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Topic: how good is the quality of new faac 1.29 (2017-07-17) ? (Read 91379 times) previous topic - next topic
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Re: how good is the quality of new faac 1.29 (2017-07-17) ?

Reply #51
Sounds promising. I will check it later.

Re: how good is the quality of new faac 1.29 (2017-07-17) ?

Reply #52
1.29.8.2 is very fast, to the point I'm running out of the legend space!


However, I've got many errors while playing the output on foobar2000 v1.3.15.
It happens on many bitrate settings, on many tracks including white noise, sine waves, and music tracks.

Code: [Select]
File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 236 of 236
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_whit_16.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 236 of 236
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_whit_24.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 236 of 236
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_whit_32.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 236 of 236
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_whit_40.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 236 of 236
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_whit_48.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 236 of 236
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_whit_56.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 236 of 236
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_whit_64.mp4"


File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 863 of 863
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_sine_16.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 863 of 863
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_sine_24.mp4"


File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4009 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4010 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4011 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4012 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4013 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4014 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4015 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4016 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4017 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4018 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4019 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4020 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4021 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4022 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4023 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4024 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4025 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4026 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4027 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4028 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4029 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4030 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4031 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4032 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4033 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4034 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4035 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4036 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4037 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4038 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4039 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4040 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4041 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_512.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4009 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4010 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4011 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4012 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4013 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4014 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4015 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4016 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4017 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4018 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4019 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4020 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4021 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4022 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4023 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4024 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4025 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4026 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4027 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4028 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4029 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4030 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4031 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4032 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4033 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4034 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4035 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4036 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4037 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4038 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4039 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4040 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

File verification error: Decoding error: Unsupported format or corrupted file, frame: 4041 of 12921
"C:\vbrtest2\FAAC_vk_12982_64_7s40_192.mp4"

Re: how good is the quality of new faac 1.29 (2017-07-17) ?

Reply #53
Very interesting finds. Could you upload a couple of those corrupt files somewhere.
Edit:
Never mind. There were a couple of relevant bugs actually and I think I quashed them all.

Re: how good is the quality of new faac 1.29 (2017-07-17) ?

Reply #54
1.29.8.2 is very fast, to the point I'm running out of the legend space!
I'm afraid I have a plan to speed it up even more, like several percent. Maybe you could remove faac-1.28 and put legend to the bottom.

Anyway, new bugfix release:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/faac/files/faac-src/faac-1.29/faac-1.29.8.3-win64.zip/download

Re: how good is the quality of new faac 1.29 (2017-07-17) ?

Reply #55
Another bit of faac progress:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/faac/files/faac-src/faac-1.29/faac-1.29.9-win64.zip/download

- initial version of Intensity Stereo
- initial version of PNS
- speed increase

Contrary to popular belief PNS is not that bad. It's more subtle than SBR and allows to throw some noise here and there unobtrusively. Overall, it sounds better than I expected.

With all the recent changes it looks like faac starts to be usable at low bitrates, e.g. faac --over -b40 -c10000

Re: how good is the quality of new faac 1.29 (2017-07-17) ?

Reply #56
Look at this! The new version is even faster!

Re: how good is the quality of new faac 1.29 (2017-07-17) ?

Reply #57
Great. Thanks!

Re: how good is the quality of new faac 1.29 (2017-07-17) ?

Reply #58
[SOLVED]

Hi,

Tried to use the latest 64-bit version for windows 1.29.9.2.
Conversion speed is impressive on my sample file shows about 130x encoding speed.
However, there is a major issue with raw input (PCM) on 64-bit, after encoding sound is corrupted, i can hardly hear the voice which is almost suppressed by noise.

Older version i have (1.26.1 32 bit) works ok (but speed is about 25x), 32 bit version 1.29.9.2 works ok, but shows the speed about 22x.

My sample file: 2 channel 44100 decoded from 160kb mp3 file.
I tried:
passing -P with and without -C -R
passing quality settings (however, i don't think it matters)
passing stream via pipe and passing via file
packaging stream to wav and passing it to faac as stream via pipe and as file (omitting -P), works well.
I tried to produce pcm file via ffmpeg and via my program - neither works.

