A standard audio file format used for storing uncompressed audio data on Windows PCs, Waveform Audio File Format (WAV) was developed by Microsoft and IBM. It is also known as WAVE files or simply Wave. The format is based on the Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF) and can store audio data in various formats, such as pulse-code modulation (PCM), which is the most common and retains high audio quality.
Audio Quality and File Size
WAV files store audio data in an uncompressed form. This provides high audio quality but typically results in larger file sizes compared to other audio formats like MP3, which use compression to reduce file size.
Applications
WAV files are commonly used in professional audio production, where high-quality audio is essential. They are also used for storing audio data that will be edited or manipulated, as the format allows for minimal quality loss during processing.
Technical Specifications
- Format: WAV files are an application of the Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF) bitstream format method for storing data in chunks. This makes them similar to the 8SVX and the Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) format used on Amiga and Macintosh computers, respectively.
- Encoding: The usual bitstream encoding is the linear pulse-code modulation (LPCM) format.
