WAV and WAVE Files (What They Are and How to Open Them) – Knowligent
WAV and WAVE Files (What They Are and How to Open Them)

WAV and WAVE Files (What They Are and How to Open Them)

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Summary by Lifewire • Low Byte Productions on Youtube • Published 13 years ago

This article explains what a WAV/WAVE file is and how to play it or convert it to another audio format.

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A file with the extension .WAV or .WAVE is a waveform audio file. This is a standard audio format seen primarily on Windows computers. The file is usually uncompressed, but compression is supported.

Uncompressed WAV files are larger than other popular audio formats, such as MP3. Because of this, they are not typically the preferred audio format for sharing music files online or purchasing music, but rather for things like audio editing software, operating system features, and video games.

Waveform Audio is an extension of the bitstream format Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF), which you can read much more about at soundfile.sapp.org. WAV is similar to AIFF and 8SVX files, both of which are more common on Mac operating systems.