Audio files are sound files that play sound when clicked. The most common audio formats are WAV and MP3. WAV and AIFF are lossless audio formats that store the original audio bitstream source without any loss of quality. Lossy formats like MP3 sacrifice some quality for a smaller file size. Other lossy formats include Ogg Vorbis, ACC/MP4, and WMA. Many music lovers archive music in lossless formats and generate lossy files as needed. Other audio file types are embedded in container formats used for movie files.
Audio files are sound files or files that play a sound when clicked. One of the most common audio formats is the wave file, or (filenamehere).wav. Another is the MP3 file, or (filenamehere).mp3. The type of audio format used is indicated by the file extension, the last three letters after the dot. Standard audio players included with operating systems will play common types of audio files, but more exotic audio formats may require codec downloads to allow the player to extend its capabilities.
The ubiquitous wave format was developed by Microsoft® and IBM®, with Apple® offering a compatible standard known as Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF). Both file types will play on IBM and Macintosh computers. WAV and AIFF are two types of lossless audio formats or audio files that store the original audio bitstream source without any loss of quality. These formats were originally used for operating system sounds, such as beeps, chimes, and voice prompts. As people began customizing their systems, short sound clips from movies and television shows or snippets of favorite songs became widely available online as wave files.
A potential disadvantage of the lossless format is its large footprint due to its high quality. When people started ripping music CDs to their computer, they quickly learned that ripping to WAV could consume up to 5 BM per minute. A four minute song could generate a 20MB wave file. Online media presented another problem, as a lossless audio stream was too bulky to download easily, especially over the standard connection of the day, which was dial-up at the time. The development of compressed files or lossy formats like MP3 answered the call.
A compressed audio file sacrifices some loss of quality (hence the term “lossy”) as a trade-off for a smaller footprint or file size. MP3 audio files are a perfect example. A 20 MB wave file can be converted to MP3 format, resulting in a file of just a few megabytes. Other lossy formats include Ogg Vorbis (.ogg), Advanced Audio Coding (.acc) or MP4 (.mp4), and Windows® Media Audio (.wma). ACC/MP4 files are slightly smaller in size than MP3s with an encoding scheme that supposedly produces higher quality sound than MP3s. However, many sources claim that OGG generates the best lossy audio files, smaller than MP4 with equal or better sound quality.
When switching from a wave format to a lossy format, the loss in quality should be minimal although audiophiles will be able to tell the difference. For this reason, many music lovers choose to archive music in lossless formats such as WAV or AIFF, then generate lossy files as needed from the originals. Lossless files are fine for use with portable players where storage space is limited and quality isn’t as critical. Untrained ears probably won’t hear the difference between an original wave file and its streamlined lossy counterpart, but they will keep those lossless originals for burning CDs or playing through your home entertainment center.
Other audio file types are embedded in “container” formats used for movie files that include audio. QuickTime® from Apple, RealMedia® from RealNetwork and Audio Video Interleave® (AVI) from Microsoft are some examples.
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