Sound formats
When recording audio, there are different types of file formats that are stored on your computer. The reason for this is that sound formats are used for different purposes. These formats could be used for web distribution to a playlist for music and production. Some of these examples are:
- WAV
WAV for Waveform Audio. This is an audio format that is used to store any audio bitstream on your personal computer. This file is lossless, high quality and has an uncompressed format. One advanatge of using WAV audio files is that since it is lossless, it allows the file to be close to the original audio. This can then be converted into other files such as AIFF and MP3. Despite this one disadvantage of using this is that it has a big memory space.
- AIFF
An AIFF audio was made by Apple. This format is also lossless. This is very similar to the WAV format. Since the AIFF is lossless, it produces very high quality sound. However, this audio does take up a lot of space on your systems.
- MP3
MP3 is the compressing and downloading of files. An MP3 is a common a lossy format. This means that there is more space available and can be supported by a range of different devices. However, one disadvantage of using MP3 is that the sound quality is reduced significantly compared to a lossless file.
- WMA
WMA stands for Windows Media Audio. This sound format is used as an audio file container and could be served as an audio codec too. One advantage of using this is that it is an efficient audio file format. This means that it will take less storage from your computer compared to a lossless sound format. One disadvantage is that you can only use this format if you have a Windows computer as this was made by Microsoft.
Storage
When storing audio files, it can be saved on digital drives and hard drives. When producing audio it is vital that you back it up incase the files get lost or corroded. When saving and importing your audio files it is vital that you save it in the same folder as the raw audio to prevent audio files from not placing. Some of the drives that you can save your files on are:
- Flash drive/USB
A flash drive/USB is a small rectangular device that is placed into devices to help store files and data. Also using a flash drive allows the transfer of files from one device to another. One advantage of using a flash drive/USB is that it is portable. This means that you are able to carry this with you and be able to save everything in one place. However, one disadvantage of using the flash drive/USB is that it has limited storage. This means that there is only a limit on how much a flash drive/USB can store before running out of space.
- Hard drive
A hard drive is different from a flash drive/USB. Although they have the same purpose of storing files and data, hard drives are built into a computer. This means that you can only access the hard drive on a specific computer. This is a disadvantage as if there is a problem with the computer, the end user will not be able to access the files and data. Despite this, hard drives have the advantage of having more capacity than a flash drive/USB. This means that you can save more on the computer.
- Cloud backup services
A cloud drive is a web-based service that holds storage online on an online server. One advantage of using a cloud drive is that it can be accessed anywhere on any device. This is useful as you can use it to save specific files and get them from another device. However, one disadvantage is that it requires an internet connection. This means that you cannot access the files without a connection which can bring a delay to projects.
Compression
Compression is reducing sounds that are above a certain threshold. There are different types of compressions. They are:
- DRC
DRC stands for Dynamic Range compression. This allows the volume of loud sounds to be reduced or increases the quiet sounds.
- Downward compression
- Upward compression
Upward compression focuses on increasing quieter sounds that fall below a certain threshold.
Size versus quality
- Lossy - This is where the file is compressed and the quality of the sound is reduced permanently due to some of the elements being eliminated.
- Lossless - This is where the file is compressed and every single piece of data is still there. This shows that there is no loss of quality from the original recording.
- Bit rates - Are a measurement of the amount of data that is processed per second.
- File size - This is showing how big the file is on any device. There a different file sizes depending on the amount of recording it has.
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