Multimedia Audio Format

Sound can be stored in various formats.

MIDI Format

MIDI is a format for transmitting musical information between electronic music devices (such as synthesizers and PC sound cards).

The MIDI format was invented by the music industry in 1982. The MIDI format is highly flexible and can be used for a wide range of music production, from extremely simple to very professional.

MIDI files do not contain sampled sound, but a series of digital music instructions (notes) that can be interpreted by the sound card of a PC.

The disadvantage of MIDI is that it cannot record sound (it can only record notes). Or, in other words: it cannot store songs, only melodies.

Click here to play The Beatles.

The advantage of the MIDI format is that, since it only contains instructions (notes), MIDI files can be extremely small. The example above is only 23K, but it can play nearly 5 minutes.

The MIDI format is supported by a wide range of software systems on many different platforms. MIDI files are also supported by all the most popular internet browsers.

The format for storing audio in MIDI format is .mid or .midi.

RealAudio Format

RealAudio Format was developed by Real Media for the internet. This format also supports video.

This format allows audio streaming over low bandwidth (online music, internet broadcasting). Due to the priority of low bandwidth, its quality is often compromised.

Audio stored in RealAudio format, with the file extension .rm or .ram.

AU Format

The AU format is supported by a wide range of software systems on many different platforms.

Audio stored in AU format, with the file extension .au.

AIFF Format

AIFF Format (Audio Interchange File Format) was developed by Apple.

AIFF is not cross-platform and is not supported by all web browsers.

Audio stored in AIFF format, with the file extension aif or .aiff.

SND Format

SND (Sound) was developed by Apple.

SND is not cross-platform and is not supported by all web browsers.

Audio stored in SND format, with the file extension .snd.

WAVE Format

WAVE (waveform) format was developed by IBM and Microsoft.

It is supported by all Windows operating systems and almost all popular web browsers.

Audio stored in WAVE format has an extension of .wav.

MP3 Format (MPEG)

MP3 files are actually MPEG files. However, initially, the MPEG format was developed for video by the Moving Pictures Experts Group. We can say that MP3 files are part of the MPEG video format.

MP3 is one of the most popular audio formats in music recording. The MP3 encoding system combines the advantages of high compression (small files) and high quality. It is expected that all systems will support it in the future.

Audio stored in MP3 format has a file extension of .mp3, or .mpga (for MPG Audio).

Which format to use?

On the Internet, WAVE format is one of the most popular formats and is supported by all popular browsers. If you want the recorded sound to be usable by all visitors, you should use WAVE format.

MP3 format is a relatively new audio format. If your website is related to music, MP3 format should also be a good choice.