Have you ever heard of the file extension .aac? Would you know how to open it? In this post we are going to tell you everything we know about this type of file so that you can enjoy it in your day to day.
The .aac file format is much like .mp3, but gets much clearer sound and has improved performance optimization. This type of audio format it is very effective in handling signals, since it works with a frequency greater than 16 kHz. In fact, it is the star format of some programs such as iTunes, Winamp or Windows Media Player due to its benefits.
If you find the data that we have given you up to now interesting, we recommend that you continue reading the interesting paragraphs that follow below because in them we will discover everything and more.
What is and what are files with the .AAC extension used for?
The .aac format responds to the acronyms “Advanced Audio Coding”. It is based on the use of a lossy compression algorithm, as there are others of the type, to shape the files. audio. This means that a certain amount of computer data is removed to favor a high degree of compression of the file.
Of course, we always try to make it resemble, as far as possible, the original, maintaining its essence as much as possible and offering superb quality to weight ratio. The correspondence, at the international level, occurs with the ISO/IEC 13818-7 standard, considering, therefore, MPEG-2 type.
This type of audio format is the upreferably used as a codec for files that are transmitted via the web, digital radio broadcasting and wireless connections. Also, a curious fact for all those Apple lovers, is that .aac is the audio format used for iPods and for its player, iTunes.
Another curiosity is that this format allows to include an author data protection system. In the event that a file does not have copy protection, it will not be able to work in the .aac format.
Next, we are going to present some basic characteristics of this audio format:
- Nope it is a format MPEG-1 compliant.
- It is a format that has a higher performance than MP3, because it has a broadband coding algorithm. It has better quality the smaller it is the file and means that the system invests fewer resources when encoding and decoding is required.
- the maximum bitrate that supports reaches the 1536kbps. It starts at 16 kbps.
- Eliminate redundancies that can have the acoustic signal in a similar way as the MP3 format does.
- It is linked to the concept of VBR (variable bit rate). This means that you use a encoding that varies the number of bits that it uses per second to be able to generate an encoding depending on how complex or simple a transmission is.
- presents a maximum quality in AAC-LC mode.
- We find it as two other profiles: HE-AAC and HE-AACv2.
The way in which the .acc file is created is the one we see in the following image:
How to open and play .AAC files on smartphones or computers?
As we have previously indicated, this type of .AAC file is highly oriented towards playing audio files for all types of devices. Both Apple and Microsoft have a multitude of programs that can play files in this format.
That is why, below, we are going to select the most important ones for each operating system and to tell you how you can open and play these files:
On Windows PC
On a computer with the Windows operating system, we have a large number of programs available that can open this type of file. It is best to look for the one that can be easier for us in terms of installation and subsequent work, as well as that is compatible with other formats that we use often.
You can choose Adobe Audition, AVS Audio Converter, Freemake Audio Converter, MediaMonkey, MPlayer, QuickTime Player, VLC Media Player, RealPlayer, Winamp or even Windows Media Player itself.
As we said, you won’t have a problem with the system’s own multimedia player, so all you have to do is double-click on the file in question and it will open without further ado.
Nevertheless, if you opt for any other software, you will have to download it previously so that it is installed on your computer. The way to achieve it is really diverse, as it will depend on which program you choose. We will use Winamp as an example, which you can download from right here.
Once you do, you have nothing but run the installer clicking on it and follow the steps indicated (they are very simple and are reduced to choose installation location and click on the buttons to “OK”, “Continue” and “Finish”).
In order to open a file in .aac format on our computer, once we have the program of our choice, we must follow the following instructions:
- Beam click on an .AAC file with the button law.
- Click on “To open with”.
- Look for the option “Look for another app on this PC” or “Open with another program/application”.
- Scroll down and click “Select another app”.
- choose from among the list of programs to open it the one that is most indicated (if you do not find the program that interests you, give “More apps”), either Windows’ own or another that you already have or that you have downloaded for it.
