himediaplayer AAC support

[xalaros]

Hi,

there is an increasing number of video files out there that come with either AAC 2.0 or AAC 5.1 even AAC 7.1 but himediaplayer doesn't seem to be able to handle them at all. From within kodi there is the option to transcode and at least get a bitstream with the correct number of channels in AC3. Since 2.0.4 firmware i find that using the himediaplayer instead of kodi internal player was benefits but i keep going back to kodi internal player because of the AAC issue.
It seems AAC is becoming a very popular audio format especially in the mp4  x265 videos. Sooner or later this has to be addressed by himediaplayer are there any plans to include somekind of transcoding support? hope i am not missing something in the settings, anybody have luck with playing correctly AAC through himediaplayer?

[dorol]

AAC 2.0, AAC 5.1, AAC 7.1 x265 10bit works fine  with himediaplayer fw 2.0.4.
My Denon decode them as multi channel.
Also Atmos, DTS-X, TrueHD  no problem.
What AAC issue?

[Phil181]

Yes, I have been regularly playing AAC 2.0 and 5.1 files without problems, even with previous firmware.  They don't require transcoding.
FLAC 7.1 are the only files still with audio issues (unless there is a secondary track present in the video file)
Have you tried Media Center player?

[/Q10Pro, 2.0.4, Kodi 17.3, HDMI to Yamaha AVR 7.1]

[xalaros]

The problem i am having is that my receiver doesn't recognize the input all i get sound but only 2 channel . Maybe i need to upgrade me receiver after all,  i have pioneer lx-81 its is quite old i think i have it for 9 years. Well guess i will ask santa for a new receiver.

[xalaros]

Sorry to bring this back again but i am trying to get some info on the support receivers provide for aac audio passthrough and there is not much to go on. Probably outdated posts from 2010 to 2012.
So my question is is himedia player using bitstream passthrough for aac audio or conversion to lpcm ?  Is there an option in the player to convert to lpcm or maybe in the android settings?
Also since i will probably buy a new AVR is there something i should look for in the manual so i make sure it supports AAC audio, i suppose just plain aac audio support will not cut it since this is also available on my lx-81 pioneer since it supports ipod and network streams with aac.

[Mount81]

AAC 2.0, AAC 5.1, AAC 7.1 x265 10bit works fine  with himediaplayer fw 2.0.4.
My Denon decode them as multi channel.
Also Atmos, DTS-X, TrueHD  no problem.
What AAC issue?

Are you sure about AAC 7.1?! It didn't work in the previous firmwares, only up to 5.1.

[xalaros]

I am lookin to buy a new av receiver and want to know how it supports aac audio . I am looking into onkyo nr676e , denon x3400 and pioneer lx302 any owners here can confirm any of those receivers playback correctly aac files from the page below
https://www2.iis.fraunhofer.de/AAC/multichannel.html
I am interested in 5.1 and 7.1 and if they are bitstreamed or passed as lpcm from the box, in case of lpcm is this possible through himedia player i am not interested in kodi aac  to ac3 convertion.

[dorol]

AAC 2.0, AAC 5.1, AAC 7.1 x265 10bit works fine  with himediaplayer fw 2.0.4.
My Denon decode them as multi channel.
Also Atmos, DTS-X, TrueHD  no problem.
What AAC issue?

Are you sure about AAC 7.1?! It didn't work in the previous firmwares, only up to 5.1.

Yes., i am sure.
For example i retested Dredd 10bit 7.1 AAc few minutes ago and it works fine.
Mediainfo  :
Audio
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : AAC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile                           : LC
Codec ID                                 : A_AAC
Duration                                 : 1 h 35 min
Bit rate                                 : 600 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 8 channels
Channel positions                        : Front: L C R, Side: 4, LFE
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 46.875 FPS (1024 spf)
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Delay relative to video                  : 20 ms
Stream size                              : 411 MiB (16%)
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Forced                                   : No

[xalaros]

Back from vacations so i want to take a closer look at this if possible.
So first i haven't figured yet if the aac audio from himediaplayer is passed as lpcm or as digital audio that needs to be decoded by the receiver.
Can somebody answer this question?
I haven't found anyware in the specs of av receivers older or new that aac is accepted as a digital audio format like ac3 , dts, dts-hd etc... so probably only way to play it back is transcode by the player either to lpcm or ac3 correct?
I have tested my receiver with lpcm and it is played normally as a multichannel audio format.
Kodi is playing normally because it converts to ac3 but in himedia player i only get 2 channel stereo and the supposed surround channels play from the 2 front speakers and no lfe channel at all.
Isn't it it possible for himedia to implement in the player somekind of option to pass aac 5.1 or 7.1 as lpcm to the receiver?

[xalaros]

ok did some more digging and found that if the audio is AAC LC then it plays correctly on my receiver as PCM. If the audio is HE-AAC  then it is not recognized and it plays as stereo.
here is the mediainfo from a compatible file :

Audio
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : AAC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile                           : LC
Codec ID                                 : 40
Duration                                 : 8 s 580 ms
Duration_LastFrame                       : -12 ms
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 320 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel(s)_Original                      : 6 channels
Channel positions                        : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate                            : 44.1 kHz
Frame rate                               : 43.066 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 336 KiB (6%)
Language                                 : English
Default                                  : Yes
Alternate group                          : 1

and from an incompatible one :

Audio
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : AAC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Audio Codec
Format profile                           : HE-AAC / LC
Codec ID                                 : 40
Duration                                 : 45 s 278 ms
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 160 kb/s
Maximum bit rate                         : 171 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel(s)_Original                      : 6 channels
Channel positions                        : Front: L C R, Side: L R, LFE
Sampling rate                            : 44.1 kHz / 22.05 kHz
Frame rate                               : 21.533 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 884 KiB (89%)
Encoded date                             : UTC 2012-05-17 00:54:13
Tagged date                              : UTC 2012-05-17 00:54:13

this file can be downloaded from : https://www2.iis.fraunhofer.de/AAC/LFE-SBR.mp4
maybe somebody can test on a newer receiver and see if this is played correctly.

[Phil181]

Aren't both of those files telling you they were originally 6 channels and are now 2 channels?  Could that could be the reason they only play as 2 channel?
I've watched a whole TV series ripped to 720p AAC 5.1 and they have played fine on my Yamaha AVR bitstreamed via HDMI.

Q10Pro Firmware 2.0.4, Kodi 17.3, Yamaha 7.1

[xalaros]

both are 6 channels the first one format profile : LC plays as expected 5.1 PCM on my receiver, the second one format profile : HE-AAC/LC plays ony stereo no PCM no nothing, what i am wondering is if the incombatibility of the profile HE-AAC is an issue with my receiver ie i need a new receiver, or a problem with himedia player not been able to send the file correctly to the receiver. Generally from what i read on the internet LC profile is higher quality encoding and is mostly used, almost all encodes i have downloaded are LC to tell you the truth. HE-AAC is used on lower bitrates and uses SBR to compensate for the quality loss in low bitrate low sampling rate encodes.