Divx -v 4
Before anyone encodes a huge amount of files and goes through the needed muxing step here are my first results of DivX VBR AAC encoding.
I encoded my usual reference sets (25 various and 25 classical tracks) @ -v 4 and -v 5.
I used Speek's Batchenc program as a GUI for DivXAACEnc.exe. http://members.home.nl/w.speek/batchenc.htm
For -v 4 a command line that works is:
[path to the encoder]\DivXAACEnc.exe -i <infile> -o <outfile.aac> -v 4
After encoding I muxed the raw AAC tracks with Mp4Box v.0.4.6 (dev.20091013). http://kurtnoise.free.fr/mp4tools/
Once again I used Batchenc as a front end. A command line that works is:
[path to the muxer]\MP4Box.exe -add <infile> <outfile.m4a>
According to the documentation the m4a extension makes MP4box to automatically create an "iTunes compatible" file (whatever that is supposed to mean).
Then I measured the individual track bitrates with foobar and calculated the results with a spreadsheet (I need to do that because my reference sets have tracks that were carefully selected only because of their individual audio qualities. The varied track durations would add incorrect weighting in this case.
EDIT: For instance, foobar calculates the overall bitrate of the complete selection and thus longer tracks have more weight than shorter tracks in the displayed average value.
The results:
-v 4
DivX -v 4 Various
AC_DC - Highway to Hell 127
Adiemus - Boogie Woogie Llanoogie 122
Barry White - Sho' You Right 128
Björk - Possibly Maybe - LFO (Lucy Mix) 120
Davis Bowie - Starman 127
Dido - Life For Rent 123
Duran Duran - Astronaut 129
ELO - Livin' Thing 123
Erich Kunzel & The Cincinnati Pops - Theme from The Pink Panther 109
Evanescence - Going Under 126
Faithless - Mass Destruction 121
Garbage - Bleed Like Me 124
Jamiroquai - World That He Wants 114
Kraftwerk - Tour de France Etape 1 131
Morrissey - Irish Blood, English Heart 129
Paco De Lucia - Rumba Improvisada 118
Santana - Oye Como Va 131
Simply Red - You Make Me Believe 125
Sting - Desert Rose 127
The Beatles - Let It Be 119
Tina Arena - Symphony of Life 118
U2 - Vertigo 129
Whitney Houston - Queen Of The Night 124
Yello - Planet Dada 135
Yo-Yo Ma - Libertango 114
Average 123.72
DivX -v 4 Classical
Aldo Ciccolini - Satie, Sports Et Divertissements, Le Flirt 95
Alfred Brendel - Beethoven, Piano Sonata No 15, Op 28 Scherzo 102
Baroque Festival Orchestra - Vivaldi, Sinfonia in C major, 3. Presto 114
Berlin - Mahler, Symphony No 8, 2 Chailly, Ewiger Wonnebrand 110
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra - Mozart, Requem in D moll K 626, Sanctus 119
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra - Strauss, Also Sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra) 108
Christophe Rousset - Farinelli, Il Castrato (OST), J.A. Hasse, Generoso risuegliati 108
Concentus Musicus Wien - Bach, Matthäus Passion BWV 244, Da ging hin der Zwölfen Einer 99
Daniel Barenboim - Mozart, Piano Concerto No 3 in D major, K40-3 103
Gérard Lesne - Vivaldi, Sonate Op 2 No 3 pour violon & bc, III. Adagio 107
Giuseppe Sinopoli - Elgar, Cello Concerto, Serenade for Strings, Enigma-Andante 98
Itzhak Perlman - Paganini, 24 Caprises, No 1 In E 112
Jascha Heifetz - Sarasate, Zigeunerweisen, Op 20 No 1 116
Jessye Norman - Angels we have heard on high (Trad.) 113
Kirov Orchestra & Chorus - Khatchaturian, Gayaneh, Säbeltanz 117
Leslie Howard - Liszt, Douze Grandes Études, S 137 No 1 in C 91
London Sinfonietta - Saint-Saëns, Le carnaval des animaux, Hémiones 95
London Symphony Orchestra - Ravel, Daphnis et Chloé, 10. Tres modere 95
