im pretty new to m4a aac etc and was wondering if there was any software available to rip my cds to m4a/aac.compatible ipos tracks. i really dont like command line software and was wondering if there was any alternative. i used ittunes but it doesnt display the full titles when ripped (36 characters is think) so would rather stay away from that. also what do you reccomend i rip my tracks at bitrate wise?

thanks

spook

The most popular AAC encoders around here are Nero and iTunes. iTunes was tested in the most recent 128kbps listening tests and results were impressive, while Nero is more recent and has not been tested extensively.

Both can be used to encode to iPod compatible .m4a files. And both can be used with EAC as external encoders with tagging. The iTunes/EAC method requires iTunesEncode, a tool that uses iTunes as the external encoder in EAC, you can find iTunesEncode at the rarewares AAC section.

Look here for instructions for using Nero/EAC.

I haven't had any problems with iTunes not displaying or adding full titles. I'm not sure what's the longest title I've managed to put in an AAC file's tag, but iTunes had no problem with the title "Atom Heart Mother
(Father's Shout/Breast Milky/Mother Fore/Funky Dung/Mind Your Throats Please/Remergence)", for example.

also what do you reccomend i rip my tracks at bitrate wise?

you should abx yourself. I suggest you to start at about 128kpbs, and if not enough, start increasing the br.

thanks for the help guys, much appreciated. i think ive decided on using nero to encode my cds to nero aac but with an m4a extension, then tagging them using mp3tag. would this be ok to play in itunes and transfer to my ipod or would the files not work?

RealPlayer 10.5 has both an .m4a AAC encoder and a RealAudio 10 AAC encoder.

thanks for the help guys, much appreciated. i think ive decided on using nero to encode my cds to nero aac but with an m4a extension, then tagging them using mp3tag. would this be ok to play in itunes and transfer to my ipod or would the files not work?

works fine, that's what i use for my ipod needs.

RealPlayer 10.5 has both an .m4a AAC encoder and a RealAudio 10 AAC encoder.

What the heck does that mean? AAC in an MPEG-4 container vs realaudio container? Also, last time anyone checked the Real encoder wasn't very good.

RealAudio 10 is AAC-based at bitrates of 128Kbps+.  RealPlayer 10.5 gives you the choice of .m4a AAC or RealAudio 10 AAC (.ra).

SOUND QUALITY & PERFORMANCE
For low to mid bit rate files (< 128 Kbps), RealAudio 10 deploys the advanced audio compression techniques that have made Real the worldwide leader in streaming media technologies and content delivery. RealAudio 10 accomplishes this by dividing original data from the audio spectrum into distinct frequency bands, some of which are perceptible by the human ear, many of which are not. The imperceptible bands are discarded, resulting in a dramatically decreased file size with virtually no degradation in sound.

At higher bit rates (> 128 Kbps - typically suited for download or high bandwidth networks), RealAudio 10 incorporates the MPEG-4 AAC codec. This enables the highest quality listening experience for consumer music services, as well as easy transfer and playback capability to the extensive range of portable and mobile devices that support AAC.

The original post complained that iTunes does not use sufficiently long fields for tags. This is untrue; ID3 tags in iTunes can be quite long (try this title tag from a Sufjan Stevens track as an example: "Prairie Fire That Wanders About - A Conjunction Of Drones Simulating The Way In Which Sufjan Stevens Has An Existential Crisis In The Great Godfrey Maze")

iTunes does limit filename length, but since when is that an issue? As long as the tags are correct, what on earth does it matter that the filename is truncated? Unless you are using something as awkward and unelegant as Windows Explorer to manage tracks, this does not matter; Windows Explorer was never meant for such tasks - it shows and should not be used, especially given the many tag-based management tools available.

Anyway, iTunes provides a terrific free M4A encoder that works very well. I cannot recommend any other with as good a conscience.