Playback Format

[AV Doug]

Having a discussion in the office today about which format is better for things like speed of loading / starting, quality and reliability etc and thought I would open it to the world...which format do you use for cues, stings, background music, backing tracks (to name a few) and why?

[boswell]

Wav files every time for SFX

Good quality, unless they originate from compressed originals

Timings are accurate

reliable

 

Mp3/compressed files can be poor quality, difficult to cue to a start point.

 

I do use Compressed files sometimes for wallpaper but only at higher bit rates and if I can't avoid them

[Dj Dunc]

For me it has to be .WAV. Better quality and when running a lot all at once, it runs fine, compared to .mp3. As an alternative .aac is also ok (as its lossless).

[timtheenchanteruk]

Ill be watching this with interest.

 

personally, If Im doing it and the original is from CD, then .wav, mainly because its uncompressed, and to me sounds the cleanest.

if not, whatever the original was, alot of downloaded backing track (the legal type) are 192 Mp3

 

as for music etc I am supplied for dance schools etc, whatever I get, sometime its CDs with tracks ripped from youtube at a terrible bitrate, somtetimes its original CDs, sometimes a stick with the Mp3s at a sensible bitrate.

 

the only files I have had problems loading is variable bitrate Mp3s

[nb705]

For me it has to be .WAV. Better quality and when running a lot all at once, it runs fine, compared to .mp3. As an alternative .aac is also ok (as its lossless).

 

 

Actually, AAC can be lossless, but generally it isn't. It does have a much better quality/compression ratio to mp3 though.

[Dj Dunc]

Thanks for the correction nb705, you are right indeed, however I hardly ever see non-lossless ones so I tend to forget hehe.

[mervaka]

ogg and wav (and occasionally flac)

 

get in with the open standards!

[chelgrian]

For me it has to be .WAV. Better quality and when running a lot all at once, it runs fine, compared to .mp3. As an alternative .aac is also ok (as its lossless).

 

MPEG 4 AAC is lossy. You may be thinking of ALAC (an Apple proprietary format in a MPEG4 container) compressed files which usually have a file extension of m4a. The other possibility is MPEG 4 ALS which is lossless but there is almost no software support for this format.

 

In terms of formats Broadcast Wave format due to it being uncompressed and having meta data attached to it is probably the best choice. On OS X AIFF is also a good choice.

[Dj Dunc]

Sorry I was just being entirely blonde. I meant to say AIFF rather than .aac (faceplants)

[GridGirl]

Always WAV files. We run SCS which will happily accept a lot of other formats, but as DjDunc said, WAV is good quality.

[mackerr]

For stings or any other time critical cue I use an Instant Replay that uses Dolby AC-2 compression. Newer versions can use wav files, mine is not new. For background music usually ACC via iTunes, or CDs played through the same computer that runs iTunes.

 

Mac

[AV Doug]

So to all that say wav, mp3, aac and similar formats what is your playback source?

[madorangepanda]

Surely it depends on the source? A Wave file can be made from an mp3. It will still of been compressed previously.

 

If you go from an original lossless source, such as a CD, then go into any appropriate lossless format that your playback system works with, Wav, Aiff, Flac, Ape, Alac etc.

 

If you have space limitations with lossless sources then Flac, Ape, Alac etc are an advantage as they are lossless but give a smaller file size.

[Shez]

So to all that say wav, mp3, aac and similar formats what is your playback source?

A custom built behemoth of a PC running SCS. Or for events with only a handful of cues, a memory stick in my LS9.

[dbuckley]

.WAV is good because that the native format of audio files; anything else needs decompressing, which with many systems adds delay to the start of playback. Not much delay, I grant you, but delay none-the-less.