Wav

WAV

Type
Inventor
Inception
Manufacturer
Available
Discontinued
Website	[ Official website]
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The WAV (Waveform Audio File Format) is a standard digital audio file format developed by Microsoft and IBM for storing an audio bitstream on personal computers. It is a variant of the RIFF (Resource Interchange File Format) bitstream format method for storing data in "chunks" and is therefore also close to the 8SVX and the AIFF format used on Amiga and Apple Macintosh computers, respectively.

History

The WAV format was introduced in 1991 as part of the Windows 3.1 operating system. It was developed to provide a standard format for audio files on the Windows platform, allowing for the storage of high-quality audio data. The format quickly became popular due to its simplicity and the fact that it was supported by a wide range of software applications.

Technical Details

WAV files are typically uncompressed, meaning they contain raw audio data that has not been altered or reduced in quality. This results in large file sizes, but also ensures that the audio is of the highest possible quality. WAV files can also contain compressed audio data, but this is less common.

Structure

A WAV file is divided into "chunks". The most important chunks are:

• RIFF Chunk: Contains the file type and size.
• Format Chunk: Specifies the format of the audio data, including the number of channels, sample rate, and bit depth.
• Data Chunk: Contains the actual audio data.

Audio Quality

WAV files can support a wide range of audio qualities, from low-quality 8-bit, 8 kHz mono audio to high-quality 24-bit, 192 kHz stereo audio. The most common format is 16-bit, 44.1 kHz stereo, which is the standard for CD audio.

Usage

WAV files are widely used in professional audio recording and editing due to their high quality and compatibility with various software applications. They are also commonly used for storing audio on CDs and for archiving purposes.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

• High audio quality due to lack of compression.
• Wide compatibility with audio editing software.
• Simple file structure.

Disadvantages

• Large file sizes compared to compressed formats like MP3 or AAC.
• Not ideal for streaming or portable devices due to size.

Also see

• AIFF
• MP3
• FLAC
• Audio file format
• RIFF