AAC Encoded from beatport says "File Not Supported"

I am hoping someone has some insight on this. I am converting my AIFF library that I downloaded from beatport to AAC (m4a) audio @ 576kbps. When I encode AIFF files that I myself created (like my own mashups and remixes) to AAC files, everything works great. However when I encode an AIFF file downloaded from Beatport, Rekordbox tells me the AAC file is "Not Supported" and gives me the "red cross" sign next to the track. The file plays fine in every media player I tried (Quicktime, iTunes, VLC) and it also works flawlessly in Traktor. Rekordbox seems to be having the issue.

When I encode an AAC with iTunes from the same AIFF file, it works in Rekordbox. However, I want to encode with ffmpeg and the libfdk_acc encoder because its a better encoder and also supports bitrates of 576kbps. Like I said, the file encoded with ffmpeg works just fine in other DAWs and DJing software, but not Rekordbox. Even if I encode it at 320kbps like iTunes does, it still doesn't work. I am thinking its some issue with the metadata, and Beatport claims their files are DRM free, so I am stumped.

I am using the latest Rekordbox software with OS X 10.9

Thanks!

Krausen June 19, 2015 03:16

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Well I found out the problem. Hopefully this helps someone with the same issue. After many hours researching and testing I found that the issue is the cover art. When encoding an AAC with ffmpeg, it cannot embed the cover art in the new .m4a file, so it writes bad data to it, thus making it not readable by Rekordbox. Traktor and the other media players must just ignore this, but Rekordbox does not.

I have found a solution to encode and discard the album art and now it works in Rekordbox, albeit without the art. When encoding with iTunes, is does retain the album art, although it is a lesser quality encoder and has a max bitrate of 320 kbps and non adjustable low pass filter, whereas with the libfdk_aac encoder it is adjustable to 20Khz to lose no high end what so ever.

Krausen June 19, 2015 07:39 0 votes

FYI for anyone interested (i know i keep replying to my own thread).....the CDJ-900nxs seems to only want to use a maximum AAC bitrate of 525. Anything higher just gives an error or the screen displays "loading track" forever and never loads. Still, this is miles ahead of a 320 mp3, especially since you have control of the low pass filter and bitrate. AAC FTMFW.

Krausen June 20, 2015 09:36 0 votes

Sorry for the delay in getting an answer to you -- technically the CDJ only supports an AAC encoded up to 320k (see page 5 of the manual: http://site2.pioneerdj.com/support/files/img/DRI1168A.pdf), so I'm surprised to hear you got a higher bitrate file to play.

And yes, cover art from Beatport has been a problem for years, for whatever reason. Sometimes the solution is as simple as saving it from the file to your desktop, then re-adding it to the song.

Pulse June 20, 2015 23:15 0 votes