| Name | MP4 | AAC |
| Full name | MP4 - MPEG-4 Part 14 | AAC - Advanced Audio Coding |
| File extension | .mp4, .m4a, .m4p, .m4b, .m4r, .m4v | .aac |
| MIME type | video/mp4 | audio/aac |
| Developed by | International Organization for Standardization | Bell Labs, Fraunhofer Institute etc. |
| Type of format | Media container | Audio compression format |
| Description | MPEG-4 Part 14 or MP4 is a digital multimedia format most commonly used to store video and audio and store other data such as subtitles and still images. Like most modern container formats, it allows streaming over the Internet. | Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) is an audio coding standard for lossy digital audio compression. Designed to be the successor of the MP3 format, AAC generally achieves better sound quality than MP3 at similar bit rates. ISO and IEC have standardized AAC as part of the MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 specifications. |
| Technical details | Most kinds of data can be embedded in MPEG-4 Part 14 files through private streams. A separate hint track is used to include streaming information in the file. | AAC supports the inclusion of 48 full-bandwidth audio channels in one stream plus 16 low-frequency effects channels, up to 16 'coupling' or dialog channels, and up to 16 data streams. The quality for stereo is satisfactory to modest requirements at 96 kbit/s in joint stereo mode; however, hi-fi transparency demands data rates of at least 128 kbit/s. |
| File conversion | MP4 conversion | AAC conversion |
| Associated programs | Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, MPlayer, Media Player Classic, VLC Media Player, K-Multimedia Player | foobar2000, AIMP, DirectShow, QuickTime, VLC media player. |
| Wiki | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG-4_Part_14 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Audio_Coding |
Audio converter and CD ripper for various formats. Fre:ac is a free audio converter and CD ripper for various formats and encoders. It features MP3, MP4/M4A, WMA, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, AAC, and Bonk format support, integrates freedb/CDDB, CDText and ID3v2 tagging and is available in several languages.
YouTube is a paradise for you to browse through millions of entertaining videos like music videos, talk shows, audiobooks, etc. What if you want to download and save YouTube to audio for offline listening? This article lists out the 5 best YouTube to AAC converters and also shows you how to convert YouTube to AAC with high quality.
Best YouTube to AAC Converter for Mac
Use Cisdem Video Converter to rip audio from YouTube.
- How to Convert FLAC with the Free FLAC File Converter for Mac: Step 1. Install and run MediaHuman Audio Converter on Mac. There are 4 ways to import FLAC files: Directly drag and drop the files into the software. Click the “+” button on the toolbar to select FLAC. Hit the folder button to add a folder that contains.
- Top 7 AAC Recorders for Windows and Mac. FVC Free Screen Recorder. The first and by far the most accessible tool that you can find online is FVC Free Audio Recorder. It is a free online tool that you can access using a web browser and a stable internet connection. For this reason, many find this tool helpful.
- Fre:ac is a free and open source audio converter and CD ripper that comes with an integrated tag editor and supports various audio file formats. Use fre:ac to easily convert audio files to different formats or rip audio CDs to FLAC or MP3 files for use with a mobile player or smartphone. Fre:ac can even convert whole music.
- Now you can convert aac file to mp3 with the free AAC to MP3 Converter, which also allows you to convert AAC to AIFF, FLAC, WAV, AC3, OGG, and WMA. In addition, the following formats are supported for converting to AAC: MP3, AC3, WAV, AC3, APE, OGG, RA, FLAC, etc. You can convert your AAC files to various audio formats with the Free AAC Converter.
- Convert YouTube video to AAC, MP3, WAV, MP4, iPhone, iTunes, etc.
- Support 300+ file formats, including presets for popular devices
- Pick amongst various audio bitrate options of 96K, 128K, 192K, 320K, etc.
- Extract and download videos/audios from 1000+ webs
- Backup and digitize DVD collections (e.g. full movies)
- Easy editing: cut, crop, merge, rotate, insert watermark/effects, etc.
- Keep very fast conversion speed while not slowing down your Mac
- Batch handle all videos in the queue
What is AAC?
AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) is a lossy audio compression format. It's mainly used for audio coding at medium to high bit rates. AAC is the default audio format by iTunes as well as the standard format for many other devices and platforms. Sometimes, it will be housed in an M4A file container, so it usually has an .M4A file extension.
Why Convert YouTube to AAC Audio?
You may be confused that why not convert YouTube to MP3, the most commonly distributed lossy audio formats? Because AAC is designed as the successor to MP3 format, it's produces better audio quality than MP3 for a given bitrate rate (e.g. 128 kbps). It's also compatible with almost all devices and software that support MP3, such as iPhone, iPod, iPad, Apple iTunes, DivX Plus Web Player, PlayStation 3, BlackBerry, Android, and so on.
You can convert YouTube to AAC audio through the following methods. Click one of the links to jump to a specific part of the page:
- Method #1. Use a professional desktop app
Method #2. Use YouTube to AAC online converters
Method #3. Record YouTube and convert it to AAC
Method #4. Convert YouTube to AAC on Android
Convert YouTube to AAC All in Queue on Computer
Cisdem Video Converter is a simple and nifty YouTube to AAC converter for Mac, with many video processing features you need. It's able to rip audio from YouTube and save audio as any lossy or lossless formats like AAC, M4A, AC3, MP3, WMA, OGG, AIFF, MKA, AU, etc. Besides downloading movies and music videos from YouTube, it also supports thousands of websites, such as Niconico, Facebook, Instagram, Veoh, Vine, Blip, Wistia, Periscope, and more.
As an all-in-one YouTube to AAC downloader app, it allows you to engage in essential editing work prior to exporting videos to audio files.
