Understanding Digital Audio Formats


Anyone with a personal computer and the right software can make digital copies of music from CDs, and then store these copies on their computer's hard disk. These digital audio files can also be traded with other users, over the Internet.

We'll learn more about playing digital music in Chapter 33, "Downloading and Playing Digital Music." But before we get into the mechanics of creating your own digital music library, you need to understand the various audio file formats available for your use.

You see, there are many different ways to make a digital recording. Each format has its plusses and minuses, as described in Table 32.1.

Table 32.1. Digital Audio File Formats

Format

Pros

Cons

AAC

Compresses songs into small files

Used by Apple's iPod portable music player and iTunes software music players

Not CD quality

Not compatible with many music player programs and portable

AIFF

CD quality

Large file size

Not compatible with many music player programs and portable music players

MP3

Compresses songs into small files

The most universal of all audio file formats; compatible with virtually all music player programs and portable music players

Not CD quality

WAV

CD quality

Large file size

WMA

Compresses songs into small files

Used by most online music stores

Compatible with most music player programs and portable music players

Not CD quality

Not compatible with Apple's iPod


Here's the lowdown. The AIFF and WAV formats are used to create commercial CDs, and therefore have the best sound quality. These formats result in extremely large files, however, which makes them inappropriate for downloading and use with portable music players.

The other three formats create much smaller files, at the expense of sound quality. These formats compress the sound to some degree, which is noticeable to some audiophiles although you probably can't tell when listening via headphones or PC speakers.

Of these three formats, the MP3 format is the oldest and most universal; almost every music player program and portable music player is MP3-compatible. The WMA format was developed by Microsoft, and is used by most commercial online music stores; it's compatible with all music player programs except Apple's iTunes, and with all portable music players except Apple's iPod. The AAC format is Apple's proprietary format, and is used by both iTunes and iPod; it's not compatible with many other music player programs and portable music players.

tip

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For best quality, rip files in the WAV format. For best compatibility with virtually all portable music players, rip files in the MP3 format.


If you're downloading music, you probably don't have a choice of formats; you have to take the music in the format that it's in. When you're copying files from your CD to your PC, however, you have your choice of format.



Absolute Beginner's Guide to Computer Basics
Absolute Beginners Guide to Computer Basics (2nd Edition)
ISBN: 0789731754
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 253

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