MusicTech, August 2011

Choice
Fraunhofer Pro-Codec
Manufacturer Sonnox
Price £295
Contact [e-mail]
Web www.sonnoxplugins.com
Minimum system requirements
PC Windows XP, iLok
Mac Intel processor, Mac OSX 10.4, iLok
VST/AU/RTAS host
A
great deal of digital audio is
now consumed in a
compressed format of some
description. iTunes, Amazon,
web radio and online audio and video
streaming services all supply audio in a
format that utilises file sizes and data
rates which are much smaller than AIF
or WAV – and it’s all achieved through
compression. We are all fairly used to
this practice, but it can pose a problem
for those working in audio production,
particularly at the more commercial
end. Compressing audio means that
you risk losing audio quality and fidelity
– and worse, introducing the kinds of
tinny phasing effects at the top end of
the frequency spectrum (this was a
feature of early, low-bitrate mp3s).
The problem is that encoding audio
is a process that you have to carry out,
appraise the results, then decide
whether you’re compressing too hard or
not enough. The trade-off between
audio fidelity and file size is tricky to get
right and it can be time-consuming,
especially if you’re having to encode a
file five or six times before you get the
Key Features
● Audition/encode
multiple codecs in
real time
● Advanced visual
feedback
● A/B mode
● Offline encoding
and decoding
● HD/lossless
codecs supported
compression level right. But now,
Sonnox has come up with the
Fraunhofer Pro-Codec, which seeks to
address these problems. Coming in all
major plug-in formats for Mac and PC,
it can be applied across the master
outs from a DAW (or in a wave editor for
that matter) and is able to take an audio
stream and apply up to five different
codecs and compression rates in real
time. You can tweak and tune these,
view all kinds of visual feedback about
possible distortion and output up to five
files with a single click.
Real-time compression
Click on the codec list and you can
choose between mp3, mp3 Surround,
AAC-LC, HE-AAC and HE-AAC v2
formats as well as mp3-HD and
HD-AAC, which are lossless codecs.
Click on each one and you can change
its settings, including bitrate, mode and
quality. By clicking the Audition button
next to any codec you switch playback
to that slot and thus hear your track
played back through it.
This is a huge time-saver if you need
to output a range of different-quality
audio streams while retaining control
over each one. You don’t have to process
a track and wait to hear the results, it
happens in real time. It’s especially good
if you work with long audio files (movie
scores, audio books, lectures, etc) which
take longer to process than music
tracks. Switching between codecs
doesn’t glitch, although there is a slight
pause in the audio. Very low buffer
settings didn’t work so well, but on a
Does this new plug-in really take the hit-and-miss out of audio
compression? Hollin Jones introduces the Fraunhofer Pro-Codec.
MacBook Pro i7 with Cubase 6 running
at 256 samples we loaded five codecs
and flipped between them seamlessly
(there’s really no reason to run at 128
samples for encoding – bounce down/
freeze CPU-intensive tracks or bounce a
stereo mix and load it into a fresh
project before applying the plug-in).
You can audition the difference
between input and output signals, plus
there’s an interesting ‘blind testing’
mode whereby you use your ears to
determine the codec in use. There’s also
extensive graphical feedback and you
can see and audition the audio that is
being removed by the encoding process.
A ‘diff’ signal shows the audio that is
masked by other parts of the sound and
therefore won’t need to be encoded.
If you use lossless codecs you won’t
see a diff signal, but there is advanced
bitstream monitoring and a phase
display to monitor differences between
the input and encoded audio. Offline
encoding/decoding is supported too.
Codecs to go
This plug-in is perhaps not for the
casual user who is happy with iTunes.
But for anyone working commercially
it’s a huge time-saver and an invaluable
tool. When you’re mixing or mastering, it
will enable you to create specific mixes
optimised for specific codecs. Instead
of sending a WAV to someone else to
compress, you can compensate for
compression at the mix or mastering
stage, adding more top, boosting the
bass or whatever else is required.
Crucially, though, you can do this in
real time, outputting up to five files at
once targeted at different destinations.
Exporting offline, it should be noted, is
blindingly quick. Put simply, it’s one of
those tools that you use and wonder
why no one had thought of it before...
But now that they have, we reckon it’s
an essential buy for anyone working
with audio for digital distribution. MTM
Measuring Up
The Pro-Codec
has no equivalent
at the moment in
the sense of being
able to preview and
tweak compression
codecs in real
time. Some wave
editors are very
capable of batch-
processing audio
files (WaveLab,
Waveburner, etc) but
not multiple streams
and not with
auditioning. Adobe’s
Media Encoder and
Apple’s Compressor
can batch-process
audio to different
formats, but they
lack the immediacy
and detailed
visual feedback of
Sonnox’s offering.
Sonnox
Fraunhofer
Pro-Codec
MTM Verdict
WHY BUY
+ Unique solution
+ Easy to use
+ CPU-efficient on newer machines
+ Excellent visual feedback
WALK ON BY
- More useful for professionals
than less experienced users
An elegant solution to an age-old
problem and a great time-saver for
those distributing digital audio.
★★★★★★★★★★
For PC
& Mac
Sonnox Fraunhofer Pro-Codec Reviews MTM
magazine August 2011 | 89