Convert AAC to AIFF

A proprietary format with lossy compression, which have been created as an alternative for MP3 with a higher quality of coding. Overtones out of human perception are being removed. AAC is two times less than MP3, which means 1/10 of CD digital data.

The format has been widely used since 1997 as the seventh release of the MPEG-2 family. As hardware players supply it, the format is highly demanded by music fans. It has been widely spread in Apple production and is being used by default in iTunes.

The format conception is similar to MP3, but it is more advanced. Being able to execute larger compression, it is represented as a separate segment of MPEG-4 standard used to create compact audio files. AAC is highly efficient with variable and continuous bitrate, with a sampling frequency of 8-96 kHz.

The current version complies with the standard of ISO/IEC 14496-3. Compression is performed based on an auditory masking effect that provides data reduction with no deterioration for sound quality.

AIFF is intended for viewing and processing of audio data, as well as for its storage in digital devices. Apple designers developed it on the base of IFF in late 1980s. Thanks to lossless coding, it is very similar to WAV. In Windows OS, it is mostly used with .aiff extension.

AIFF files have gained significant attention from Mac PC users. They are popular as well among professional musicians who are most particular about sound quality. The fact that the format is widely supported by various multimedia software, and universal players, may also be considered a notable benefit. To open AIFF files in Windows OS, installing Apple iTunes, Windows Media Player, Roxio Creator, and some other programs are required.

When being coded, the stream is divided into sound segments. A minute of standard stereo sound corresponds with 10 Mb of memory approximately. Standard non-compressed files use .aif or .aiff. In such files, audio data are represented in the form of pulse code modulation. If some data are lost through codecs, .aifc is used.

A standard 16 bit AIFF file has two channels for stereo sound and a 44 100 Hz sampling frequency. Being non-compressed, it differs in size significantly from MP3 and other similar formats. Sometimes it may contain samples and cycle information.