Audio file File

Compression Description Developer Release Parameters

format Extension
Audio file format used by
Bit rate: 32-128 kbps
Amazon in their audiobooks and .aa
Audible audio Lossy Amazon 1995 Sample rate: 22.050 kHz
audio versions of magazines and .aax
Bit depth: 16 bits
newspapers
Bell Laboratories
Audio File format designed to be Fraunhofer Institute Bit rate: 128 kbps
Advanced Audio
Lossy the successor of MP3 format but Dolby Laboratories 1997 Sample rate: 8-96 kHz .aac
Coding
of higher quality Sony Corporation Bit depth: 16 bits
Nokia
Audio file format used by most
ACT audio Lossy Chinese electronic media Actions Semiconductor .act
devices
Audio Audio file format most Bit rate: 1.4 Mbps
.aiff
Interchnage File Uncompressed commonly used by Apple Apple, Inc. January 21, 1988 Sample rate: 44.1 kHz
.aif
Format Macintosh computer systems Bit depth: 16 bits
Bit rate: 4.75-12.2 kbps
Adaptive Multi- Audio file format used for
June 23, 1999 Sample rate: 8 kHz .amr
rate Audio storing speech audio
Bit depth: 13 bits
Audio file format that makes bit-
Monkey’s Audio Lossless Matthew T. Ashland 2000 Bit rate: 576-960 kbps .ape
for-bit copies of a music audio
Audio file format used as Sample rate: 8 kHz
Au file Uncompressed Sun Microsystems .au
standard for Unix sound Bit depth: 8 bits
Audio file format specialized in Olympus
Digital Speech
Lossy voice data (recording, playing, Philips 1997 .dss
Standard
rewinding) Grundig Business System
Audio file format used in voice
Digital Voice File Lossy Sony Corporation .dvf
recording on Sony devices
Audio file format that typically
reduces file size up to 50 to 70 Xiph.Org Foundation Bit rate: variable
Free Lossless
Lossless percent and can decompress it Josh Coalson July 20, 2001 Sample rate: 65-655 kHz .flac
Audio Codec
to an identical copy of the Erik de Castro Lopo Bit depth: 4-24 bits
original audio data
Bit rate: 13 kbps
Audio file format used for digital Jutta Degener
Full Rate Audio Lossy 1994 Sample rate: 8 kHz .gsm
mobile communication system Carsten Bormann
Bit depth: 1.625 bits
 Audio file format used for
iKlax Media
Lossy recording musical instrument iKlax Media 2008 .iklax
Audio
sounds
Audio file format that can also
contain videos, subtitles, and .mp4
still images
Audio file format used by Apple
for unprotected music audio .m4a
downloaded on iTunes
Audio file format that allows
MPEG-4 Audio
Lossless bookmarks or the audio’s ISO 2003
Family .m4b
capability to remember the last
listening spot
Audio file format used by Apple
for protected/proprietary music .m4p
audio downloaded on iTunes
Audio file format for Apple
.m4r
ringtones
Synthetic Music Audio file format commonly
Mobile used as ringtones for mobile Yamaha Corporation
Uncompressed .mmf
Application phones and other portable Samsung
Format media devices
Audio file format which was
Bit rate: 192 kbps
mostly used for compression Moving Pictures Expert
MPEG Layer 3 Lossy 1993 Sample rate: 8-48 kHz .mp3
because of its relative small file Group
Bit depth: 16 bits
size
Andree Buschmann
Audio file format specifically Bit rate: 160-180 kbps
Frank Klemm
Musepack Lossy optimized for transparent August 10, 2011 Sample rate: 8 kHz .mpc
Musepack Development
compression of stereo audio Bit depth: 16 bits
Team
Memory Stick Audio file format used in Sony’s
Lossy Sony Corporation .msv
Voice File memory stick recorders
Audio file format used for
NES Sound
Lossy storing and playing music for Nintendo 1983 .nsf
Format
Nintendo’s 8 bit games
.ogg
Audio file format similar to mp3 Bit rate: variable
.ogv
Ogg Vorbis Lossy that support multi-channel and Xiph.Org Foundation May 8, 2000 Sample rate: 8-192 kHz
.oga
multi-track playback Bit depth: 16 bits
.ogx
 .ogm
Audio file format designed to Xiph.Org Foundation Bit rate: 6-510 kbps
Opus Audio September 11,
Lossy efficiently code speech and Internet Engineering Task Sample rate: 8-48 kHz .opus
Format 2012
general audio in a single format Force Bit depth: 16 bits
Audio file format designed for
streaming audio on the internet .ra
Real Audio Lossless RealNetworks April 1995
with its streaming while .ram
downloading capability
Audio file format used for
Raw Audio File
Uncompressed storing raw audio and contains .raw
Format
no header information
Audio file format used as
Bit rate: 1,411 kbps
Pulse Code standard for computers, Bernard M. Oliver
Uncompressed 1948 Sample rate: 44.1 kHz .pcm
Modultaion compact disks, and other digital Claude Shannon
Bit depth: 16 bits
audio applications
Audio file format that
Bit rate: variable
True Audio Lossless compresses 30 to 70 percent of Aleksander Djourik July 26, 2007 .tta
Bit depth: 8-25 bits
the original audio
Audio file format used for
storing digitized voice data at
Sample rate: 8 kHz
VOX Audio Lossy low sampling rate usually Oki Electric 1984 .vox
Bit depth: 4 bits
applied on arcade redemption
games
Audio file format used as Bit rate: 1,411 kbps
Waveform Audio Microsoft Corporation .wav
Uncompressed standard for storing audio bit 1991 Sample rate: 44.1 kHz
File Format IBM .wave
stream on personal computers Bit depth: 16 bits
Audio file format developed by Bit rate: 470-940 kbps
Windows Media
Lossless Microsoft for Windows Microsoft Corporation 1999 Sample rate: 96 kHz .wma
Audio
Operating Systems Bit depth: 24 bits
On2 Technologies
Audio file format compatible Xiph.Org Foundation
WebM Audio Lossless May 18, 2010 .webm
HTML5 programming language Matroska
Google
Audio file format developed by
8-bit Sampled .8svx
Lossy Electronic Arts for its computer Electronic Arts 1985 Bit depth: 16 bits
Voice Audio File .iff
games series