WAV audio format developed by Microsoft and IBM
Media
The key feature of the WAV (Waveform Audio Formal) format, which distinguishes it from other existing formats, is that it is used to store uncompressed digital data, that is, it is capable of storing sound in its highest quality and with any bitrate. It was developed by the Microsoft and IBM corporations and is primarily intended for the storage of uncompressed digital audio. This format is based on the PCM (Pulse-Code Modulation) audio digitizing method on which the technology for storing digital audio on audio CDs is based.
There is an opinion that audio information is stored in WAV format on music CDs (those famous audio CDs). In fact, this is not the case. What audio CD and WAV have in common is precisely the basis: the method by which the audio was digitized. Both formats are based on PCM, hence their similarities. It’s easy enough to make sure of the differences – you can grab a music CD, convert it to WAV format (in computer jargon, this is called “grabbing”), and then burn it back to CD-R. As a result, the resulting disc will not play on stereos that only recognize normal audio CDs.
It is easy to guess that in WAV format, uncompressed audio is usually stored, then it is he who gives it the quality equal to the original during playback (that is, the quality of an audio CD). The highest quality during playback is the main advantage of this format. If we talk about its disadvantages, the main one is also obvious: it is a rather large size of the resulting files. In fact, if we compare the sizes of the same song in WAV and MP3 formats, they will differ significantly even with the minimum compression ratio. It is this shortcoming that drastically limits the distribution of WAV today, because only 15 to 20 songs can be recorded uncompressed or hundreds of songs compressed to a CD.
A particularly pronounced exit of users from the WAV format occurred with the creation of file-sharing networks on the Internet. This is for the same reason: sending a 3-5MB file over the Internet is one thing and 30-40MB is quite another. However, a certain proportion of listeners have never changed this format due to its highest quality. There have always been audiophiles who sacrificed their disk space, time, and money when downloading music from the internet, but they only listened to uncompressed audio. Today we can talk again about an increase in the number of users of the WAV format. This is due to the proliferation of relatively inexpensive and large capacity hard drives (up to several terabytes) for a computer and a sharp decrease in the cost of broadband and therefore very fast access to the Internet.
Among other disadvantages of the WAV format, it is worth noting the existing limitation on the maximum allowed file size, which is 4 GB. At first glance this seems sufficient, but if we take into account the CD quality of the recording, the maximum length of the track in WAV format is approximately 6.6 hours (at 44.1 kHz sample rate and in stereo mode). To overcome this barrier, it is necessary to use special software solutions – plugins.
