File Formats (foun.dig.med)

Question 1

What are the 3 digital media formats?

Answer 1

Audio, midi, and video.

Question 2

What is an uncompressed audio file?

Answer 2

Uncompressed = Recording of a sound with large data files, but top quality. Usually used in studios for recording. (eg. WAV, AIFF, AV, BWF).

Question 3

What is a compressed audio file?

Answer 3

Compressed = Smaller. Reducing the file size of your audio while keeping the original data intact. There are 2 kinds of compressed audio: lossless compressed files and lossy compressed files.

Question 4

What is a lossless compressed file?

Answer 4

Lossless = You don’t lose anything. Squashes the file down temporarily but returns as normal. (eg FLAC, TTA, M4A, ALAC).

Question 5

What is a lossy compressed file?

Answer 5

Lossy = File is squashed down, but it stays squashed. Gets rid of some of the material. Sounds roughly the same, but not identical. Bits are taken out - gets the gist, but not the detail. (eg. MP3, OGG, AAC (advanced audio coding).

Question 6

What is a CAF file?

Answer 6

CAF file = Core Audio Format. An audio container format for storing and manipulating digital audio data.
Package with meta data. Stores audio text annotations, markers, channel layouts, etc.