- That is when you should check the option “Always use this app to open .aac files”so that every time you want to play files with this format, you only have to double-click on them (they will open with the application you have selected.
- Finish confirming with the button “To accept”.
- You can redo the process to choose another program at any time, always based on your interests.
On MAC computers
In this type of computer there are a series of programs that are included in the system as standard and with which you can reproduce the format at hand. In any case, you can use, for example, Adobe Audition, DVD Ripper, iTunes itself, Real Player, Toast 11 and VLC Media Player.
The steps to follow are identical to Windows, which we have just seen in the previous point. the essence is set the program favorite for it by configuring it from the right click menu of the mouse (on the file) to, once chosen, open your .aac, simply, with a double left click on it. Obviously, the options to choose from will vary slightly in terms of how they are written, but the essence is exactly the same.
On Android mobile phones
On any phone with Android operating system installed you can use the application of VLC Media Playerwhich is the star player for the majority and that we find everywhere, including computers and televisions, although there are some more to be able to play .aac files.
The steps to follow to reproduce a file of this type we will have to follow the following steps:
- First of all, it is necessary to access the Google application store and download the VLC application from it, of course.
- Click on the store icon of Google applications.
- In the search box, type VLC for Android. It is a software created by Videolabs; click on it.
- Click on “Install”; the necessary content will be downloaded and installed automatically.
- If you are prompted to set up your payment method, select “Skip”.
- Then, when you have finished the installation, you can open the application by clicking on its iconwhich will now appear on the desktop of the smartphone.
- Once inside, we must navigate between files that we are interested in reproducing. Do it by clicking on the menu button, top left, and clicking on “Audio”.
- By the time we find the one we want with that format, we must choose it and click on the chosen trackwhich will start playing.
On iPhone devices with iOS
In this type of devices we can use exactly the same programs that we have indicated for MAC computers, as the firm always seeks maximum simplicity for its users. In fact, the programs used for these already exist at the application level in the App Store and are the ones we must use to play both this and other formats.
As we said in the previous section, there are a large number of applications that can be used to open .aac files on Californian brand devices, including its iTunes, others that work on other systems and others exclusive to iOS.
As for the way to enjoy these files, there is more to emulate the points that we have just seen for Android devices. That is, download the program player of your choice (in this case, from the App Store), open it, look for the clue with the acc format and click on it.
ACC vs MP3 What is the best format to listen to music?
There are multiple similarities and differences regarding the .ACC and .MP3 audio formats, from their construction to their uses. The main function of this post has been to try to show everything we know about the first of the formats, although, and always by comparing users and experts, it is interesting to know its alternative in order to choose which of the two is the best.
We are going to show the points that would be more interesting of both so that everyone can decide which is the best format to listen to music as well as to play other types of audio tracks. In addition, with this comparison of formats, we make room for all the ideas that stand out from each one of them, not only to make a decision but to get to know them.
Follow the list below:
- coding CAA is of type variable bit rate and coding MP3on the contrary, is of type constant bitrate. Faced with a complex part, variable rate directly encodes a larger, better quality file. The constant is somewhat simpler and if you want to equalize the quality you must make an adjustment of the complex parts.
- The files of type AAC save 30% space in memory compared to files with MP3 format. The quality of the file is reduced but not the audio.
- There are no free download files of type ACCsince this intends to legally include copyright and, therefore, copy protection (unless, of course, the rights are transferred under the conditions that the author or representatives consider). in the format MP3 can download any content for free without too much difficulty.
- Also the bit rate in the .AAC format is doubled speed that could be obtained using an MP3 format.
- At the same bitrate, AAC offers higher quality.
- In the case of having to use compression for the size of the files, it should be noted that the format mp3 does not carry with it the loss of quality associated with the waves that the user perceives. This does not happen in the same way with the .ACC format, which does lose, even if it is little and in a very specific way and obtaining very successful results.
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