EAC and AAC (qaac): Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:24, 21 July 2024

Exact Audio Copy guides
Configuration
EAC configuration EAC Options EAC Drive Options EAC Compression Options EAC Metadata Options EAC WAV Editor Options EAC Configuration Wizard
Compression
EAC and AAC (neroAac)‎ EAC and AAC (qaac)‎ EAC and ALAC (FFmpeg)‎ EAC and ALAC (qaac)‎ EAC and ALAC (refalac)‎‎‎ EAC and FLAC EAC and LAME EAC and LossyWAV EAC and Monkey's Audio EAC and Musepack EAC and Ogg Vorbis EAC and Opus EAC and TAK EAC and WavPack
Other
EAC Gap Settings EAC and Cue Sheets EAC Lossless Backup

This page has been locked to avoid vandalism. If you would like
to suggest changes to it, please use the discussion page or the forum.

This article will be updated for AAC options only. ALAC options will move to a new article.

‎

Software Needed

Exact Audio Copy
qaac - CLI QuickTime AAC/ALAC encoder
Apple Application Support (e.g. iTunes)

Installation

Note: This guide assumes that EAC has been configured for secure ripping, if not please review this guide.

Download the latest version of qaac - CLI QuickTime AAC/ALAC encoder
Uncompress the zip archive into a directory (e.g. C:\qaac). Alternatively you can uncompress just the files from the x64 directory (64-bit) or just the files from the x86 directory (32-bit) into a directory (e.g. C:\qaac).
Check for Apple Application Support
If you believe that you already have the required Apple Application Support (e.g. iTunes installed) you can run this check:
1. Open a command prompt window (press ⊞ Win+R, then type cmd and press ↵ Enter).
2. Change directory to where the qaac or qaac64 file is located (e.g. type cd\qaac and press ↵ Enter).
3. Type qaac64.exe --check (for 64-bit) or type qaac.exe --check (for 32-bit) and press ↵ Enter.
  A version number should be displayed.

If you do not already have the required Apple Application Support
You can install iTunes.
1. Download iTunes64Setup.exe (64-bit) or iTunesSetup.exe (32-bit) and install.
2. Run the check for Apple Application Support above.

Alternative to installing iTunes
It is possible to extract the necessary Apple Application Support files without installing iTunes.
1. Install 7-zip, if not already installed (the script used below requires it).
2. Download iTunes64Setup.exe (64-bit) or iTunesSetup.exe (32-bit) and move to the directory where you extracted the x64 (64-bit) or the x86 (32-bit) qaac files above.
3. Download makeportable2.cmd and move to the same directory.
4. Double-click on the makeportable2.cmd file.
5. The script will create a new subdirectory (\QTfiles64 or \QTfiles) in the same directory.
6. Run the check for Apple Application Support above.
  If all is working as expected, makeportable2.cmd, iTunesSetup.exe, and/or iTunes64Setup.exe are no longer needed.

Configuration

Open EAC and insert a CD into the drive.
Click the EAC menu and select Compression Options.
Click the External Compression Tab, and put a tick in the box for use external program for compression.
Change Parameter Passing Scheme to User Defined Encoder.
Change Use file extension to .m4a (you could alternately use .mp4 (though not recommended)).
Click the Browse button and locate the qaac.exe or qaac64.exe that you unzipped earlier.
Remove the ticks from Use CRC check and Add ID3 tag.
Tick Check for external programs return code.
If you are using EAC 1.0b2 or newer, then in the Additional command line options box, copy and paste from the following example(s):‎

AAC ABR (Small file size):

--title "%title%" --artist "%artist%" --band "%albumartist%" --album "%albumtitle%" --genre "%genre%" --date "%year%" --track "%tracknr%/%numtracks%" -a 96 -q 1 %source% -o %dest%

AAC ABR (iTunes High Quality):

--title "%title%" --artist "%artist%" --band "%albumartist%" --album "%albumtitle%" --genre "%genre%" --date "%year%" --track "%tracknr%/%numtracks%" -a 128 -q 1 %source% -o %dest%

AAC True VBR mode (90):

--title "%title%" --artist "%artist%" --band "%albumartist%" --album "%albumtitle%" --genre "%genre%" --date "%year%" --track "%tracknr%/%numtracks%" -V90 %source% -o %dest%

AAC Constrained VBR mode (iTunes Plus):

--title "%title%" --artist "%artist%" --band "%albumartist%" --album "%albumtitle%" --genre "%genre%" --date "%year%" --track "%tracknr%/%numtracks%" -v 256 -q 2 %source% -o %dest%

AAC Constrained VBR mode (Maximum Quality):

