Audio files
In this section you will find a list of the most common audio file formats, complete with a desciption. In a later stadium we will add a complete list of software, how to convert the audio files and so on...
AAC (Advanced Audio Coding format)
Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) is a standardized, lossy compression and encoding scheme for digital audio. AAC generally achieves better sound quality than MP3 at the same bitrate, particularly below 192 kbit/s.
AIFF (audio file format used by Apple)
Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data for personal computers and other electronic audio devices.
ATRAC
Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding (ATRAC) is a family of proprietary audio compression algorithms developed by Sony. MiniDisc was the first commercial product to incorporate ATRAC in 1992.
AU (audio file format used by Sun, Unix and Java)
The Au file format is a simple audio file format introduced by Sun Microsystems. The format was common on NeXT systems and on early web pages. Originally it was headerless, being simply 8-bit µ-law-encoded data at an 8000 Hz sample rate.
DSS (Digital Speech Standard)
Digital Speech Standard (DSS) is a proprietary compressed digital audio format defined by the International Voice Association, a co-operative venture by Olympus, Philips and Grundig. It was originally developed in 1994 by Philips and Grundig with the University of Nuremberg.
DVF
DVF (Digital Voice file, .dvf) is a speech audio format used by Sony. The DVF file is a sound file format used in recording messages on the Sony IC recorder models ICD-BP100 and BP120. You can play dvf-files on your pc with Sony´s (free) Digital Voice Player.
FLAC (a lossless compression codec)
Flac is a lossless compression codec. You can think of lossless compression as like zip but for audio. If you compress a PCM file to flac and then restore it again it will be a perfect copy of the original. (All the other codecs discussed here are lossy which means a small part of the quality is lost).
GSM (format for telephone quality voice)
Designed for telephony use in Europe, gsm is a very practical format for telephone quality voice. It makes a good compromise between file size and quality. Note that wav files can also be encoded with the gsm codec.
M4A
MPEG-4 Part 14, formally ISO/IEC 14496-14:2003, is a multimedia container format standard specified as a part of MPEG-4. It is most commonly used to store digital audio and digital video streams, especially those defined by MPEG, but can also be used to store other data such as subtitles and still images.
MP3
MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a digital audio encoding format. This encoding format is used to create an MP3 file, a way to store a single segment of audio, commonly a song, so that it can be organized or easily transferred between computers and other devices such as MP3 players.
MP4
MPEG-4 Part 14, formally ISO/IEC 14496-14:2003, is a multimedia container format standard specified as a part of MPEG-4. It is most commonly used to store digital audio and digital video streams, especially those defined by MPEG, but can also be used to store other data such as subtitles and still images.
MSV (Sony)
A file with the extension .MSV is a Memory Stick Compressed Voice File, used by Sony Memo recorders. You can use the Sony Player Plug-in for Microsoft Windows Media Player to play.
Ogg Vorbis
Ogg Vorbis is a free, open source container format supporting a variety of codecs, the most popular of which is the audio codec Vorbis. Vorbis offers better compression than MP3 but is less popular. Ogg Vorbis is a new audio compression format.
RA (Real Audio)
RealAudio is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over dialup modems, to high-fidelity formats for music. It can also be used as a streaming audio format, that is played at the same time as it is downloaded.
RAM (Real Audio Metadata)
RealAudio was developed as a streaming media format, meaning that it can be played while it is downloaded. It is possible to stream RealAudio using HTTP.
VOX
Dialogic ADPCM or VOX is an audio file format, optimized for storing digitized voice data at a low sampling rate. VOX files are most commonly found in telephony applications, as well as an occasional arcade redemption game.
WAV
Standard audio file container format used mainly in Windows PC´s. Commonly used for storing uncompressed (PCM), CD-quality sound files, which means that they can be large in size — around 10 MB per minute.
WMA (Windows Media Audio format)
Windows Media Audio (WMA) is an audio data compression technology developed by Microsoft. The name can be used to refer to its audio file format or its audio codecs. It is a proprietary technology which forms part of the Windows Media framework. WMA consists of four distinct codecs.
