AAC files were created with the goal of dispensing with MP3s. At comparable bit rates, lossy compression offers superior audio quality. Although it was initially introduced into the MPEG-2 Member 7 family, AAC files are now standardised by the ISO/IEC as a part of the MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 families. AAC files have larger sample frequencies, up to 48 channels, more effective coding and filter banks, and better transient signal coding accuracy than MP3 files. AAC files, like MP3 files, eliminate sounds at frequencies that are inaudible to human ears in order to produce smaller and more manageable files. When compared to MP3 files, AAC files have a much reduced file size.
Low Complexity (AAC-LC), Main profile (AAC Main), and Scalable Sampling Rate profile are the three profiles that make up MPEG-2 part 7. (AAC-SSR). AAC files enable non-uniform quantization, temporal noise shaping, and bitstream format modification (for 16 stereo channels, 16 mono channels, 16 low-frequency channels, and 16 commentary channels in a single bitstream). The MPEG-2 component 7 was incorporated into the MPEG-4 Part 3 in 1999. This included Perceptual Noise Substitution and Audio Object Types. The ISO/IEC standard 14496-3 contains information about the current AAC standard. Lossy compression of the audio uses audio masking to remove unnecessary data while maintaining quality.
list of programs that can open AAC documents:
- Windows Media Player
- iTunes
- KMPlayer
- RealPlayer
- VideoLAN VLC Media Player