Most people can’t tell their .wma files from their .aiff files. This is because in the first place they do not choose the right sound format for the intended purpose. Whether for the purpose of downloading royalty free music or converting music files to digital format for portable players – it is important to choose the correct file format.

Sound can be stored in a number of file formats, but there are distinct differences between these various file formats including:

1. Compressing ability: You can save up considerable storage space, using a file format which is easily compressible. If you intend to store quite a number of songs, it would be a good move to go for a file format which can easily be compressed without distorting the sound quality.
2. The quality of sound maintained after compression: The down side of compression is that the sound quality is lost progressively, each time the sound file is compressed. While compression is a good method of saving on storage space, it is not the best option for audio recordings with dialogue meant for transcription.
3. Software compatibly: There are select audio formats which can be played using just about any music software or on any music player. There are some music files which are copy written and are therefore software dependent, limiting the ability to reproduce them or play them using incompatible music players.

The intended purpose for an audio recording should determine the chosen audio file format, whether its music downloaded online or an audio recording made for transcription purposes. Here is a breakdown of a few file formats in relation to their strengths and short falls.

1. RealAudio was developed for audio streaming purposes, particularly for streaming internet radio on low bandwidth connection. Websites which provide music streaming services for their visitors also use this file format. The file extension is denoted as .ram or .rm and one sort fall is that because of the low bandwidth audio quality reduction is experienced.
2. WAV denoting ‘waveform’ was developed by Microsoft in collaboration with IBM. This audio file format is incompressible and for this reason it takes up a lot of storage space. Due to its lossless quality, this file format is greatly used fort broadcasting purposes and it is distributed in CD and DVD format. The main advantage of this format is that it is easily covetable into compressed MP3 format. The file format is also compatible with both Mac systems and Windows, including several web browsers.
3. MIDI denotes Musical Instrument Digital Interface and they are some of the smallest file formats supported by several software as well as web browsers. For this reason, it is greatly used in both professionals and amateur music production. The file format produces music with limited amplitude, which is its main short fall.
4. MP3 is a popularly chosen file format used in music recording. The file format is also used to accompany MPEG files. The file format can be compressed to one tenth of its original size, making them easy to download. It is not the best choice for looping; this is because of the silence present at the beginning and end of MP3 files. WAV formats are the best choice in the case that looping is required.
5. WMA stands for Windows Media Audio and it is similar in Quality to MP3 files. The file format is supported by most audio players apart from the iPod. It is greatly used for streaming music online and internet radio, because of its ability to be delivered in continuous data flow.
6. AIFF was developed by Apple and it stands for Audio Interchange File Format. The file extension is denoted as .aiff or .aif and it is supported by virtually all web browsers as well as most audio playing platforms.

Remember that the choice of an audio file format should always be determined by the intended use of the audio recording.

Most people are familiar with wmv, avi, mp3 and mpeg audio and video file formats. Gif and jpeg are also commonly used image file formats. There are several other audio and video file formats which most people come across on any given day, but few people are able to determine which file format best suits their needs or even tell one file format apart from another.

There are scores of file formats in existence; whether talking about audio, image, video or document file formats. Now, one thing most people don’t bother with is attempting to understanding why all these file formats are in existence; especially file formats which essentially perform the same task.

There is an endless list of questions when talking about the diverse file formats in existence, in relation to their use. This guideline is a simple breakdown on the different types of audio file formats, to help you understand which file format to choose according to your needs.

Decoding the technical terminology

File format is probably the most popular terminology that you will come across and it essentially refers to the way in which data is encoded.

Codec refers to the algorithm used to encode data. Codec can also be used inversely to decode one file format to another. Commonly, codecs are used to shrink file sizes. If compression is more important that file quality, Lossy codec is commonly used to encode data. Loseless codec on the other hand maintains data in its entirety, ensuring that the file integrity is maintained.

Container is a file format primarily used for storage and it does not place an emphasis on coding.

Metadata refers to the information stored within a file, about the file. In the case of a photo, this information could be the date an image was taken, what time the photo was taken and with what kind of camera. This information can, however, be removed from a file.

Bitrate denotes how many bits are processed per second and in the case of mp3 files the bitrate is generally 128 kbits/s and CDs have a bitrate of about 1.4 Mbits/s.

VBR and CBR differentiates a constant bitrate from a variable bitrate. VBR utilizes a higher bitrate and it essentially allocates adequate space to the complex parts of an audio file.

The different file formats and their general use

.aac is the default audio file format used by Apple. It was essentially developed to replace the mp3 file format, but it did not surpass the popularity mp3 files hold. Mp3 files have been tweaked with new codecs such as LAME and they are perceived to offer a better listening performance compared to AAC files.

.ogg is a lossy compression file format. The file format’s patent-free nature makes it highly favored by most free software developers.

.wav/.aiff is an uncompressed and lossless file formats. Wav was developed for use by PCs while aiff is used by Apples OSX. However, both file formats are supported by both of these operating systems.

Summary

For general audio use most people go for mp3 files. Those who place audio quality above anything else should go for .wav/.aiff files. Mp3 file formats encoded at 256 kbits/s offer similar audio quality to the .aac files.

Video game developers and free software developers often go for the .ogg file format because of its lack of licensing requirement. More on MP3 transcription.

Mp3 to text conversion entails listening to audio recordings and transcribing the recorded verbatim as text.  Both digital and recordings in non digital format can be transcribed to text. The digital formats accepted for transcription include; Mp3, WAV, WMA and AU among other digital audio formats. VHS and standard tapes are the non digital formats which are also accepted for transcription purposes.

As a client seeking transcription services you can contact us through our website and send us your audio recordings. Consult with us on the formats accepted if you are not sure about the format of your audio recordings. We provide a secure server through which you can send your compressed digital recordings. Once we receive your audio recordings the transcription process commences.

The transcription is carried out according to your formatting specifications other wise we follow our in house document formatting and notation process. The recording will be played back using specialized digital software, in the case of a digital recording, and progressively transcribed to text.

It is important to note that inaudible recordings or recordings with a lot of distortions will normally take longer to transcribe. Indiscernible and inaudible sections of the recordings will be marked with those terms respectively on the completed document.

In the case that we are unsure about words in the recordings we will indicate it in the document using bold font and time stamping. The word document will be formatted using Times New Roman; unless you advice us otherwise. Time coding or stamping is only done upon your request. The document following the US writing and spelling formats.

We do take into account every aspect of the recording and note down each and every verbalized word. If this is not necessary; you can advice us expressly before hand. The words included include pauses and speech sounds like umms, oooh and mmmmh. Interviews will be transcribed in line with the question and answer method. Make sure that you express in which format you would like your interview recordings transcribed in.

Once the transcripts are ready we send them back for your approval. You should consult with us for any changes required; however it is important to communicate all your requirements when initially sending us your audio recordings. We can provide fast turnarounds under special requests and at affordable rates. Our main is to produce quality transcripts, at competitive rates and with the shortest turnarounds. More on mp3 transcription