For me packing to wav not an option, are there any other ideas?

Thank you

UPDATE: Solved, 64-bit version has bigendian by default, had to switch with -X option

Re: how good is the quality of new faac 1.29 (2017-07-17) ?

Reply #59
I just released faac 1.29.5 with a few real changes.
Encoding is definitely much faster and quality may also be better with many samples, definitely worth trying.

Also, I just noticed there is noise coding available and it always was a part of standard AAC LC.
Apparently I totally missed it back in the days.
I will try to develop this thing for upcoming releases, it can give a real quality boost, especially at lower bitrates.

Wow, and it seems I totally missed this posting, knik! ;) Just downloaded the new FAAC version, might even check it with ye olde listening test samples.

Also very nice that Audiocoding.com is back up again, did Menno do that? Maybe the old Audiocoding site wiki is still available somewhere as well? Neither Sourceforge nor GitHub has one, HydrogenAudio only a short one.

Last but not least: does YouTube still use FAAC for AAC/MP4 encoding? ;)
ZZee ya, Hans-Jürgen
BLUEZZ BASTARDZZ - "That lil' ol' ZZ Top cover band from Hamburg..."
INDIGO ROCKS - "Down home rockin' blues. Tasty as strudel."

Re: how good is the quality of new faac 1.29 (2017-07-17) ?

Reply #60
did you just bump 2 year old thread?
a fan of AutoEq + Meier Crossfeed

Re: how good is the quality of new faac 1.29 (2017-07-17) ?

Reply #61
Last but not least: does YouTube still use FAAC for AAC/MP4 encoding? ;)
Why use faac if it can use better FDK-AAC ?


Re: how good is the quality of new faac 1.29 (2017-07-17) ?

Reply #63
For example, an older version of https://trac.ffmpeg.org/wiki/Encode/AAC , available at http://archive.is/SnQzp :
Quote
Which encoder provides the best quality?
For AAC-LC the likely answer is: libfdk_aac > Native FFmpeg AAC encoder (aac) > libfaac

Re: how good is the quality of new faac 1.29 (2017-07-17) ?

Reply #64
Last but not least: does YouTube still use FAAC for AAC/MP4 encoding? ;)
No. Youtube doesn't use neither FAAC nor FDK-AAC. Most probably it uses coder licensed from FhG, identical to proprietary FhG-AAC coder from Winamp (not FDK). https://audiophilesoft.ru/publ/my/youtube_audio_quality/11-1-0-285 (The article is quite old. But as far as I can guess, the AAC encoder on Youtube has hardly changed since then).  

Re: how good is the quality of new faac 1.29 (2017-07-17) ?

Reply #65
For example, an older version [...]
"how good is the quality of new faac 1.29"
any test with 1.28.* will be deprecated.


Re: how good is the quality of new faac 1.29 (2017-07-17) ?

Reply #67
I was attracted to FAAC by the fact that after encoding a 45s recording I had a file of the same duration out of the box, and not 45s 01ms-70ms as with other AAC encoders. (Of course, Qaac offers --no-delay flag to achieve the same thing, but you have to know about that one, have to remember it. And what about FFMPEG AAC and FDK AAC?)

Right, now I'm exploring FAAC's impressive -q range from 10 to 5000.

Code: [Select]
$ faac.exe --help-qual
Freeware Advanced Audio Coder
FAAC 1.30

Usage: faac [options] infile

Quality-related options:
    -q <quality>        Set encoding quality.
                Set default variable bitrate (VBR) quantizer quality in percent.
                max. 5000, min. 10.
                default: 100, averages at approx. 120 kbps VBR for a normal
                stereo input file with 16 bit and 44.1 kHz sample rate
    -b <bitrate>        Set average bitrate to x kbps. (ABR)
                Set average bitrate (ABR) to approximately <bitrate> kbps.
                max. ~500 (stereo)
    -c <freq>   Set the bandwidth in Hz.
                The actual frequency is adjusted to maximize upper spectral band
                usage.
• We can do better about lossy music: Opus complexity & qAAC dependence on Apple is a departure from Vorbis & Musepack breakthroughs
• Clipping-free MP3 encoding for vintage gear: SoX to 44.1 kHz → LoudMax -1 dB ISP → ADClip8 → Smart dither 16 bit → Lame3995o -Q1
• Plz, update WavPack hybrid & FSLAC

Re: how good is the quality of new faac 1.29 (2017-07-17) ?

