Monday, February 26, 2007
Music File Formats
You don’t have to be a pro to know and understand the music file formats you see today. From the widespread MP3s to MIDI files, here’s a low-down on the common music file formats and what you can use them for:
MP3 (.mp3)
MP3 is a way of compressing sound files into smaller sizes. By doing that, MP3 files can contain music and also hold considerable information about the piece of music such as the name of the artist and the song title. MP3 files have become an industry standard format that most computer music playing programs can play. The music files saved on your Nokia phones use the .mp3 file format.
MPEG-4 Part 14 (.mp4)
Mp4 is a file format specified as a part of the ISO/IEC MPEG-4 international standard. It is used to store media types defined by the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group, and can be used to store other media types as well. It is, or will be, typically used to store data in files, though it will be used in data streams and possibly in other ways.
Windows Media (.wma)
WMA is a format similar to MP3. This is essentially a competing format created by Microsoft and used primarily in Windows Media Player and other compatible programs. Microsoft claims that Windows Media files are even better than MP3 files, but MP3 files are still much more prevalent on the internet.
Adaptive Audio Coding (.aac)
An audio coding standard used in digital television systems, AAC provides basically the same sound quality as MP3 while using a smaller bit rate. AAC is mainly used to compress music.
Musical Instrument Digital Interface (.mid)
MIDI is a kind of ‘language’ that allows computers and certain musical instruments to communicate. This language consists of instructions telling the instrument (or the MIDI synthesizer in your sound card) which notes to play, with what instrument, and when. MIDI is not compressed audio and can be used entirely within a computer, with no external instruments. MIDI files have a synthesized sound, and are quite small, around 30-60 Kb for your average song.
WAV Format (.wav)
WAV is the default format for digital audio on Windows PCs. WAV files are used to store digital audio data in raw form and is a standard CD quality audio format. They are usually coded in PCM format, which means they are uncompressed and take up a lot of space and requires a large amount of memory (10 MB for 1 minute). WAV files can also be coded in other formats, including MP3.
RealAudio (.ra)
A proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks, RealAudio is especially designed to conform to low bandwidths, and it can be used as a streaming audio format, i.e. played at the same time as it's downloaded. Many radio stations use RealAudio to stream their programming over the internet in real time.
MP3 (.mp3)
MP3 is a way of compressing sound files into smaller sizes. By doing that, MP3 files can contain music and also hold considerable information about the piece of music such as the name of the artist and the song title. MP3 files have become an industry standard format that most computer music playing programs can play. The music files saved on your Nokia phones use the .mp3 file format.
MPEG-4 Part 14 (.mp4)
Mp4 is a file format specified as a part of the ISO/IEC MPEG-4 international standard. It is used to store media types defined by the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group, and can be used to store other media types as well. It is, or will be, typically used to store data in files, though it will be used in data streams and possibly in other ways.
Windows Media (.wma)
WMA is a format similar to MP3. This is essentially a competing format created by Microsoft and used primarily in Windows Media Player and other compatible programs. Microsoft claims that Windows Media files are even better than MP3 files, but MP3 files are still much more prevalent on the internet.
Adaptive Audio Coding (.aac)
An audio coding standard used in digital television systems, AAC provides basically the same sound quality as MP3 while using a smaller bit rate. AAC is mainly used to compress music.
Musical Instrument Digital Interface (.mid)
MIDI is a kind of ‘language’ that allows computers and certain musical instruments to communicate. This language consists of instructions telling the instrument (or the MIDI synthesizer in your sound card) which notes to play, with what instrument, and when. MIDI is not compressed audio and can be used entirely within a computer, with no external instruments. MIDI files have a synthesized sound, and are quite small, around 30-60 Kb for your average song.
WAV Format (.wav)
WAV is the default format for digital audio on Windows PCs. WAV files are used to store digital audio data in raw form and is a standard CD quality audio format. They are usually coded in PCM format, which means they are uncompressed and take up a lot of space and requires a large amount of memory (10 MB for 1 minute). WAV files can also be coded in other formats, including MP3.
RealAudio (.ra)
A proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks, RealAudio is especially designed to conform to low bandwidths, and it can be used as a streaming audio format, i.e. played at the same time as it's downloaded. Many radio stations use RealAudio to stream their programming over the internet in real time.
Labels: Technology
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