AACencoded

AACencoded is an informal label used to indicate that a data stream or file has been compressed using the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) codec. It is not the name of a container format but a description of the encoding method applied to the audio data.

AAC is a standardized audio compression format developed as part of MPEG. It generally achieves higher audio quality than MP3 at the same bitrate by using advanced psychoacoustic modeling and transform coding. The most common profile is AAC-LC (low complexity), with additional variants such as HE-AAC and HE-AAC v2 designed for low-bitrate efficiency and streaming. Typical AAC bitrates span a wide range, from a few tens of kilobits per second for spoken word to several hundred kilobits per second for music, across sampling rates like 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz.

In practice, AACencoded data can appear in various container formats or as raw bitstreams. AAC data is frequently stored in MP4 or M4A containers, as well as in ADTS or LATM/LOAS streaming formats for transmission. The label may also appear in logs or metadata to distinguish AAC-encoded audio from other codecs. Because AAC is patented, encoder implementations are usually provided under licenses, while decoders are widely available in hardware and software.

Overall, AACencoded denotes audio data encoded with AAC, reflecting its modern efficiency and broad compatibility in multimedia workflows.