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Building a Web Site
of Your Own |
Details, Details, Details!
Audio formats - almost as many as graphics
formats:
Sound files may be stored in several different formats, some of which are
designed more specifically for one platform (Mac vs. PC) and some of which actually are
used for both audio and for digital video. Here is a brief introduction to the names
of the various types of audio formats and the appropriate suffix for each.
| File Type |
Description |
Extensions |
| AIFF and AIFC |
This is a format used on Macintosh computers for such things as the
"alert" sounds. Since a built-in recorder for sounds is often included
with a Mac, this format is commonly used by folks wanting a quick recording of some sound
using the Mac microphone. |
.aif, .aiff,
.aic, .aifc |
| AU |
This format was originally for Unix based computers but is so common that
it is available on both PC and Mac platforms, too. |
.au |
| AVI |
This is a format commonly used with PCs running some version of
Windows. The initials stand for Audio-Video Interface, so it is a format used for
digital audio and video. |
.avi |
| LiquidAudio |
This format provides CD-quality sound over the Internet. Also, this
format has the capability to facilitate commerce - to allow purchase of the song (or sound
file) over the Internet! |
.la1, .lav |
| MIDI |
Musical Instrument Digital Interface is the standard format for everything
from electronic keyboards to guitars to modern pipe organs! The data is not actual
sounds but information for MIDI software about the pitch, duration, and timbre for some
musical instrument (or a computer) to reproduce. The format is now commonly available via
plug-ins for all platforms. |
.mid |
| MPEG |
The Motion Picture Experts Group format is useful for both audio and for
video. It is also available for all plartforms. By the way, it is the
comparable standard product to JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) for graphics. |
.mp2, .mpa, .mp3 |
| RealAudio |
This is the most widely used format for streaming audio. Streaming
audio allows audio to be heard "live" across the Internet instead of after a
complete file has been downloaded. With it, many radio stations now broadcast on the
Internet - even though the sound quality is not good. |
.ra |
| WAV |
Windows Audio Format certainly implies this is for PCs running
windows. It is so commonly used, though, that plug-ins are available for the Mac to
play WAV files, too. |
.wav |
[Session 1] [Session 2] [Session 3] [Session 4] [Session 5]
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This site copyrighted (2005) by Dr. Blake West - Please credit when linking to
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site!
Kansas NEA - 715 SW 10th Ave. Topeka, KS 66612.
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