dBpoweramp AIFF Audio Codec


The AIFF codec is a codec which reads and writes files which comply with the AIFF/AIFC specification. AIFF files created with this codec contain linear audio, making this a lossless codec.

AIFC files can contain linear and compressed formats (such as a-law, u-law, ACE2-1, ACE8-3, MAC3-1, etc..). This codec will read and display the compression type in compressed files, but will only decode the linear variants.

Supported by this Codec       

  • Encoding: Yes   [.aif]
  • Multi-processor Encoding: Yes   (with dBpowerAMP reference)
  • Decoding: Yes   [.aif, .aiff, .aifc (only display) ]
  • ID Tag Reading: Yes
  • ID Tag Writing: Yes
  • Unicode Tagging: Yes
  • Supports Album Art: Yes
  • Gapless Encoding & Decoding: Yes
  • Explorer Audio Popup Information: Yes
  • Explorer Columns: Yes
  • Unicode Filenames: Yes

Compatibility

Windows 98 or newer, dBpoweramp R12 or newer required.

 Compression Options 


These are the available options when converting to AIFF:

Bit depth sets the bit depth of the output file(s). Bit depths are available from 8 to 32 bits. "[as source]" is the default setting and uses the bit depth of the source file.

Sample rate sets the sample rate for the output file(s). Sample rates are available from 8 to 192kHz. "[as source]" is the default setting and uses the sample rate of the source file.

Channels sets how many channels will be encoded in the output file(s). "[as source]" is the default setting and uses the number of channels in the source file (recommended).


 Codec Background  


AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) is one of the two most-used audio file formats used in the Apple Macintosh operating system. The other is Sound Designer II (SDII). AIFF is sometimes referred to as "Apple Interchange File Format."

The extension for this file type is ".aif" of ".aiff" when it is used on a PC. On a Mac, the file extension is not needed. A Mac file uses a Type and Creator resource to identify itself to the operating system and the applications that can open it.

An AIFF file contains the raw audio data, channel information (monophonic or stereophonic), bit depth, sample rate, and application-specific data areas. The application-specific data areas let different applications add information to the file header that remains there even if the file is opened and processed by another application. For example, a file could retain information about selected regions of the audio data used for recalling zoom levels not used by other applications.

The AIFC variation of the AIFF specification was conceived to allow compressed audio to be contained within AIFF files. A number of platform specific compression formats were allowed, which have since been superceded by more efficient compression methods such as MP3, WMA, OGG, etc..

More details: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIFF

 ID Tag Details  

The AIFF codec supports the use of iTunes ID3 tags.

 Advanced Options  

There are no advanced options for this codec.

 Command Line  

dBpoweramp Reference allows compressions from the command-line, commands specific to this codec:

-bits="8"                      sets the bit depth to 8 bits.
-bits="16"                    sets the bit depth to 16 bits.
-bits="24"                    sets the bit depth to 24 bits.
-bits="32"                    sets the bit depth to 32 bits.

-freq="8000"                sets the sample rate to 8kHz
-freq="11000"              sets the sample rate to 11kHz
-freq="12000"              sets the sample rate to 12kHz
-freq="16000"              sets the sample rate to 16kHz
-freq="22000"              sets the sample rate to 22kHz
-freq="24000"              sets the sample rate to 24kHz
-freq="32000"              sets the sample rate to 32kHz
-freq="44100"              sets the sample rate to 44,1kHz
-freq="48000"              sets the sample rate to 48kHz
-freq="96000"              sets the sample rate to 96kHz
-freq="192000"            sets the sample rate to 192kHz

-channels="1"             sets the number of channels to 1 (mono)
-channels="2"             sets the number of channels to 2 (stereo)
-channels="3"             sets the number of channels to 3
-channels="4"             sets the number of channels to 4 (quadraphonic) 
-channels="5"             sets the number of channels to 5 (surround)
-channels="6"             sets the number of channels to 6 (5.1 surround)
-channels="7"             sets the number of channels to 7
-channels="8"             sets the number of channels to 8 (7.1 theater)

Example:   "c:\program files\illustrate\dbpoweramp\coreconverter.exe" -infile="c:\afile.wav" -outfile="c:\outfile.aif" -convert_to="Aiff" -bits="16" -freq="44100" -channels="2"

The above example will create the file "c:\outfile.aif", an AIFF file with 16 bits, 2 channels (stereo) and a sample rate of 44.1kHz.

 Terminology  

Encoding:  compress and write an audio file,
Decoding:  uncompress, or read an audio file,
ID Tags:  meta data such as artist & album are embedded inside the audio file,
Lossless:  compression without audio quality loss,
Lossy:  audio quality is sacrificed (how much depends on bitrate and codec used) to achieve smaller files,
Gapless:  allows the decoder to decode audio stream without gaps (silence),
Explorer Audio Popup:  a dBpoweramp function, hold the mouse over a supported audio file and details contained are displayed,
Explorer Columns:  columns can be added to Explorer Windows such as bitrate & ID Tag elements,
Multi-processor Encoding:  for dual processor, or multi core processors multiple files can be compressed at once fully using both (or more) CPUs.
Command Line:  text interface, where commands are typed (start >> run >> cmd  to get to the command line).
 

 Version Changes  

Complete Version Changes