{"id":9679,"date":"2021-12-07T13:08:01","date_gmt":"2021-12-07T11:08:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/auribluz.com\/?p=9679"},"modified":"2021-12-07T13:09:43","modified_gmt":"2021-12-07T11:09:43","slug":"formatos-audio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/auribluz.com\/en\/audio-formats\/","title":{"rendered":"Audio formats: 27 types, characteristics and which is the best"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sound recordings are saved in storage formats that compress their size and They are dedicated to exploiting certain characteristics of stored sound.<\/strong>Now taking into account that we live in a world where everything is constantly changing we can say that there is more than just one audio format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The truth is that There is a wide variety of audio formats and today we are going to take a walk through each of them.<\/strong> and we will explore their characteristics to try to define which of them could be the best of all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related:<\/strong> The best equalizers for PC<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Types of audio formats<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here we summarize each of the audio formats that exist today<\/strong> and we point out what their characteristics are so that you can select the one that best suits your needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GSM<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Remember when Xiaomi's Price-Performance ratio was all the rage in the mobile market a couple of years ago? Well, We could say that this relationship is also applicable to the GSM format.<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Originally developed for mobile communications in 1991, This format is currently used by mobile phones and tablets, <\/strong>as it offers good sound quality when talking and also takes up very little space in the system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DCT<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If what you want is confidentiality then this format is ideal for you.<\/strong>, is basically a codec designed for dictation and the great advantage it offers is that it can be encrypted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

VOX<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Also known as ADCPM<\/strong> This audio format is found mostly in mobile phone applications because it is designed to store digital voice. VOX stores its data at a low simple level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AIFF<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It is mostly used to store digitized audio on our mobile devices. It is more common to find them on Apple devices<\/strong>, <\/strong>since they were developed by the same company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AU<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It was quite common on NeXT systems and web pages. Nowadays it is quite common in Java<\/strong> and one of its main features is that it can be converted with a-law or G.729.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flac<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If what you want is to store your music files and not miss any detail then this format is for you.<\/strong>, since it compresses digital audio without eliminating a single detail, that is, it works like a Zip file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alac<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It is the audio format used for Apple Music streaming.<\/strong> and it is not that different from the Flac format as it also makes sure that you do not lose any details of the audio file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ogg<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This audio file It is widely compared to the MP3 format due to the similarities they share.<\/strong>, however, is not as recommended, since MP3 is supported by many more devices than Ogg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vorbis<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Developed by the Xiph.org foundation, This codec uses the Ogg file format <\/strong>and allows for greater visibility into the file encoding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opus<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It is another codec that is part of the Ogg project and It stands out above all for its great versatility<\/strong> and for being a loss-free audio format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mcp<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Also known as musepack, it is an audio format designed especially for stereo audio<\/strong><\/a>, which allows you to send frequencies at a speed of up to 180 bits per second<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raw<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Mainly used in computers<\/strong>, allows us to store audio files in their rawest form. It has several extensions, however, the most typical is PCM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TTA<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Simple and lossless in real time. One of its great advantages is that offers high compression levels<\/strong> while maintaining the speed of the operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MP3<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The most popular audio format today<\/strong>, is undoubtedly a good option if you do not want to have problems when playing an audio file, since it is compatible with all the players on the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ACC<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Generally contained in ADTs or ADIF, It is based on a lossy compression algorithm<\/strong> so that the file is compressed as best as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MP4<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With a compression of 16:1, it takes up 30% less than the MP3 format<\/strong> and it doesn't need a player because the file itself includes one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wma<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This format was developed by Windows and It has copy protection<\/strong>, as it was developed to protect digital rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WAV<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Generally used by Windows to save uncompressed files<\/strong>Its size is not reduced, since the file is saved in CD quality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Atrac<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It was developed by Sony and is governed by the .WAV extension.<\/strong>However, to be able to open it you need to have the ATRAC3 drivers installed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

RA \/ RM<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It was originally designed for internet streaming, so it has the ability to play while downloading.. Files with this format have the extension RAX or RAM<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RAM<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We mention the RAM file again, since does not contain any type of audio<\/strong>, instead, contains a link to the web page where the audio is stored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dss<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Developed by Olympus Corporation<\/strong>, this format can be found in the recording devices of said company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dvf<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Audio files that are the property of Sony are stored in this format<\/strong>, but we can also find them in dictation recorders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IVS<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It was created for digital audio rights management and It is only used to download music from the Tronme store<\/strong>, although it is also used in your music and video player.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M4p<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another format created for digital rights management, this time developed by Apple, for which can only be played from Apple Music<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iklax<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It is one of the most used formats in the music industry,<\/strong> since it allows us to perform actions within the audio such as adjusting volumes, adding filters, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MIDI<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This format is not so different from the previous one, since By showing us the audio file in separate tracks it will allow us to perform actions within it<\/strong> as those already mentioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the best audio format?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Defining the best audio format is a task that will depend on your needs. Although the Experts recommend using MP3 as it is compatible with most players today.<\/strong>, this can cause us losses when compressing the file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we could say that FLAC is the best choice when selecting an audio format,<\/strong> since it does not generate losses when compressing it and maintains very good audio quality with a considerably low weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bit Depth and Sample Rate: What you need to know about audio formats<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you are just starting your career as a music producer, then keep in mind that audio formats are going to interact directly with Bit Depth and Sample Rate, although They may not do it the way you expect<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some audio formats have a better resolution than others, which means that sound quality varies<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n