FreeLists / webproducers / [webproducers] Re: .wav vs. .mp3 - pros and cons

[Ari Feldman <outdoorminer2002@xxxxxxxxx>]

laura,

the difference are quite significant depending on your requirements.

WAV is basically raw audio data with a bit of header information tacked
on to it.

pros:

* it's ideal for mastering high quality sound effects and audio since
it's more or less the actual audio data in digital form.

* it's the windows standard, making it widely supported by audio
editors and applications that can important sound.

cons:

* the files are large, especially with stereo WAVS at 16bit, 44.1Khz
samples rates (CD quality). at this quality, WAV data will consume 11
megs of disc space per minute of audio.


MP3 is one of the many compressed audio formats. think of WAV files as
TIFF or BMP images and MP3 files as JPEG images.

pros:

* MP3s are small. depending on the quality settings, which can range
from 8kbs/sec to 320 kbs/sec, you can crunch a 400 meg WAV file into a
3.5 meg MP3 file.

* MP3 is ubiqitous across all platforms. MP3s have been around a while
and are supported by virtually all media devices from CD players to
ipods to PCs and Macs.

* MP3 offers a good sound quality for *most* applications.

cons:

* MP3 is a lossy file format. It removes subtle elements of the audio
signal to compress the audio data. this makes MP3 very practical for
producing good quality sound for most applications but less than idea
for applications that require very accurate sound reproduction.

* MP3 is not technically free but the LAME encoder does allow royalty
free MP3 production.

* MP3 is no longer the best kid on the block. Apple's AAC format
produces argueably better fidelity with similar compression and the
open source .OGG format is also quite good, though with much less
acceptance.

--- Laura Forbes <laura_forbes@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> hi all - quick question.  what is the difference
> between these 2 file formats?  is one better than the
> other?  what are the differences?
> 
> my perception is that .mp3 is more current and .wav is
> outdated - any ideas?
> 
> your help is most appreciated.
> 
> 
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----------------------   WORK   -----------------------
Ari Feldman
Product Manager, Oddcast Media Technologies
http://www.oddcast.com
ari@xxxxxxxxxxx
P: 212-375-6290 x 216
---------------------  FREEDOM  -----------------------
               http://www.flyingyogi.com
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