Ahead Software, the makers of Nero, the technology leader in CD/DVD recording software, and Coding Technologies, leading provider of audio compression technologies for mobile, digital broadcasting and Internet markets worldwide, announced that Ahead has licensed MPEG-4 aacPlus. Being the most efficient audio codec today, MPEG-4 aacPlus uses Coding Technologies' groundbreaking Spectral Band Replication Technology (SBR) and is now standardized in MPEG-4 as the High Efficiency AAC Profile. Users of Ahead's new Nero Digital MPEG-4 technology will soon be able to encode and playback CD-quality MPEG-4 aacPlus audio files at bit rates as low as 48 kbps.

Since its early inclusion of mp3PRO and its subsequent in-house development on MPEG-4-AAC, Ahead has been well positioned from an engineering level to understand the advantages of SBR technology. The adoption of MPEG-4 aacPlus once again demonstrates Aheads market leadership. Its unrivaled functionality, ultra-stable performance and user-friendliness make Nero the premier application for the creation of CDs and DVDs.

"We are happy to have Ahead and its standard-setting Nero Digital technology on board," said Martin Dietz, CEO & President, Coding Technologies. "The strategic decision to bank on MPEG-4 as an open standard is a clever move ensuring interoperable state-of-the-art solutions. Coding Technologies is a proud supporter of Ahead on this path."

"With a community of millions of Nero users worldwide, Ahead's mission is to offer the most compelling technology to its users," states Richard Lesser, CEO Ahead. "aacPlus is a must-have from this perspective and it perfectly fits our strategy towards MPEG-4."