There are so many audio formats, which ones should you choose to record your audio? An audio format is a file format through which music is stored on your computer. There are a wide variety of formats, such as wav, mp3, aiff, wma, etc. To understand the difference between various formats, we must first understand the terms compressed and uncompressed formats.
Uncompressed audio formats
Uncompressed audio formats are large files and take up considerable space on your hard drive or storage drive. The advantage of uncompressed audio formats is that the quality of the digital audio remains intact, as it does not change. It provides exactly the same quality; no matter how many times you process or recode it.
compressed audio format
Compressed audio formats compress digital audio data, resulting in smaller files. You can free up valuable space on your hard drive by using compressed audio formats.
Compressed audio formats are classified into two groups:
Lossless Compressed Audio Formats
These audio formats compress digital audio data, but there is no data loss or audio quality degradation during the compression process. The best example of such a format is flac.
Lossy Compressed Audio Formats
These audio formats compress digital audio data, but are known to remove certain information and frequencies to reduce file size. Lossy compressed audio formats cause degradation in audio quality. The difference in audio quality can be large or small, depending on how much data has been removed. Also, each subsequent processing or re-encoding will result in further loss of quality. The classic example of lossy compression is MP3.
What recording format is best for me??
To choose the best recording format, we need to understand 2 more terms, Sampling and Bitrate. Digital audio has two main qualities that make up the way audio is described. – sample rate and bit rate.
sampling rate
When you’re recording audio digitally, the device (for example, your computer) receives the audio signal by dividing it into “snapshots” or samples. In recording technology, the number of samples received per second is called the sample rate. The concept is comparable to a digital movie camera that records a number of image frames per second and plays them back as a continuous moving image. Similarly, you hear uninterrupted audio playback. The sampling rate is measured in hertz and represents the frequency range of the sound. The higher the sample rate, the higher the audio quality and ensures more precision on your high and low notes. Standard CD quality incorporates a sampling frequency of 44, 100 Hz, or 44.1 KHz. Sample rates range from 8,000 Hz (very low quality) to 196,000 (very high quality, with extremely large files).
Bit rate
In digital multimedia, Bit rate often refers to the number of bits used per unit of playback time to represent a continuous medium such as audio. Let’s understand what the bitrate actually represents. While the sample rate is the number of samples recorded per second, the bit rate refers to the characteristics of each individual sample recorded. Going back to the digital camera example, bit rate is the equivalent of pixels in digital images. The higher the number of pixels, the better the image quality. Similarly, the higher the bit rate (also called bit depth), the better the audio quality. For example, 8-bit audio will sound grainy and harsh, while 16-bit audio sounds much better. The standard CD format has a sample rate of 44.1k combined with a bit rate of 16.
Naturally, 24-bit audio will deliver the highest quality, but such files take up more space and require more computing power to process, and may not really be necessary for your audio purpose. For FM broadcasting or streaming over the Internet, 16-bit speeds are perfect. Professional audio studios opt for 24-bit or 32-bit speeds, because the higher precision it offers is useful in the recording, mixing, and mastering process.
Bit rate in MP3
The MP3 format is a lossy audio format that compresses audio files to reduce their size by removing redundant data. You can choose how much information an MP3 file will retain or lose during the encoding and compression process by adjusting the bit rate. A lower bit rate means that more information will be discarded by the encoder during the compression process, which can affect the quality of the audio on playback. Bit rates for MP3 encoders range from 16 kilobytes per second (kbps) to 320 kbps. A bit rate of 320 kbps provides CD-quality audio, similar to what you’d hear on the radio. A higher MP3 bitrate provides better audio quality but produces larger files.
So what do you choose to record your audio? For flawless quality, always record in uncompressed formats like wav or aiff, at least 44 100 khz and 16 bit. This has 2 advantages. First of all, the audio will be recorded in cd quality. Second, any post processing such as mixing, editing, etc. will not cause any quality degradation. If you need to encode/record to mp3, at least 196kbps is the minimum for decent quality, though 320kbps is always best.
Some of the commonly used audio formats include the following:
1.WAV format
The Wavform or wav audio format stores uncompressed audio data on Windows computers. It is based on the RIFF bitstream format method to store data. Since it stores uncompressed audio data, it preserves 100% original audio quality and is popular among audio experts. WAV format can be easily edited by software. (Always record at 44,100 Khz and 16-bit (minimum) for studio-quality recordings)
2. AIFF format
The Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) developed by Apple Computers is an uncompressed audio format commonly used to store audio data on Apple Macintosh systems. Because it stores uncompressed audio data, the AIFF format is also commonly used for professional audio applications. (Always record at 44,100 Khz and 16-bit (minimum) for studio-quality recordings)
3.MP3 format
The MP3 format is a commonly used lossy compression audio format. Basically, it reduces the file size by skipping data in the file. Through the use of perceptual audio coding and psychoacoustic compression, the MP3 format preserves quality as close to the original as possible. Therefore, MP3 is the commonly used audio format to store a large number of songs on your computer without taking up too much space with acceptable quality. Never record to MP3 unless you have no other choice. Always record in uncompressed formats like wav/aiff and THEN CONVERT to an mp3 file of the desired size.
4.AAC format
The Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) format, another lossy compression audio format, was developed to be the successor to MP3, offering better audio quality than MP3 at lower sizes. It is the standard audio format on Apple’s i-Tunes and i-pods.
5.WMA format
The Windows Media Audio (WMA) format is a lossy compression audio format designed by Microsoft to compete with MP3. However, MP3 still holds the top spot in popularity. Lossless compressed version of the WMA format called Lossless WMA is also available and reproduces the original audio quality, without removal on decompression and playback, similar to wav or aiff.