Reply #68
Is it worth spending the effort and not just use Qaac and remembering to add the --no-delay flag?

Re: how good is the quality of new faac 1.29 (2017-07-17) ?

Reply #69
@Big_Berny, as it turned out, even --no-delay flag does not save the day. There are millisecond discrepancies on some records*, which turn into alarming seconds when rounded up. But by and large, the thing that pushes me to explore the possibilities of other encoders, including Qaac alternatives, is that Qaac is a Windows wrapper for an Apple in-house product, a hack if you will. It is obvious from the extravagant installation, the very extraction of some DLLs from a huge app that you have yet to find and download. This brings back the long-forgotten vibes of the first proprietary MP3 encoders, while I'm looking for something like Vorbis, i.e. a mighty effort of will and intellect for the benefit of humanity in the form of lightweight, portable, cross-platform, future-proof. hassle-free solution. That's why I was happy when QOA was announced.

Code: [Select]
00:06:53.99 = 413.994 = Dead can dance - 1993 - Yulunga.flac
00:06:54.01 = 414.012 = Dead can dance - 1993 - Yulunga.qaac-tvbr109.m4a
• We can do better about lossy music: Opus complexity & qAAC dependence on Apple is a departure from Vorbis & Musepack breakthroughs
• Clipping-free MP3 encoding for vintage gear: SoX to 44.1 kHz → LoudMax -1 dB ISP → ADClip8 → Smart dither 16 bit → Lame3995o -Q1
• Plz, update WavPack hybrid & FSLAC

Re: how good is the quality of new faac 1.29 (2017-07-17) ?

Reply #70
Qaac is a Windows wrapper for an Apple in-house product, a hack if you will. It is obvious from the extravagant installation, the very extraction of some DLLs from a huge app that you have yet to find and download.

What?

You can just install Quicktime and have no need for "extravagant installation", which is, by the way, just extracting needed files from the installer. Once extracted, it's quite portable.
Or you can use it natively on Mac OS.
Or use FDK-AAC, which is also good.
Or use Nero AAC encoder. On high enough bitrates it's quite OK.
Error 404; signature server not available.

Re: how good is the quality of new faac 1.29 (2017-07-17) ?

Reply #71
@itisljar, you don't seem to understand the ideological implications when choosing tools, or I'm having a hard time finding the right words to explain it. Ask yourself, why CoreAudioToolbox.dll and some other files are not supplied next to qaac.exe on Videohelp.com, why Qaac is not even mentioned on Rarewares and Free-codes, why we have a bunch of files instead of a single file like opusenc.exe, why users are having trouble getting Qaac to work? Because it depends on Apple's explicit and implicit restrictions. And it just does not feel right after you have experienced the friendly warmth of solutions such as Vorbis and Musepack, FLAC and WavPack.

As for other AAC encoders, my personal testing has shown that they all have missteps. For example, try encoding the following sample with max settings. In that case, FAAC performed the worst, FFMPEG's one turned out to have a lot of noise, FDK came closest to Qacc, but it tends to cut too much even max VBR5 and introduces delays.
• We can do better about lossy music: Opus complexity & qAAC dependence on Apple is a departure from Vorbis & Musepack breakthroughs
• Clipping-free MP3 encoding for vintage gear: SoX to 44.1 kHz → LoudMax -1 dB ISP → ADClip8 → Smart dither 16 bit → Lame3995o -Q1
• Plz, update WavPack hybrid & FSLAC

Re: how good is the quality of new faac 1.29 (2017-07-17) ?

Reply #72
I agree it doesn't feel right . There is neroaacenc from 2010 that is good quality and default setting produces
musepack like vbr bitrate.

 

Re: how good is the quality of new faac 1.29 (2017-07-17) ?

Reply #73
@itisljar, you don't seem to understand the ideological implications when choosing tools

Thank you for your valuable input, I wish you the best with your future endeavours.