Complete instruction to Convert YouTube to AAC with high quality on Mac:
Part I. Download YouTube videos.
Step 1. Download and install Cisdem Video Converter.
Step 2. Launch the software, and click the icon to enter the video download panel.
Step 3. Search for your needed YouTube video.
Step 4. Copy the YouTube video’s URL from the address bar at the top to the clipboard.
Step 5. Paste the URL into the text box of Cisdem Video Converter and click button.
The software allows batch downloading of videos, even if longer than 2 hours. Therefore, you can add a plethora of video URLs (from YouTube or other websites) to analyze and download at the same time.
When the YouTube download finishes, click the button to find those videos.
Part II. Convert YouTube to AAC all in queue.
Step 1. Click the button to switch to the “convert” interface.
Step 2. Directly drag-n-drop your downloaded YouTube videos to it.
Convert Audio To Aac
Step 3. Move to the bottom left and find 'Convert all tasks to'. Click the format next to it to open the format list.
Step 4. Navigate to 'General Audio' category and select 'AAC Audio'.
If you just wish to convert YouTube to any AAC-encoded audio format, you can also choose M4A and MKA as the output format.
Step 5. Click the button to convert YouTube to AAC on Mac.
Tip: Cisdem Video Converter is equipped with advanced settings for full quality control over the resulting files before conversion. On the format panel, click the icon right beside format. A window as shown in the screenshot below appears, where you can regulate the media settings like bitrate, audio channels, resolution, etc.
If you are using a Windows-based computer, try another desktop software - VideoProc for Windows.
Use YouTube to AAC Converter Free Online
YouTube to AAC online converters work on all platforms, Mac, Windows, and mobile phone included. They are free and no installation requirements. However, most online converters enable you to convert YouTube to MP3 or MP4, few to AAC. This section will introduce two available online YouTube videos to AAC converters to you.
Option 1. Anything2mp3.cc
Claiming to be the best YouTube to AAC converter online, Anything2mp3.cc attracted me to try. Currently, it accepts video download from three websites, respectively are YouTube, Vimeo, and MetaCafe. You are able to download videos from supported sites and save them as MP3, OGG, AAC, and WMA. Plus, you can select one of the bitrate values, ranging from 96k to 320k.
Note: The website recommends you to use it on either Firefox or Chrome.
- Open https://anything2mp3.cc/ in the browser.
- Paste the YouTube video link you desire to convert into the blank box on the page.
- Click “DOWNLOAD FILE FROM URL”.
- Choose the output audio format (AAC) and bitrate.
- Hit on “CONVERT FILE”.
- Download your converted YouTube audio file.
Option 2. Loader.to
Starting in 2019, Loader.to is a relatively new cloud-based service for downloading and converting YouTube to AAC online, free. It's suitable for a few kinds of video platforms such as YouTube, Redit, Pinterest, TikTok, etc. It can also download up to 20 videos from a YouTube playlist at a time, along with several formats to choose from, including AAC, MP3, M4A, MP4, WebM, FLAC, OPUS, OGG, and WAV.
- Visit https://loader.to/youtube-aac-converter.html.
- Copy and paste the URL of a YouTube video to the URL field of the page.
- Choose the target format as AAC.
- Set the Playlist End” to 1 if you only download one YouTube video, not the playlist.
- Click the blue “Download” button.
- After the analysis is complete, scroll down to find the converted audio. Press 'Download'.
Before you decide to use a YouTube to AAC online converter, understand its disadvantages (compared to professional desktop software):
- Can’t download tons of YouTube videos to AAC all in queue
- Less supported websites and formats
- Fail to download long YouTube videos
- Unwanted ads & pop-ups
- Lose quality
Record YouTube Video to AAC
You can use the free recording software to record YouTube videos first, and then convert YouTube to AAC audio. It would be better if a certain app can directly record YouTube as AAC. Below I will show to how to finish the task with two apps: QuickTime Player and iMovie. Both of them are freeware preinstalled on Mac.
- Open a YouTube video you intend to record.
- Launch QuickTime. Navigate to “File” > “New Screen Recording” from the menu bar.
- Click the red recording button.
- Select to record full or partial screen.
- Click “Start Recording” and play the YouTube video right away.
- Once done, quit QuickTime Player, and save the recorded video, which is in MOV format by default.
- Drag-n-drop the recorded YouTube video into iMovie.
- Go to “File” > “Share” > “File…”.
- From the pop-up window, choose Format - “Audio Only” and File Format – “AAC”.
- Click “Next…”. Rename the AAC audio and save it.
Aac Converter Free Mac Software
Convert YouTube to AAC Audio on Android
TubeMate YouTube Downloader app, powered by Devian Studio, is a decent YouTube to AAC downloader for Android. It's packed with a built-in browser, empowering you to download videos from preferred sites, like YouTube, Smule, SoundCloud, Naver TV, YouKu, and so forth.
Meanwhile, it provides you with options to select file quality and format. The downloaded video will be automatically stored in your Android phone's memory.
But the biggest problem of TubeMate is that there are many intrusive ads.
- Download TubeMate YouTube Downloader to your Android phone. Then, install and initiate it.
- Find the YouTube video you want to convert within the app, and open it.
- Tap the red download button. Wait for parsing video.
- Choose the output option, e.g. “Audio (M4A/AAC, 128K)”.
- Tap on the download button on the right side.
Conclusion
You should gain a clear understanding of the best YouTube to AAC converters. Among all the methods discussed above, online tools are free but not as helpful as dedicated apps. As for recording YouTube videos, it should be taken into the last consideration. The above methods are all tested. You can make full use of the tools to convert YouTube to AAC audio.