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Until iTunes gets better about specifying the exact level of quality of the music tracks I'm buying, it's still a no-go for me.

CharlesW 3y ago
Purchased tracks are either 256 kbps AAC or ALAC (Apple Lossless). It's worth noting that Apple's AAC encoder beats everything else (I've done lots of testing), even though at 256 kbps this isn't a huge consideration. Their Apple Digital Masters program (formerly Mastered for iTunes or "MFiT") offers guidance and tools for labels, which is why Apple's iTunes catalog offers such consistently high quality. https://www.apple.com/apple-music/apple-digital-masters/docs/apple-digital-masters.pdf https://www.apple.com/apple-music/apple-digital-masters/docs...
- PaulHoule 3y ago
  I keep most of my music in Jellyfin (at least most of the stereo as opposed to 5.1 music) I wrote a Python script that would download chosen albums from the server, run them through the Apple's command line AAC encoder, cache the results, and then carefully copy them in the right order to an exFAT file system on a USB stick that I use in my car. I've been wanting to add a lot of Super Furry Animals albums to that stick but my mac mini died last year and I wasn't in a hurry to get a new mac. From time to time I think about pulling the SSD out of it and getting the Python script running on my Linux server, I could either use a MP3 encoder like LAME (always encoding at a high bit rate so it's going to be OK) but I do hear people have cheated to get the Apple AAC encoder to run on other OS https://www.andrews-corner.org/qaac.html https://www.andrews-corner.org/qaac.html I've used the same software to pack up music for my Garmin watch and for that I do use AAC Pro at 96kbps because I figure in the gym or out on a run it is a noisy environment. For that the Apple encoder really is superior to alternatives.

CharlesW 3y ago

Purchased tracks are either 256 kbps AAC or ALAC (Apple Lossless). It's worth noting that Apple's AAC encoder beats everything else (I've done lots of testing), even though at 256 kbps this isn't a huge consideration. Their Apple Digital Masters program (formerly Mastered for iTunes or "MFiT") offers guidance and tools for labels, which is why Apple's iTunes catalog offers such consistently high quality. https://www.apple.com/apple-music/apple-digital-masters/docs/apple-digital-masters.pdf https://www.apple.com/apple-music/apple-digital-masters/docs...

PaulHoule 3y ago
I keep most of my music in Jellyfin (at least most of the stereo as opposed to 5.1 music) I wrote a Python script that would download chosen albums from the server, run them through the Apple's command line AAC encoder, cache the results, and then carefully copy them in the right order to an exFAT file system on a USB stick that I use in my car. I've been wanting to add a lot of Super Furry Animals albums to that stick but my mac mini died last year and I wasn't in a hurry to get a new mac. From time to time I think about pulling the SSD out of it and getting the Python script running on my Linux server, I could either use a MP3 encoder like LAME (always encoding at a high bit rate so it's going to be OK) but I do hear people have cheated to get the Apple AAC encoder to run on other OS https://www.andrews-corner.org/qaac.html https://www.andrews-corner.org/qaac.html I've used the same software to pack up music for my Garmin watch and for that I do use AAC Pro at 96kbps because I figure in the gym or out on a run it is a noisy environment. For that the Apple encoder really is superior to alternatives.