An audio format is a medium for

sound recording and reproduction Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, Mechanical system, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of ...

. The term is applied to both the physical recording media and the

recording format A recording format is a format for encoding data for storage on a storage medium. The format can be container information such as sectors on a disk, or user/audience information ( content) such as analog stereo audio. Multiple levels of en ...

s of the audio content—in

computer science Computer science is the study of computation, information, and automation. Computer science spans Theoretical computer science, theoretical disciplines (such as algorithms, theory of computation, and information theory) to Applied science, ...

it is often limited to the

audio file format An audio file format is a file format for storing digital audio data on a computer system. The bit layout of the audio data (excluding metadata) is called the audio coding format and can be uncompressed, or audio compression (data), compressed t ...

, but its wider use usually refers to the physical method used to store the data. Note on the use of analog compared to digital in this list; the definition of digital used here for early formats is that which is represented using discrete values rather than fluctuating variables. A piano roll is digital as it has discrete values, that being a hole for each key, unlike a phonograph record which is analog with a fluctuating groove. Music is recorded and distributed using a variety of audio formats, some of which store additional information.

Timeline of audio format developments

References

External links

History of Recording Technologies

Museum Of Obsolete Media – Audio Formats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Audio Format Technology timelines

audio Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum *Digital audio, representation of sound ...

Obsolete technologies

Timeline of audio format developments

See also

References

External links