EAC and Apple's audio formats. Since what I am after is simply to use EAC to rip CDs, and compress them to Apple Lossless without bothering with any tags (I prefer it that way), would it be possible to modify the procedure in this thread to do that? I.e. since I couldn't care less about the tags, there would be no need to pass them to an Apple Lossless encoder: what I am basically asking is, what settings and command line do I put in EAC's compression tab to accomplish this?
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=278165"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Sure. EAC with iTunesEncode can do this. Try this command line:

-e "Lossless Encoder" -i %s -o %d -d

That'll make lossless encoded files for you without tagging them. If you want to leave them in iTunes library, leave off the -d option. Although the song name will be set to essentially crap because of how EAC uses temporary files and how iTunes creates file tags. You may want to add the song name tag to prevent that from occurring.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=278250"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]



Thanks for the pointer: it worked perfectly! Just one thing: how does one decompress an the lossless m4a file? I wanted to run a bit by bit check on a compressed test file.

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #15 –
Quote
Thanks for the pointer: it worked perfectly! Just one thing: how does one decompress an the lossless m4a file? I wanted to run a bit by bit check on a compressed test file.
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=278376"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Put the lossless file back into iTunes, set the encoding settings in iTunes to be WAV, right click the entry in the library, select Convert to WAV. It'll create a new WAV file from the lossless file.

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #16 –
Wonderful. All is well and now I can use Apple Lossless with peace of mind. Your exe is invaluable: many thanks.

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #17 –
Just one thing: while the file is perfect in terms of audio and filename, for some reason, when playing using iTunes, the weird EAC temporary name shows. Is there any way to flush this too? Even when I use "Get info" and clear the field, it still stays....

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #18 –
Quote
Just one thing: while the file is perfect in terms of audio and filename, for some reason, when playing using iTunes, the weird EAC temporary name shows. Is there any way to flush this too? Even when I use "Get info" and clear the field, it still stays....
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=278718"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

The only way to get rid of it is to change it to something else. When using the iTunes Encoder, the file *MUST* have a song name tag, at minimum. iTunes can't cope with a blank song name.

You can add the song name tag to the command line for iTunesEncode and that will get rid of the temp file name thing.

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #19 –
I shall have to do that for new files I encode. But what about for existing files?

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #20 –
Quote
I shall have to do that for new files I encode. But what about for existing files?
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=278827"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Use iTunes to change the Song Name by hand. No really easy way to do this one.

Tag&Rename is also capable of changing these tags, I think.

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #21 –
THis is unfortunately a problem. I only encoded one file since this was a test, therefore changing by hand was no big task. What I should have made clear is that that is what I did already: I went into iTunes, added the song to the library (without copying it into the iTunes folder) and then used "Get Info" to go to the properties page. Sure enough, the "Name" field was full of the gobbledegook. I erased it. Nothing happened. Possibly _because_ I replaced the gobbledegook with nothing, this happened? If, as you say, iTunes NEEDS a name, I should have used a name? In which case I shall have to try and acquire a script from somewhere which sets the name tag = filename...

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #22 –
I think I fixed the problem. The same people who make Tag & Rename make a freeware application which can be used to edit mp4/m4a tags. Thanks for all the help, much appreciated.

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #23 –
Quote
THis is unfortunately a problem. I only encoded one file since this was a test, therefore changing by hand was no big task. What I should have made clear is that that is what I did already: I went into iTunes, added the song to the library (without copying it into the iTunes folder) and then used "Get Info" to go to the properties page. Sure enough, the "Name" field was full of the gobbledegook. I erased it. Nothing happened. Possibly _because_ I replaced the gobbledegook with nothing, this happened? If, as you say, iTunes NEEDS a name, I should have used a name? In which case I shall have to try and acquire a script from somewhere which sets the name tag = filename...
[a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=278960"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Right, iTunes did nothing because you put in nothing. If you had put in a name it would have used that instead.

For new files, just include the song's name on the command line that EAC is passing to iTunesEncode. Just add a -t "%t" to the command line options.

Creating M4A files with tags for iTunes, using EAC

Reply #24 –
Tell me, for the files I have already in WMA lossless format, what is the trick to convert WMA -> M4A such that the end result is identical to a CD -(EAC no errors)-> WAV -> M4A? I was going to simply use iTunes for Windows to do the conversion, but am a little unsure: does this mess up anything in the conversion? Volume gain or some such? I want to have bit-identical wav-equivalents at the end...