About Audio Formats

 

Digital audio can be recorded in many formats. The most commonly found by PC users are:

Format

Notes

Example

these generally have file names ending in .WAV
sound.wav
these generally have file names ending in .MP3 MP2 or M3U
sound.mp3
these generally have file names ending in .RA or .RM
sound.rm
these generally have file names ending in .VQF .VQL or .VQE
sound.vqf

 

Wave Files

Audio can be stored as files in digital form. The quality of sound is dependant on the sample rate and the bit resolution. PC's commonly store digital audio as .WAV files, which is a very similar format to the way audio is stored on CD's. Audio that is stored as 8 bit (resolution) and 11k (sample frequency) will probably sound little better than a telephone, but may be quite acceptable for speech. 16 bit audio at 44.1k can sound as clear as CD, but the file size will be much bigger, (around 45 Mb for a single song). WAV files can be played on various media players including Windows Media Player

MP3 Downloads

Mpeg is a common form of digital audio compression that makes it practical to distribute audio files over the Internet. In order to play Mpeg files, you must first download the file onto your computer (you may need to hold down the shift key when you click on the link). Mpeg files can be played on various media players including recent versions of Windows Media Player and WinAmp. Files are often compressed to around 12% of their original size with only a little loss of fidelity. Higher compression is possible to reduce download time, but is a trade off against sound quality.

Real Audio

Real Audio is one of the most common forms of audio compression on the net. In order to play Real Media files, you must have Real Player installed on your computer. RealPlayer brings audio, video, text, animation and other media to your computer using streaming technology. With RealPlayer, the file plays as your player receives the information.

Yamaha SoundVQ

SoundVQ is another form of audio compression that uses streaming technology. In order to play SoundVQ files, you must have the SoundVQ player installed on your computer. SoundVQ brings excellent quality audio to your computer. As with Real Audio, the file plays as your player receives the information.

Streaming Media

For streaming media, servers on the Internet store the media files. You access them by clicking a link on a browser page, or by going to a page that automatically launches the clip for you. The media files, or clips are specially created so that they come to your computer in small pieces that are ready to be used. Because of this, you don't have to wait for the whole file to be downloaded before it can begin playing.

Real Player

There is a free version of the Real Player is available to download. It will play various types of Real Media including audio, slide shows and video. Encoding Real Media files is quick and easy with Real Producer (also available as a free download). The amount of compression can be adjusted to give the desired trade-off between quality and bandwidth. With a 28k modem connection, good radio quality is possible. For further information and free downloads, use the link below.

The most recent versions of Real Player and Real Producer have improved the quality of streamed audio and video to a remarkable extent over older versions. If you are using an old version it is well worth checking their site for the latest versions (it can still be downloaded for free).

The Latest version of Real Producer will also encode WAVs to MP3 extremely quickly

To download Real Player, use this link: Top of Page

Yamaha SoundVQ Player

The Yamaha SoundVQ player is available to download for free. It is specifically designed to play SoundVQ files and will run on any Pentium PC or Mac. Encoding SoundVQ files is painfully slow unless you have a really fast machine, but the resulting files are remarkably small and sound quality is excellent. For further information and free downloads, use the link below.
To download Yamaha SoundVQ, use this link: Top of Page

WinAmp

WinAmp is available to download for free. It Supports MP3, MP2, WAV, MOD, XM, IT, S3M, VOC, CDDA, WMA, AS, and MIDI files as well as other "plug ins" and "skins". For further information and free downloads, use the link below.
To download WinAmp, use this link: WINAMP Top of Page
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