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Waveform Audio File Format
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Waveform Audio File Format

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Also known as .wave, .wav, WAVE, Microsoft WAVE, WAV, WAV format

Waveform Audio File Format (WAVE, or WAV due to its filename extension; pronounced or ) is an audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on personal computers. The format was developed and published for the first time in 1991 by IBM and Microsoft. It is the main format used on Microsoft Windows systems for uncompressed audio. The usual bitstream encoding is the linear pulse-code modulation (LPCM) format.

Key facts

File format.name
Waveform Audio File Format (WAVE/WAV)
File format.extension
.wav .wave
File format.mime
audio/vnd.wave, audio/wav, audio/wave, audio/x-wav
File format.type code
WAVE
File format.uniform type
com.microsoft.waveform-audio
File format.owner
IBM and Microsoft
File format.latest release version
Multiple Channel Audio Data and WAVE Files
File format.latest release date
(update)
File format.genre
Audio file format, container format
File format.extended from
RIFF
File format.extended to
BWF, RF64

via Wikipedia infobox

Described at

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Wikidata facts

Image
AudacityWAV.png
Show 8 more facts
file extension
wave
publication date
1991-08-00
media type
audio/x-pn-wav
Stack Exchange tag
stackoverflow.com/tags/wav
Commons category
Waveform audio format
file format identification pattern
57415645
Sources (6)

via Wikidata · CC0

~13 min read

Article

15 sections
Contents
  • Description
  • File specifications
  • RIFF
  • RIFF WAVE
  • WAV file header
  • Metadata
  • Popularity
  • Use by broadcasters
  • Limitations
  • Non-audio data
  • Audio compact discs
  • Comparison of coding schemes
  • See also
  • References
  • External links

Waveform Audio File Format (WAVE, or WAV due to its filename extension; pronounced or ) is an audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on personal computers. The format was developed and published for the first time in 1991 by IBM and Microsoft. It is the main format used on Microsoft Windows systems for uncompressed audio. The usual bitstream encoding is the linear pulse-code modulation (LPCM) format.

WAV is an application of the Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF) bitstream format method for storing data in chunks, and thus is similar to the 8SVX and the Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) format used on Amiga and Macintosh computers, respectively.

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