A Quick Look at Audio Formats

Posted by on 01/28 at 11:05 AM

Outside of the government and the military, the computer world uses the most acronyms. This is especially true for the names of audio formats. There are dozens of formats, each with its own reason for being and with its own strengths and weaknesses.

But what do all of those names mean? And how do you deal with an audio file that you’re not familiar with? This TechTip looks at some popular audio formats and some of their characteristics.

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    Posted by Paul Johansen  on  01/28  at  09:25 AM

  1. I learn something new every time I read your tips. I has helped me in using my computer and trying new things. thanks

    2. Posted by Frank H.  on  01/28  at  09:46 AM

  2. I keep getting these message boxes that say my windows system has errors. Windows updater never stays on automatic no matter how many times I enable it. Can someone help me with this problem?

    Thank you, Frank H.

    3. Posted by ricardo torres  on  01/28  at  09:51 AM

  3. very useful info.

    4. Posted by Tnoc  on  01/28  at  10:21 AM

  4. wink

    Tech Tip 111 - A Quick Look at Audio Formats

    Good job on this one! No mention of the old “WAV” files but the emphasis on quality was right on. Leading on to making good copies with higher bit rates would be great. Many users have no idea what a difference in the various bitrates means when played back on a great sound system.

    5. Posted by Gene  on  01/28  at  11:35 AM

  5. Nice araticle, but I think your missing another key audio format. There are many users out there that use RealPlayer, and RealRapsody. I think it’s worth mentioning that the format is used by many different users, and is most frequently used in listening to internet radio. Just thought it be worth mentioning.

    6. Posted by Harry Gish  on  01/28  at  12:21 PM

  6. Actually a little added info on mp3 might be helpful:

    You can pretty much avoid lossy compression in the mp3 world by doing them at a 320 rate rather then the 128 “standard”.

    The major compression in mp3 (or any other compressed audio/video format) comes from that kind of compression but the repeated identical data. When you capture media it was to be as a “strobe”, “x” number of captures per second typically and there is no time to do compression. That has to be done after the capture. For example a capture of an hour TV show to an uncompressed AVI will typically run to about 8 gig in size but when run through a compressor it will drop to less than a gig. This is not due to loss but rather indexing identical “frames”. There is nothing new in this, consider Beethoven or Brahms ...

    They would compose in a time frame of 32 frames per bar (known as a 32nd note). 32 32nd notes to a bar, which would be a “whole” note. Now in transcribing the music rather than showing 32 32nd notes of “C” you would compress it to one whole note, a compression factor of 16 ("C" times a 32 multiplier rather than 32 “C“‘s). So even if you were to compress a WAV (wehich are uncompressed captures) with no loss there would still be a huge space saving.

    For users wanting to convert formats I suggest MediaMonkey and JetAudio, a great pair of freeware programs which are easily found fo download on the Web.

    7. Posted by Sam Leonor  on  01/28  at  07:11 PM

  7. Thank you for this wonderful information.  It helps some of us to understand the differences in all these music players.  I greatly benefited from your tech article.  Keep it up. 

    Sam

    8. Posted by JOHN DOUGLAS  on  01/29  at  06:27 AM

  8. ALTHOUGH IM STILL COMPUTER ILLETRATE ,AND SOMETIMES IM NOT TOTALLY SURE WHATS GOING ON YOU HAVE HELPT ME AT TIMES .  KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND THANKS .

    9. Posted by Rich Rauch  on  01/29  at  01:55 PM

  9. Contrary to what the article says, the sound quality of WMA is *vastly* superior to MP3.  In my experience WMAs ripped at 128 Kbps are always as good or and usually better than MP3s encoded at 192 Kbps.  It makes no difference whether I’m using Windows Media Player or Real Player.

    Therefore, I can only wonder if the author is one of those whose anti-Microsoft bias is so overpowering that it clouds his judgment.

    10. Posted by Thelma Banks  on  01/29  at  08:24 PM

  10. Your computer tips has helped me a lot. I have used your information to solve some of my computer problems. Can you help me with installing Active Directory when the dcpromo comman don’t work.

    Thanks,
    Thelma

    11. Posted by Gerald Lukas  on  02/03  at  06:47 PM

  11. I find your tech tips a wealth of information in very easy to read format.  You computer knowledge should be congratulated.

    12. Posted by Bartimusl  on  02/06  at  06:26 AM

  12. Def worth the read. Thanks.

    13. Posted by Masert  on  03/24  at  11:18 AM

  13. Nicely written. I can relate to most of your points.Bookmarked!

    14. Posted by Shico  on  04/06  at  02:14 AM

  14. We will try this - very helpful ideas.

    15. Page 1 of 1 pages

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