Test Your Connection
Speed Now
Home > Broadband Connection > Music and MP3 Downloads > File Formats

MP3, WAV and Other Popular Digital Music File Formats

A Guide to Digital Music File Formats

The impact that computers and high speed broadband Internet has had on the music industry has been revolutionary.

Consider the process 15 years ago of compiling your favorite songs onto a tape. The process was slow and monotonous, and the results often produced audio that was lacking in quality. Today, you can burn CDs in minutes with the very best digital audio quality available. Instead of bothering with CDs, you can simply put your music on a portable device such as the incredibly popular I-Pod.

In order to take full advantage of what digital music file formats can do for you, a broadband Internet connection is essential. The ability to download digital music from the Internet through popular mediums such as Napster, I-Tunes and MusicMatch is unparalleled in terms of convenience and ease of use.

Digital Music & Common File Formats

Some of the more common digital music file formats include the following:

- MP3: MP3, short for MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3, is the most commonly used format of digital music because of the fact that it is closely associated with Windows systems. MP3 players have become increasingly commonplace from college campuses to the workplace. MP3 technology compresses audio into an incredibly small file (As much as 1/12 the size of the original sound file) so that it may be more easily stored and transferred across digital mediums.

- WAV: Originally invented by Microsoft, WAV or WAVE files are digital music file formats that are in their natural, raw state. I.E, they have not gone through the same compression process as other digital music types, and are therefore extremely large files. The audio quality of a WAV file is as close to perfect as possible, however, the storage requirements make it an unpopular format for digital music.

- MIDI: Short for Musical Instrument Digital Interface, MIDI files are used predominantly with the recording and playback of synthesized music. MIDI digital audio files are supported by all Windows systems and are extremely small.

- WMA: The Windows Media Audio digital file format is another type of digital music file type produced by Microsoft. WMA files are somewhat similar to MP3s in that they are compressed digital audio files, but they are far less common than the aforementioned MP3s. WMAs do have the added advantage of being smaller in size than MP3s while more or less retaining similar audio quality standards.

- RA: Most commonly associated with streaming digital audio, RealAudio digital music files are most commonly found on Web sites or through using Web radio. RA files are geared specifically towards live audio streams from the Internet.

Digital music file formats come in all shapes and sizes as you can see. Dependent on whether you are transporting the files, looking for the best sound quality available, or simply looking to compress as many files as possible, there is a digital music file format that can fit your need. Aside from the common file types above, there are a plethora of other digital music file formats such as AIFFs, AIFCs, DMFs, CDRs, CDAs, etc.

Related Articles: