Ovolab AAChoo vs. iTunes

Q: What are Ovolab AAChoo's advantages over iTunes?
A: Besides its ease of use and batch processing functionality, Ovolab AAChoo does more than just encoding music into AAC. It can also encode to 3GPP format, as well as encoding video and other media to MPEG 4 format.

AAC vs. MP3

Q: When converting an MP3 song to AAC, does the sound quality increase?
A: No, part of the frequency information was lost when the song was originally ripped to MP3, and can't be recovered through a conversion to AAC. The only way to get a better-sounding rip is to start off with the original song from the CD and encode it directly in AAC format using Ovolab AAChoo.

Q: If quality can only decrease, why on earth should I convert my MP3s to AAC?
A: Of course, the best thing is to encode the original, uncompressed sound file. If it is not available, you can still convert your MP3s to AAC and get smaller files with no noticeable decrease in quality. This means that you can store more songs on your computer or your iPod. Additionally, transferring or streaming AAC songs over the Internet requires less bandwidth than MP3 files.

About Ovolab AAChoo

Q: Does Ovolab AAChoo retain album artwork when converting mp3 songs?
A: The current version does not. We plan to add this feature in a future version.

Q: Why doesn't Ovolab AAChoo preserve tags when encoding AIFF files or Audio CD tracks?
A: Strictly speaking, AIFF files and Audio CD tracks do not contain any tags. If you see song information in iTunes, it is because iTunes performed a lookup on the Internet when ripping the song, therefore retrieving such data and storing it internally. We will consider adding a similar lookup feature to AAChoo in the future.

About the iPod

Q: How much space can I save on my iPod by converting all MP3 songs to AAC?
A: There is no formula to calculate the amount of space you will save. It depends on how your current MP3 songs were encoded, at which bit rate, and many other factors. On average, you can expect to save about 20% of the used disk space by re-encoding the files in AAC format without a noticeable loss in quality.

Q: How do I convert the songs on my iPod?
A: Since iTunes keeps the iPod synchronized with its library, you simply need to convert the songs in the iTunes library to AAC. Ovolab AAChoo does this for you: simply make sure the "Automatically update iTunes library" option is active. The next time you connect your iPod, iTunes will automatically copy the converted songs over to your iPod, replacing the previous version.

About the AAC file format

Q: I heard that the AAC format includes DRM features for copyright protection. Does this mean that the songs I will encode in AAC format will be limited in distribution and/or playback?
A: No, such limitations only apply to specific sound files whose filename ends in ".m4p" and whose icon shows a lock next to "AAC". Ovolab AAChoo only encodes sound in "unlocked" AAC format.

Q: Why does a song encoded at low quality take up the same space on disk as the same song encoded at high quality?
A: The encoder quality only affects the perceived quality of the sound and the time required to encode the sound in AAC format. It does not change the size of the resulting file significantly. In order to generate a smaller or larger file, use the bit rate setting instead.