CD-DVD Tutorials - Herong's Tutorial Examples - v2.23, by Dr. Herong Yang
.WAV File Name Extension - WAV Files
This section describes what is .wav file name extension or WAV files.
.wav is the file name extension for audio files - music and songs in WAV (WaveForm) format, developed by Microsoft and IBM.
The original WAV file format contains uncompressed audio data using the same encoding method, PCM (Pulse-Code Modulation), as audio CD (Compact Disc Digital Audio or CD-DA) discs. So uncompressed WAV file size matches audio track sizes on audio CDs.
Audio WAV files are usually generated by ripping off sound tracks from an audio CD with an audio CD ripping software.
WAV files may also be encoded with a variety of codecs (coder and decoder) to compress audio data. A WAV file encoded with the mp3 codec may reduce the audio data to the same level as a MP3 file.
Roughly, uncompressed WAV files takes about 10MB space per 1 minute of play time. Here is how to calculate space requirement based on PCM specifications:
16 bits per sample 44,100 samples per second 60 seconds per minute 2 channels for stereo sound 1 minute stereo sound requires: 2 * 60 * 44,100 * 16 bits = 2 * 60 * 44,100 * 2 bytes = 10,584,000 bytes = 10 MB
See other chapters for more information on .wav file name extension.
Table of Contents
Audio CD (Compact Disc Digital Audio or CD-DA) Format
Audio CD (Compact Disc Digital Audio or CD-DA) Players
Audio CD (Compact Disc Digital Audio or CD-DA) Rip Music
MP3, MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3, Encoding Format
DVD (Digital Video Disc) Standard Format
TOC (Table Of Contents) on CDs
IsoBuster - A Nice CD GUI Tool
vStrip - Rip and Manipulate DVD VOB Files
mpgtx - Manipulating MPEG Files
►CD/DVD - File Name Extension and Format Types
.MP3 File Name Extension - MP3 Files
►.WAV File Name Extension - WAV Files
.WMA File Name Extension - Windows Media Audio Files
.ISO File Name Extension - ISO Files
.DAT File Name Extension - VCD Media Files
.INF File Name Extension - AUTORUN.INF Files
.IFO File Name Extension - DVD Information Files
.VOB File Name Extension - DVD Video Object Files
.AVI File Name Extension - Audio Video Interleave Files