Skip to main content ↑ ↓

Notice

Please note that most of the software linked on this forum is likely to be safe to use. If you are unsure, feel free to ask in the relevant topics, or send a private message to an administrator or moderator. To help curb the problems of false positives, or in the event that you do find actual malware, you can contribute through the article linked here.
Topic: AAC Support (Read 5180 times) previous topic - next topic
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

AAC Support

Why is there limited support for this format

from portable music player manufacturers?

AAC Support

Reply #1 –
Quote from: zagabriia on
Why is there limited support for this format from portable music player manufacturers?


I'd guess a combination of licensing fees and lack of demand.  Given low margins, and intense competition for the small pool of AAC users coming from Apple, I doubt it makes much financial sense to fork over the cash for AAC.

AAC Support

Reply #2 –
Technically speaking, the amount of AAC users coming from Apple represent a rather large pool.  Most people install iTunes, plug in their iPod, and start ripping their CDs.  They don't look at what settings iTunes is using to encode the CD or anything like that, they just rip and go.  Since iPods sell the most units, it would lead one to believe that one of the most popular audio formats out there is actually AAC (I would put it in second place when compared to mp3) whether this popularity is intentional or not.

I imagine AAC support is slim right now because it's popularity is relatively new.  iPods have been popular since around 2003 but haven't been massively popular until about 2005.  4 years of "extreme" popularity is nothing compared to the amount of time that mp3 has been popular.

AAC support is growing rather quickly though.  Nintendo's new DSi will support the playback of only AAC files from its SD card.  You can also go to your local electronics store and see that the amount of home theater systems, DVD/Blu-ray players, "boom box" systems, and car CD decks have all increased in terms of AAC compatibility.  So AAC is gaining support but the format hasn't been around nearly as long as mp3 and it has only been really popular for about 4 years now.

AAC Support

Reply #3 –
Ok, I see your point. I would just like to see widespread support sooner, rather

than later.  I say that because the choice choice of portable media players with AAC

support is limited.

AAC Support

Reply #4 –
I wish there was an itunes/QT command line encoder.

AAC Support

Reply #5 –
The amount of portable players supporting AAC has also increased.  All iPods and Zunes support AAC (the Zune software even supports AAC files), Creatives Zen and Zen X-fi players, Sony's Walkman branded portables playback AAC files, and a few SanDisk Sansa players support AAC.  The only other company out there (that you can buy at stores such as Best Buy) that needs to increase AAC compatibility is SanDisk.  I think even Archos' players support AAC playback but Cowon, for whatever reason (they support OGG but not AAC), doesn't support the playback of AAC files.  Either way you should be able to go to your local electronics store and easily find an AAC compatible portable player.
 

AAC Support

Reply #7 –
Quote from: kornchild2002 on
The only other company out there (that you can buy at stores such as Best Buy) that needs to increase AAC compatibility is SanDisk.  I think even Archos' players support AAC playback but Cowon, for whatever reason (they support OGG but not AAC), doesn't support the playback of AAC files.  Either way you should be able to go to your local electronics store and easily find an AAC compatible portable player.


Sandisk dropped AAC on their newer players (though they added Ogg and FLAC which is nice), so I don't think they're going to be improving their AAC support.  Presumably the reason they supported it on the View is because they had to pay MPEG4 license fees anyway to get video support.