Sound File Formats

L3 Extended Diploma in Games Design

Unit 73: Sound for Computer Games

 

 

Research and explain when you would use the following sounds format and why?

Sound file formats:

 

Uncompressed:

Uncompressed audio format is the storage of digital audio. Uncompressed audio like other uncompressed files are bigger in size and usually are of higher quality than compressed files. One of the major uncompressed audio formats is LPCM (Linear Pulse-Code Modulation), which is of the same variety of PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) which are used in CD’s (Compact Disc) digital audio. LPCM is usually stored on a computer in a .wav file on Windows or in .aiff file on Mac OS, LPCM can but is not often stored as a raw audio format.

.wav: LPCM stored as a .wav file on Windows.

.aiff: .aiff is LPCM format file used on Mac OS.

.au: Is the standard audio format file used by Java, Unix and Sun. The audio files in au can be PCM, or can be compressed with ulaw, alaw or G729 codecs.

Lossy compression:

Lossless compression or commonly known as Lossy, is a term used when all the original data is kept from an uncompressed file or not. If a file keeps all of its original data it would be considered a Lossless Compression or Lossy.

Mp3: MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, or more commonly known as MP3, is an audio coding format for digital audio, which uses a variation of lossy data compression. It is a common audio format for consumers, in streaming, storage. It is also used for the digital audio compression of playback music or videos on most hand held devices.

Ra: RealAudio, or commonly referred to as ra is an audio format developed by RealNetworks and was first released in April of 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over a dial up modem, to high-fidelity formats for music. The format can also be used for streaming audio format that is played at the same time it is downloaded. In the past many internet radio stations and websites used RealAudio to stream their audio programming over the internet in real time. In recent years however the format has become less popular and has declined in use due to better audio format solutions. RealAudio was heavily used by the BBC websites until 2009 when it was discontinued due to its decline in use.

VOX: VOX or ADPCM (Adaptive Differential Pulse-code Modulation) is an audio file format, optimized for storage of digitalized voice fata at a low sampling rate. VOX files are most commonly found in telephony applications, as well as occasionally being used in redemption arcade games.