is it possible to encode Apple HE-AAC v2 on Windows?

[geextah_2]

Hi, I would like to know if it's possible to use Apple HE-AAC v2 on Windows? And how to achieve that?

Thanks for any help

[VideoGeek]

Sure, just download "EXHALE" app from VideoHelp---> https://www.videohelp.com/software/exhale

(also available for Linux as well)

[geextah_2]

1. exhale is not apple
2. exhale uses xHE-AAC (USAC) and Low Complexity LC-AAC, not HE v2

[davexnet]

This is the info from Duckduckgo search assist:
Using Apple's HE-AAC v2 Encoder on Windows
Installation Requirements

To use Apple's HE-AAC v2 encoder on Windows, you need to install the Apple Application Support package. This package is included with the iTunes installation but can also be extracted separately.
Steps to Install Apple Application Support

Download iTunes: Obtain the iTunes installer from the Apple website.

Extract the Installer:
Use an archive extractor (like PeaZip or 7-Zip) to open the iTunes installer without running it.

Locate and extract the AppleApplicationSupport.msi file.

Install Apple Application Support:
Run the extracted AppleApplicationSupport.msi file to install the necessary components.

Accessing the Encoder

Once the Apple Application Support is installed, applications like FFmpeg can access the CoreAudio AAC encoder, enabling the use of HE-AAC v2 for encoding audio files.

[ProWo]

This is the info from Duckduckgo search assist:
Using Apple's HE-AAC v2 Encoder on Windows
Installation Requirements
To use Apple's HE-AAC v2 encoder on Windows, you need to install the Apple Application Support package.

You can also use this way:

Open an admin terminal, write

winget install -e --id Apple.AppleApplicationSupport.x64

[geextah_2]

ok and what do I do then?

[ProWo]

ok and what do I do then?

OBS and fre:ac are supposed to recognize the Apple Core AAC encoder.
However, I haven't tested this.

[pandy]

https://github.com/tmkk/fhgaacenc

[Roph]

Why would you want to? Both Nero and FDK (with afterburner enabled) are better than Apple's encoder at HE-AACv2.

[cholla]

@ geextah_2,
I'm posting this in this thread instead of the ffmpeg 7.0.1 and Windows 7 thread.
This is from MediaInfo.Is this the conversion you are looking for?

Audio
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AAC LC SBR PS
Format/Info                              : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity with Spectral Band Replication and Parametric Stereo
Commercial name                          : HE-AACv2
Format settings                          : Explicit
Codec ID                                 : mp4a-40-2
Duration                                 : 7 min 35 s
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Bit rate                                 : 36.7 kb/s
Maximum bit rate                         : 44.6 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel layout                           : L R
Sampling rate                            : 44.1 kHz
Frame rate                               : 21.533 FPS (2048 SPF)
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 1.99 MiB (98%)
Language                                 : English
Encoded date                             : 2026-11-07 17:41:13 UTC
Tagged date                              : 2026-11-07 17:41:21 UTC

If so the code I used was this:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vn -c:a pcm_s16le -ac 2 -ar 44100 -f wav - | fhgaacenc --vbr 1 --ignorelength - output.m4a -

You need to add the path to fhgaacenc or have it in Environment Variables/Path .

[Roph]

FHG is obsolete, and is worse than both Nero and FDK (also made by fraunhofer) at HE-AACv2.

FDK support is iffy with ffmpeg due to licensing/patent concerns, but you can compile ffmpeg with FDK AAC support or just find a binary. Alternatively, Nero's encoder is fantastic at HE-AACv2.

[pandy]

If so the code I used was this:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -vn -c:a pcm_s16le -ac 2 -ar 44100 -f wav - | fhgaacenc --vbr 1 --ignorelength - output.m4a -

You need to add the path to fhgaacenc or have it in Environment Variables/Path .

You can remove "-" at the end - it is error - i already corrected this in my reply https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/414767-ffmpeg-7-0-1-and-Windows-7/page7#post2806246

[pandy]

FHG is obsolete, and is worse than both Nero and FDK (also made by fraunhofer) at HE-AACv2.

FDK support is iffy with ffmpeg due to licensing/patent concerns, but you can compile ffmpeg with FDK AAC support or just find a binary. Alternatively, Nero's encoder is fantastic at HE-AACv2.

Nope - hydrogen quality test rank higher FhG than FDK - in fact FDK is integer, mobile market (embedded) target - FhG is higher quality and use float instead integers.

AAC encoders ranking is pretty obvious: Apple AAC then FhG - check yourself https://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=AAC_encoders and stop spreading incorrect information's.

[Roph]

There's no apostrophe for "informations".

I'm aware of that Hydrogenaudio page, yes. You may not be aware that it was last updated over 10 years ago. Check it yourself. You may have also forgotten that OP is asking about HE-AACv2.

So yes, FHG is obsolete abandonware. Winamp itself, which FHG is for, does not even exist any more. Yes FHG can indeed encode HE-AACv2, but it's a joke compared to FDK or Nero. Try it for yourself at 22, 24, 27 or 32kbit/s. It's nowhere close.

FDK *is* updated, including with a new "afterburner" option that greatly improves quality, especially for HE-AAC or HE-AACv2.

Despite being so old, Nero excels at HE-AACv2 around 20-32kbit/s. At ~32kbit/s, I'd consider Nero and FDK equal. below 28, Nero wins. Again, HE-AACv2, not LC which is what Hydrogenaudio is comparing.

It's also worth noting that this year (2026) FFMpeg's own AAC encoder got a rewrite for 9.1, though I haven't looked into it as FDK/Nero are totally satisfactory, and AAC is arguably being supplanted by Opus.

[pandy]

Once again - foundation of encoding is source - if your encoder support only 16 bit integer then in unavoidable way you reducing quality by approx 6..12cdB - if you reencode your source internally coded as constant function between 0..1 (or -0.5..0.5) then if your encoder accept only 16 bit integer you need to requantize your source from float to int - you need to perform dithering to linearize quantizer, by using TPDF dither you need at least 2 bits for dither itself i.e. you are raising noise floor by 12dB (1 bit=6.0206 dBFS), if your requantization process involve noiseshaping to increase perceived signal dynamics and match ATH then it is even worse. Noise add entropy to encoding process so reduce compression efficiency or reduce compression quality.

Hope this is more clear now - if your encoder is unable to accept at the input float or high bithdepth integers then will be unable to deliver better results - there is no magic here.

Updated ffmpeg native AAC encoder is discussed here - there is general opinion that it can't deliver quality as good as Apple AAC encoder .

FDK is tailored for mobile (embedded) devices with focus on realtime encoding - it is limited by accepting only 16 bit integer at the input.

All i wrote is provided with focus on acceptable audio quality - AAC audio with bitrate less than 64kbps in my opinion have no acceptable quality.

[Roph]

Sure it can, these files are approximately 26-27kbit/s from Nero, very impressive.