Multimedia

Chapter 4
Sound_2
 Format Conversion

 Most sound editing software will save files in your choice of many
formats.

 Most of these formats can be read and imported by multimedia

authoring systems.

 Data may be lost when converting formats.

 For example, if you have a Digital Rights Management (DRM):

 A protected M4P file downloaded from the iTunes store and burn that file to
an Audio CD track,

 The DRM data will be lost because the Audio CD format does not provide
for DRM data.

 The now-unprotected tune on the CD can then be ripped into a playable

MP3 format.

 Digital Rights Management (DRM) refers to a collection of systems used to

protect the copyrights of electronic media.
 Advanced Audio Coding
 Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) is an audio coding standard for lossy digital
audio compression. Designed to be the successor of the MP3 format

 AAC generally achieves better sound quality than MP3 at similar bit rates.

 AAC is the default or standard audio format for YouTube,

iPhone, iPod, iPad, iTunes, DivX Plus Web Player and PlayStation 3.

 It is supported on PlayStation Vita, Sony Walkman MP3 series and

later, Android and BlackBerry.

 AAC is also supported by manufacturers of in-dash car audio systems

 File name extension:
1. .m4a
2. .m4b
3. .m4p
4. .m4v
5. .m4r
6. .3gp
7. .mp4
8. .acc
 Resampling or Down-sampling :

 If you have recorded and edited your sounds at 16-bit sampling rates but
are using lower rates and resolutions in your project, you must resample or
down-sample the file.

 Your software will examine the existing digital recording and work through it
to reduce the number of samples.

 This process may save considerable disk space.

 Fade-ins and Fade-outs:

 Most programs offer enveloping capability, useful for long sections that you
wish to fade in or fade out gradually.

 This enveloping helps to smooth out the very beginning and the very end of
a sound file.

 Equalization:

 Some programs offer digital equalization (EQ) capabilities that allow you to
modify a recording’s frequency content so that it sounds brighter (more
high frequencies) or darker (low, ominous rumbles).
 Time Stretching:

 Advanced programs let you alter the length (in time) of a sound file without changing
its pitch.

 This feature can be very useful, but watch out: most time-stretching algorithms will
severely degrade the audio quality of the file if the length is altered more than a few
percent in either direction.

 Reversing Sounds:

 Another simple manipulation is to reverse all or a portion of a digital audio recording.

 Sounds, particularly spoken dialog, can produce a surreal, otherworldly effect when
played backward.
 Multiple Tracks:

 Being able to edit and combine multiple tracks (for sound effects, voice-overs,
music, etc.) and then merge the tracks and export them in a “final mix” to a
single audio file is important.

 File Size vs. Quality:

 Remember that the sampling rate determines the frequency at which samples
will be taken for the recording.

 Sampling at higher rates (such as 44.1 kHz or 22.05 kHz) more accurately
captures the high-frequency content of your sound.
 Audio resolution (such as 8- or 16-bit) determines the accuracy with which a
sound can be digitized.

 Using more bits for the sample size yields a recording that sounds more like
its original.

 Stereo recordings are more lifelike and realistic because human beings have
two ears.

 Mono recordings are fine but tend to sound a bit “flat” and uninteresting when
compared with stereo recordings.
 Logically, to record stereo you need two microphones (left and right), and the sound
file generated will require twice as much storage space as the mono file for the same
length of play time.

 The following table provides some commonly used sampling rates and resolutions,
with resulting file sizes.

 Note: The only reason to digitize audio at a higher specification than can be used by
the target playback device is for archiving it.

 As playback technologies and bandwidth improve over time, you may wish
(someday) for higher-quality original files when you upgrade a product. Save the
originals!
 Consumer-grade audio compact discs provide stereo at a sampling rate of 44.1
kHz and 16-bit resolution.

 Sound studios using high-end equipment digitally record and edit performances
at much higher sampling rates and depths than this target distribution platform,
and the final mix is down-sampled before mass replication.

 Listeners seriously interested in perfect sound reproduction.

 Audiophiles have driven a small market for very high-end equipment that can
play back SACD (Super Audio CD) or DVD-Audio formats written on special
audio-only DVDs that require dedicated players and a system with as many as
five full-frequency speakers and a subwoofer.
 This sound is typically sampled at a depth of 24 bits and frequency of 96 kHz.

 It is said by some that, while the limit of human hearing may be about 21 kHz,
the unheard higher frequency harmonics (easily heard by dogs to 60 kHz, bats to
120 kHz, and dolphins to 150 kHz) “flood” the brain with pleasure-causing
endorphins and lead to a fuller sensory experience.

 Here are the formulas for determining the size (in bytes) of a digital recording.
For a monophonic recording:

Sampling rate * Duration of recording in seconds * (bit resolution / 8) * 1

 For a stereo recording:

Sampling rate * duration of recording in seconds * (bit resolution / 8) * 2

(Remember, sampling rate is measured in kHz, or thousand samples per second,

so to convert from kHz to a whole number, you must multiply by 1,000.
Resolution is measured in bits per sample. Since there are 8 bits in a byte, you
have to divide the bit resolution by 8.)
Thus the formula for a 10-second recording at 22.05 kHz, 8-bit resolution would be:

22050 * 10 * 8 / 8 * 1

which equals 220,500 bytes. A 10-second stereo recording at 44.1 kHz, 16-bit
resolution (meeting the CD-quality Red Book Audio standards—an international
recording standard discussed later in this chapter) would be:

44100 * 10 * 16 / 8 * 2

which equals 1,764,000 bytes. A 40-second mono recording at 11 kHz, 8-bit

resolution would be

11000 * 40 * 8 / 8 * 1

which equals 440,000 bytes.

 Fortunately, for hard disk storage requirements at least, and for ringtone
files sent over a mobile phone, user expectations of audio quality are
somewhat lower than for Grammy Award–winning recordings.