Marie-Claire Alain - Bach, Wo Soll Ich Fliehen Hin BWV 646 107
Michael Nyman - The Piano OST, A Bed of Ferns 100
Orchestre Symphonique De Montreal - Elgar, Enigma Variations No 1 104
Philharmonia Slavonica - Bach, BWV 1067 Rondeau 113
The Cleveland Orcestra - Ravel Valses, nobles et sentimentales, 1. Modere 115
The Philadelphia Orchestra - Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker, Op 71a (Ballet Suite) No 2 109
Zbigniew Preisner - Trois Couleurs Bleu (OST), First flute 88
Average 105.52
DivX -v 4 Overall average 114.62
-v 5
DivX -v 5 Various
AC_DC - Highway to Hell 152
Adiemus - Boogie Woogie Llanoogie 145
Barry White - Sho' You Right 154
Björk - Possibly Maybe - LFO (Lucy Mix) 142
Davis Bowie - Starman 152
Dido - Life For Rent 148
Duran Duran - Astronaut 154
ELO - Livin' Thing 147
Erich Kunzel & The Cincinnati Pops - Theme from The Pink Panther 130
Evanescence - Going Under 151
Faithless - Mass Destruction 143
Garbage - Bleed Like Me 148
Jamiroquai - World That He Wants 135
Kraftwerk - Tour de France Etape 1 156
Morrissey - Irish Blood, English Heart 155
Paco De Lucia - Rumba Improvisada 140
Santana - Oye Como Va 156
Simply Red - You Make Me Believe 148
Sting - Desert Rose 153
The Beatles - Let It Be 141
Tina Arena - Symphony of Life 140
U2 - Vertigo 155
Whitney Houston - Queen Of The Night 148
Yello - Planet Dada 161
Yo-Yo Ma - Libertango 135
Average 147.56
DivX -v 5 Classical
Aldo Ciccolini - Satie, Sports Et Divertissements, Le Flirt 113
Alfred Brendel - Beethoven, Piano Sonata No 15, Op 28 Scherzo 120
Baroque Festival Orchestra - Vivaldi, Sinfonia in C major, 3. Presto 136
Berlin - Mahler, Symphony No 8, 2 Chailly, Ewiger Wonnebrand 129
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra - Mozart, Requem in D moll K 626, Sanctus 143
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra - Strauss, Also Sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra) 129
Christophe Rousset - Farinelli, Il Castrato (OST), J.A. Hasse, Generoso risuegliati 129
Concentus Musicus Wien - Bach, Matthäus Passion BWV 244, Da ging hin der Zwölfen Einer 116
Daniel Barenboim - Mozart, Piano Concerto No 3 in D major, K40-3 121
Gérard Lesne - Vivaldi, Sonate Op 2 No 3 pour violon & bc, III. Adagio 128
Giuseppe Sinopoli - Elgar, Cello Concerto, Serenade for Strings, Enigma-Andante 116
Itzhak Perlman - Paganini, 24 Caprises, No 1 In E 132
Jascha Heifetz - Sarasate, Zigeunerweisen, Op 20 No 1 137
Jessye Norman - Angels we have heard on high (Trad.) 134
Kirov Orchestra & Chorus - Khatchaturian, Gayaneh, Säbeltanz 140
Leslie Howard - Liszt, Douze Grandes Études, S 137 No 1 in C 107
London Sinfonietta - Saint-Saëns, Le carnaval des animaux, Hémiones 112
London Symphony Orchestra - Ravel, Daphnis et Chloé, 10. Tres modere 113
Marie-Claire Alain - Bach, Wo Soll Ich Fliehen Hin BWV 646 126
Michael Nyman - The Piano OST, A Bed of Ferns 119
Orchestre Symphonique De Montreal - Elgar, Enigma Variations No 1 123
Philharmonia Slavonica - Bach, BWV 1067 Rondeau 134
The Cleveland Orcestra - Ravel Valses, nobles et sentimentales, 1. Modere 136
The Philadelphia Orchestra - Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker, Op 71a (Ballet Suite) No 2 129
Zbigniew Preisner - Trois Couleurs Bleu (OST), First flute 103
Average 125
DivX -v 5 Overall average 136.28
Summary:
DivX -v 4
Various 123.72
Classical 105.52
Average 114.62
DivX -v 5
Various 147.56
Classical 125.00
Average 136.28
Apparently -v 4 produces quite low bitrates. -v 5 is closer to the test target, though a bit on the high side.