Audio
A category of file formats covered by Format Atlas.
About this category
AACAAC is a lossy audio codec standardized by MPEG. It may appear as a .aac file or an audio track inside a container; the codec is not the container.AIFFAIFF is an Apple-defined audio file format often used for uncompressed PCM. Its role resembles WAV in production, but structure and tool support differ; AIFF-C variants also exist.AMRAMR is a speech-oriented audio codec found in call recordings and older mobile files. It is not designed as a general high-fidelity music format.FLACFLAC restores the original PCM data after decoding. It is useful for storing audio at a smaller size than uncompressed PCM, but the actual size depends on the source.M4AM4A denotes an audio-oriented MPEG-4 container. It often holds AAC but may also hold ALAC; the extension alone does not identify the internal codec.MIDIA Standard MIDI File stores musical events such as notes, timing, and instrument settings—not an audio waveform. The sound depends on the playback synthesizer and its sound data, so the same file can sound different across systems.MP3MP3 reduces audio size through lossy encoding. CBR keeps a constant bitrate, while VBR varies allocation with audio complexity; neither restores the discarded source information.OGGOgg is a container format for media streams, not a synonym for the Vorbis codec. An .ogg file can carry different codecs, so identify its contents and playback support.OpusOpus is an IETF-standardized audio codec, not a container. When stored in Ogg, .opus is the recommended extension; playback still depends on the recipient's software.WAVWAV is an audio container often used for uncompressed PCM in recording and editing. The extension alone does not guarantee PCM; inspect the internal codec, sample rate, and bit depth.