Audio coding format: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 04:53, 25 June 2025

Revision as of 04:56, 25 June 2025

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{{short description|Digitally coded format for audio signals}}

[[File:Opus quality comparison colorblind compatible.svg|thumb|Comparison of coding efficiency between popular audio formats]]

An '''audio coding format'''<ref>The term "audio coding" can be seen in e.g. the name [[Advanced Audio Coding]], and is analogous to the term [[video coding format|video coding]]</ref> (or sometimes '''audio compression format''') is a encoded format of [[digital audio]], (such as in [[digital television]], [[digital radio]] and in audio and video files) used for storage or transmission. Examples of audio coding formats include [[MP3]], [[Advanced Audio Coding|AAC]], [[Vorbis]], [[FLAC]], and [[Opus (audio format)|Opus]]. A specific software or hardware implementation capable of [[Data_compression#Audio|audio compression]] and decompression to/from a specific audio coding format is called an ''[[audio codec]]''; an example of an audio codec is [[LAME]], which is one of several different codecs which implements encoding and decoding audio in the [[MP3]] audio coding format in software.

Some audio coding formats are documented by a detailed [[technical specification]] document known as an '''audio coding specification'''. Some such specifications are written and approved by [[standardization organization]]s as [[technical standard]]s, and are thus known as an '''audio coding standard'''. The term "standard" is also sometimes used for [[de facto standard|''de facto'' standards]] as well as formal standards.