Download Audio File Types

Audio File Types
Audio File Types
aiff
The audio file interchange format (aiff) was developed by Apple Computers from the
Electronic Arts' .iff format. This type of file supports uncompressed CD-quality audio
and is typically used to store standard CD audio. Standard aiff files are 16-bit, twin
channel files using a sampling rate of 44.1 KHz. aiff files typically have an .aif
extension but can also have an .aiff extension as well. aiff files are not supported by
Linux.
File Format
.aif(.aiff)
Operating System
Applications
Mac OS
Apple Quick Time Player
Apple iTunes
Roxio Toast 11
Apple GarageBand
Coq
Windows
Nullsoft Winamp Media Player 5.6
Apple Quick Time Player
Apple iTunes
Microsoft Windows Player
Roxio Creator 2011
iff
The Interchange File Format (iff) was created by Electronic Arts and may contain
image, text, or audio data. It is typically used for interchanging different types of data
across applications and platforms. It is widely supported and can be used as the
basis for several other file formats, including aiff.
An iff file consists of “chunks” which have four letter identifications. There are three
principle “chunks”: FORM, LIST and CAT each of which may contain text, numerical
data, or raw data. The FORM chunk specifies the format of the file, the LIST chunk
includes the properties of the file and the CAT chunk contains the rest of the data. iff
files used by The Sims and The Sims Online can be edited using IFF Snooper for the
Mac platform or IFF Pencil for Windows.
NPA Games design and Development/Media Assets/Outcome 1
Page 1
Audio File Types
File Format
Operating System
Applications
.iff
Mac OS
Apple Quick Time Player
IFF Snooper
Cloanto Amiga Forever
Linux
XnView
Cloanto Amiga Forever
Windows
Apple Quick Time Player
Coral PaintShop Photo Pro X3
ACD Systems Canvas 12
ACD Systems Photo Manager 12
Cloanto Amiga Forever
IrfanView
mp3
The Moving Picture Experts Group mp3 file format is a compressed audio format that
uses Layer 3 audio compression. The mp3 file format us typically used to store
music files and audio books on a computer’s hard drive providing near-CD quality
sound in a file approximately 1/10th the size of a aif or wav file.
The sound quality of an mp3 file depends upon the bit rate used for compression.
The higher the bit-rate the better the sound quality, but this comes at the expense of
a larger file size. Common bit rates are 128, 160, 192, and 256 kbps.
mp3 files are supported by most portable music players, such as the Apple iPod and
can also be played on the Amazon Kindle. There is good support for mp3 files as
shown in the accompanying table.
File Format
.mp3
Operating System
Applications
Mac OS
Apple iTunes
VideoLAN Media Player
Roxio Toast 11
Linux
VideoLAN Media Player
XMMS
Amorak
Windows
Apple iTunes
Microsoft Windows Media Player
Xilisoft Video Converter Ultimate
Nullsoft Winamp Media Player 5.6
VideoLAN VLC Media Player
Roxio Creator 2011
NPA Games design and Development/Media Assets/Outcome 1
Page 2
Audio File Types
ra
The Real Audio .ra format is a common format for playing audio clips within a Web
browser. It uses a proprietary Real compression algorithm and can use various
codecs to compress audio with variable bit rates. The .ra format is used by
RealPlayer, an audio and video streaming program and may be used to reference a
streaming audio file online or may contain audio data. It is supported by Mac OS,
Linux and Windows.
File Format
Operating System
Applications
.ra
Mac OS
RealNetworks RealPlayer
VideoLAN VLC Media Player
Web browser with the RealPlayer plugin
Linux
RealNetworks RealPlayer
VideoLAN VLC Media Player
Web browser with the RealPlayer plugin
Windows
RealNetworks RealPlayer
J. River Media Center
VideoLAN VLC Media Player
Web browser with the RealPlayer plugin
wav
The wav format was developed by Microsoft and is a standard digital format for
storing waveform files and allows audio recordings to be saved with different
sampling rates and bitrates. The wav format is similar to the aif file format but is
based upon the Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF), rather than the Audio
Interchange File Format (aiff). wav files are frequently saved as 44.1 KHz, 16-bit,
stereo files, which is the standard format used for CD audio.
wav files are typically seen on Windows-based computers, whereas .aif files are
more common on Macintosh systems.
NPA Games design and Development/Media Assets/Outcome 1
Page 3
Audio File Types
File Format
.wav
Operating System
Applications
Mac OS
Apple iTunes
Apple QuickTime Player
Roxio Toast 11
RealNetworks RealPlayer
VideoLAN VLC Media Player
Linux
MMMS
VideoLAN VLC Media Player
Windows
Microsoft Windows Media Player
Apple iTunes
Apple QuickTime Player
Roxio Creator 2011
Nullsoft Winamp Media Player 5.6
Xilisoft Video Converter Ultimate
VideoLAN VLC Media Player
RealNetworks RealPlayer
aa
The Audible Audio Book File (aa) format is designed for storing spoken word audio
and supports chapter markers, bookmarks, etc., in the form of audio books. You can
convert aa files into mp3 files using programs such as SoundTaxi Media Suite,
Tunebite and TuneCab. Audible files are supported by the Apple iPod, Creative Zen,
SanDisk Sansa, various GPS devices, and the Amazon Kindle.
File Format
Operating System
Applications
.aa
Mac OS
Apple iTunes
Linux
Audible AudiblePlayer
Windows
Audiable AudiableManager
Apple iTunes
Nero Multimedia Suite 10
RapidSolution Tunebite 8
SoundTaxi Media Suite
TuneCab
acm
The Interplay Audio File (acm) file format developed by BioWare is a compressed
audio file used by Interplay video games, such as BioWare and Fallout. Files
contain compressed audio stored in a proprietary format, which may be converted to
NPA Games design and Development/Media Assets/Outcome 1
Page 4
Audio File Types
other audio file types, such as wav files. It is supported only on the Windows
platform.
File Format
Operating System
Applications
Windows
Bioware Infinity Engine
Nullsoft Winamp Media Player 5.6 with ACM
plugin
ACM/WAVC to WAV converter
Acm2wav
NPA Games design and Development/Media Assets/Outcome 1
Page 5