--title "%title%" --artist "%artist%" --band "%albumartist%" --album "%albumtitle%" --genre "%genre%" --date "%year%" --track "%tracknr%/%numtracks%" -v 0 -q 2 %source% -o %dest%

qaac command line usage

Command Line Options

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-{{EAC guides}}{{Locked‏‎}}
+{{EAC guides}}{{Locked‏‎}}{{panel|This article will be updated for AAC options only. ALAC options will move to a new article.|color=red}}
-{{panel|This article will be updated for AAC options only. ALAC options will move to a new article.|color=red}}
+‎<onlyinclude><!-- Edits made between the 'onlyinclude' tags will also change the text in the EAC and ALAC (qaac) article -->
-‎<onlyinclude>
 ===Software Needed===
 * [https://www.exactaudiocopy.de/en/index.php/resources/download/ Exact Audio Copy]
 * [https://github.com/nu774/qaac/releases qaac - CLI QuickTime AAC/ALAC encoder]
+* Apple Application Support (e.g. iTunes)
 ===Installation===
-'''Note:''' This guide assumes that EAC has been configured for secure ripping, if not please follow [[EAC_Drive_Configuration | this]] guide.
+'''Note:''' This guide assumes that EAC has been configured for secure ripping, if not please review [[EAC_Drive_Options|this]] guide.
 * Download the latest version of [https://github.com/nu774/qaac/releases qaac - CLI QuickTime AAC/ALAC encoder]
-* Uncompress the zip archive into a directory (e.g. C:\qaac). Alternatively you can uncompress the chosen QAAC version (include '''qaac.exe''' for 32-bit, include '''qaac64.exe''' for 64-bit) into the same directory as EAC.
+* Uncompress the zip archive into a directory (e.g. {{code|'''C:\qaac'''}}). Alternatively you can uncompress just the files from the '''x64''' directory (64-bit) or just the files from the '''x86''' directory (32-bit) into a directory (e.g. {{code|'''C:\qaac'''}}).
+* <span id="check">Check for '''Apple Application Support'''</span>
+*: If you believe that you already have the required '''Apple Application Support''' (e.g. iTunes installed) you can run this check:
+*# Open a command prompt window (press {{key press|Win|R}}, then type {{code|'''cmd'''}} and press {{key press|Enter}}).
+*# Change directory to where the '''qaac''' or '''qaac64''' file is located (e.g. type {{code|'''cd\qaac'''}} and press {{key press|Enter}}).
+*# Type {{code|'''qaac64.exe --check'''}} (for 64-bit) or type {{code|'''qaac.exe --check'''}} (for 32-bit) and press {{key press|Enter}}.</br>A version number should be displayed.
+* If you do not already have the required '''Apple Application Support'''
+*: You can install iTunes.
+*# Download [https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/win64 iTunes64Setup.exe] (64-bit) or [https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/win32 iTunesSetup.exe] (32-bit) and install.
+*# Run the '''[[#check|check]]''' for '''Apple Application Support''' above.
+* Alternative to installing iTunes
+*: It is possible to extract the necessary '''Apple Application Support''' files without installing iTunes.
+*# Install [https://www.7-zip.org/download.html 7-zip], if not already installed (the script used below requires it).
+*# Download [https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/win64 iTunes64Setup.exe] (64-bit) or [https://www.apple.com/itunes/download/win32 iTunesSetup.exe] (32-bit) and move to the directory where you extracted the '''x64''' (64-bit) or the '''x86''' (32-bit) '''qaac''' files above.
+*# Download [https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nu774/makeportable/master/makeportable2.cmd makeportable2.cmd] and move to the same directory.
+*# Double-click on the {{code|'''makeportable2.cmd'''}} file.
+*# The script will create a new subdirectory ({{code|'''\QTfiles64'''}} or {{code|'''\QTfiles'''}}) in the same directory.
+*# Run the '''[[#check|check]]''' for '''Apple Application Support''' above.
+*#: If all is working as expected, '''makeportable2.cmd''', '''iTunesSetup.exe''', and/or '''iTunes64Setup.exe''' are no longer needed.
 === Configuration ===
@@ Line 17: / Line 37: @@
 * Click the '''External Compression''' Tab, and put a tick in the box for '''use external program for compression'''.
 * Change '''Parameter Passing Scheme''' to '''User Defined Encoder'''.
-* Change '''Use file extension''' to '''.m4a''' if not already that.<!-- DO NOT suggest MP4 for general user -->
+* Change '''Use file extension''' to '''.m4a''' (you could alternately use '''.mp4''' (though ''not recommended'')).<!-- DO NOT suggest just MP4 for the general user, m4a (mp4 audio only) is default in qaac -->
 * Click the '''Browse''' button and locate the '''qaac.exe''' or '''qaac64.exe''' that you unzipped earlier.
 * Remove the ticks from '''Use CRC check''' and '''Add ID3 tag'''.
@@ Line 47: / Line 67: @@
 * '''Low quality''' in EAC = ABR mode = VBR off in iTunes.
 * Note: for other encoding modes (such as CBR, True VBR, HE-AAC, etc.), edit the parameters between the %islow% and/or %ishigh% tags. See [https://github.com/nu774/qaac/wiki/Command-Line-Options Command Line Options]. -->
 ===qaac command line usage===
 * [https://github.com/nu774/qaac/wiki/Command-Line-Options Command Line Options]