Toms Tech

List of audio File Format

 

What is audio file format or how a music file is stored in audio format. The audio file format provides container to store audio data on device, the device can be computer, music player etc. The audio data can be stored in device in compressed or uncompressed format. The decompressed format is used to reduce the file size on device. One would like to have more and more music files on music players by compressing their file size.

 

Types of formats

 

The current format for music audio files includes wide variety of formats with advantages and disadvantages. The current list of audio file formats are categorized into three major groups

 

List of “Uncompressed audio formats”

1. WAV 2. AIFF 3. AU

 

List of “lossless compression format”

1. FLAC 2. APE 3. WV 4. TAK 5. TTA 6. WMA

 

List of “lossy compression format”

1. MP3 2. Vorbis 3. Musepack 4. WMA 5. AAC

 

1. Uncompressed Audio Formats

 

The well known uncompressed audio format (PCM) is stored as WAV on Windows system and AIFF format on MAC operating system. The PCM stands for “Pulse-code modulation”, which is a digital representation of an analog signal. The PCM has been used in digital phone systems and in computer as digital audio format. Because of its digital sampling WAV format is very flexible and can store recording in original format.

 

2. Lossless audio formats

 

Many Music audio formats compress the audio data so that more and more songs can fit on device. The audio compression comes in two forms, one is “lossless compression” and other is “lossy compression”.

The lossless audio format retains every bit of information of original recording ad nothing is lost. Since no data is lost during conversion that is why “lossless audio format” can not make converted or compressed file as small as file compressed during “lossy compression” method.

 

3. Lossy audio format

 

Under lossy compression method some of the audio information is lost as compared to the original, this makes converted file much smaller. The information which is lost during “lossy compression” is not very important and is least important to the file. One of the format which uses this method of compressions MP3 file format.

 

Audio File Formats

 

MP3: The most popular music format is MPEG Layer-3 format. This is popular for downloading and storing music. Because of Lossy compression the download file is much smaller then the original.

WMA: – The Windows Media audio format is popular with windows system, it was designed by Microsoft.

WAV: To open files with these formats you need ATRAC3 drivers.

RA: This format is “Real Audio format” and is used to stream audio over the internet.

RAM: This is used to store a link to the internet address where actual audio file is stored.

DSS: Digital Speech Standard files.

MSV: – Memory Stick compressed voice files.

DVF: This file is commonly used by Sony dictation recorders.

MP4: Apple uses this format for downloading music from their iTune store with digital right management.

iKlax – Multi-track digital audio format, allows mixing and volumes arrangements.

GSM: This file format was designed for telephone use.

DCT: This audio format is used for dictation, it’s header portion can be encrypted.

VOX: This audio format uses the “Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation”.

AAC: This audio format is based on MPEG2 and MPEG4 standards.

 

Visit Audio Video Codec for more on audio and video codecs.

Visit Audio Codecs – What are they?

Audio codecs are defined as software applications of hardware devices (with the same kind of software) that can compress audio files and then decompress them. In fact, the codecs used for compression and decompression work with opposite principles, but they are quite similar to each other in the manner of their working.

The formats used by audio formats are any applicable digital audio formats that are commonly used. For transmission over the Internet, codecs can also compress and convert files into streaming audio formats.

The word ‘codec’ is derived from coding-decoding, which is what a codec does. It first codes the digital data into a small compressed form and then plays back the data by reconverting it into the original form.

Audio Codecs – How do they work?



Audio codecs work with the principle of audio compression. This is a process of reducing the size of an audio file so that it is covered within as few bits of data as possible. The idea is to remove all unnecessary sound bits and bundle them into a smaller format so that they are compressed. When the file needs to be played back, a decoding system is put into play which can expand the files again so that they can be played.

Lossless and Lossy Audio Codecs

There are two types of compression that audio codecs can perform. Based on that, they are called as lossless and lossy audio codecs.

Lossless audio codecs retain a copy of the original audio files before converting them, so that any kind of qualitative or quantitative loss becomes reversible. However, this also increases the size of the file even after compression. It is difficult to have a lossless audio codec that can compress an audio file below 50 to 60% of its original size.

Lossy audio codecs are those that do not retain any previous information. They compress the audio to the smallest size possible and transmit them where they are decoded to a playable size. However, there is a danger of loss of data because of the fact that there is no backup created. The brighter side of this is that lossy audio compressed files are substantially smaller in size. These can easily compress the files to 5 to 20% of their original size.

Today, most audio codecs available in the market are of the lossy type. Though they will cause a deterioration of the quality of the file, they are good for online transmission and even storing on discs. For that reason, people prefer lossy audio codecs over the lossless ones.

Audio Codecs – The Tradeoff

There is always a compromise involved when audio codecs are used. It is not possible to predict in advance how these files will be compressed and whether they will play at good quality upon being decompressed or not. This is especially because most codecs used today are lossless. Though this becomes ideal for sending digitally compressed audio files over the Internet, they also mar the original quality of the recording. Hence, these audio codecs are used only sparingly and only in areas that really require them.

The dj world is a fast moving industry. I personally have been making the transition towards new technology of late, the recent addition of disc jockey cd and mp3 players that emulate vinyl I find incredibly efficient and useful.

In previous years djs have been restricted to having to press their own vinyl records to play un-released music, but now there are several options. CD based vinyl emulators such as the excellent numark cdx & cdj800 by pioneer enable djs to play their own music or any un-released tracks and still have the full control offered by vinyl and more.

Some digital software and hardware combination packages are used to play mp3s straight from a computer, such as final scratch by stanton or serato scratch by rane and are extremely useful.

Often I see club djs using such software, the advantages are so great that many people are switching over from classic vinyl. What does this mean for the average clubber? Well expect to hear more variation in music selection across all fields of music.

I upgraded my dj Gear about 6 months ago and haven never looked back. Whereas in the past I was using just a pair of technics sl1210 decks and a two-channel dj mixer a djm400, now I have implemented much more into my set-up, at a very affordable price. Now I have several choices on how I wish to play.

I have serato scratch which enables me to play and mix any mp3 file I want as vinyl. I also bought a korg kaos pad 3 for advanced effects. For nightclub use I always carry my numark axis 9 cd player so I can play my own productions, but for a more live feel I use the amazing new ableton live software. This powerful new tool enables producers and djs to remix, loop and generally modify their tracks on-the-fly for a complete new music experience.

As opposed to the old way of having to carry large amounts of vinyl in your swan flight record cases to a club (or paying someone to carry it for you!) nowadays a cd wallet or even a usb memory stick enables your entire music collection to be easily carried and played as vinyl.

One of the most recent additions to this world is mixing in a pure digital way with ipod music players. New hardware such as the numark idj2 mixing console looks like it will end up being a extremely popular method for djs. The capacity of some ipods is absolutely enormous, no longer is there a need to carry 100 vinyl records around everywhere, now I can carry 100 times as much music in my pocket!

Another great addition are digital audio recorders such as the ikey and ikey plus. Rather than having to record directly to pc or using cassette tapes, audio runs directly into the unit and can be saved as mp3 or WAV files. These are amazingly useful to record live sets and are a very welcome addition indeed.