| There
are several different formats for digital audio files. Different
platforms, applications and uses often require unique formats while market
dominance by a particular manufacturer or historical precendence also influence
these standards. |
|
Some
formats may contain only one track (mono) while others accomodate two (stereo).
File may also contain additional information regarding indexes, loop points
or other types of markers. It is possible to translate from one file type
to another. It is often simply a matter of changing some file header
information. Sound Hack, by Tom Erbe, does an excellent job of this
(Macinstosh)
|
| Name |
Suffix |
Application/Use |
| Sound Designer (II) |
SDII |
Derives its name form Digidesign's
early audio editing software "Sound Designer". Current version is Sound
Designer II. Used in Digidesign/Avid's ProTools and now an industry
standard for professional file storage and transfer. Most CD burners
prefer this format. may be stereo. |
| Apple Interchange File Format
(AIFF) |
AIFF |
Standard Macintosh format.
Used in many multimedia applications (CD ROM, etc.) |
| Microsoft Wave |
WAV |
Standard PC format. May be used
in ProTools. |
| QuickTime |
QT |
Often thought of as a movie
format, Quciktime is also useful for storing and playing back audio. |
| Motion Pictures Expert Group
Layer (3) |
MP3 |
A compression and transmission
standard. Achieves anyhere from 2 to 24 times compression or data reduction
(depending on material recorded). Stereo. With the wide availability of
MP3 web sites and "Walkman" - like players, this format should see rapid
development in the near future. |
