Newbie asking asking about AAC codec

Cubase
#1

Hi,
I am new to Cubase and to recording in general. So sorry if my question is to noob.
I capture software demo videos and do the narrating while recording. The videos are intended for web download or streaming. I already decided to use mp4 as container with h.264 as video codec and AAC as audio codec. I use Camtasia for recording. It captures the video and sound and let me export to mp4 using the mentioned codecs. But I noticed that I don’t like the sound output that much (its not because of the micro - Rode NT2-A - and not because of the audio interface - RME babyface). So I recorded the sound in Cubase and got a very good result.

My question now is:
Can I export the sound using the AAC codec in Cubase? I did not find that option in the export settings. Do I missunderstand the export settings or is the AAC codec and mp4 just not supported by Cubase?

Later on I want to bring the video and the sound into Adobe Premiere and make the final mp4. Hopefully I can avoid that Premiere does another encoding of the sound.

Thanks in advance.

#2

Hello klimperguy,

If you are going to finalize the audio/video in Premiere then I would recommend you exporting your file in Cubase using the standard .wav format, as this has the highest quality (uncompressed). Premiere can import .wav files without problems. :slight_smile: This way you would only make the compression of the file when exporting your final project in Premiere. Otherwise you would be compressing/decompressing/compressing the file. :slight_smile:
It’s the best to keep the files uncompressed until the final step!

#3

Thanks for the quick answer. Maybe I will go that way.
But does Cubase support mp4 AAC and h.264 export?
If I interpred the manual right, it neither supports mp4 container nor AAC or h.264 codec.
But I am not sure if I understand it correctly.

#4

Hi,

AFAIK, you CAN import H.264 videos into Cubase, but it won’t export any video format nor does it support AAC. The best way, at least quality-wise, is as explained above. Record your video with Camtasia, bring it into Cubase to replace the audio, export the audio from Cubase as a Wave file and then bring it into Premier for final export.

HTH

#5

Hi,
clear answer, thanks. So I will go the Premiere route.

#6

Yeah but…

If you really want to master for youtube HD presentations cubase SHOULD be able to export with AAC because Youtube encodes anyway the .WAV file or mp3 file into an AAC.

I would not recommend mastering with premier, that is making the final audio compression with it because there is no control in Dithering.
So the correct answer from steinberg should be, we are sorry to inform you that Cubase doesn not support AAC coding but WE ARE MAKING EVERYTHING IN OUR HANDS TO MAKE IT A REALITY.

so, Carlos Rohde - Product Marketing Manager Cubase & Apps, Please don´t advise others to compress the final audio on adobe premiere, that is nonsense, specially in your position.

#7

First of, this thread is a couple years old, so I’m pretty sure that the OP has solidified his workflow by now. Second, no one said the OP should dither in Premier, but rather that he should compress (totally different process) the WAV audio in Premier as the last step. Thirdly, I agree that Cubase being able to export to AAC :slight_smile: