Audio coding format: Difference between revisions

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==Lossless, lossy, and uncompressed audio coding formats==

A [[lossless compression|lossless]] audio coding format reduces the total data needed to represent a sound but can be de-coded to its original, uncompressed form. A [[lossy compression|lossy]] audio coding format additionally reduces the [[audio bit depth|bit resolution]] of the sound on top of compression, which results in far less data at the cost of irretrievably lost information.

Consumer audio is most often compressed using [[lossy compression|lossy]] audio codecs, since that results in significantly smaller files than [[lossless compression|lossless]] compression. Lossless audio coding formats such as [[FLAC]] and [[Apple Lossless]] are sometimes used, though they create somewhat larger files.

Consumer audio is most often compressed using [[lossy compression|lossy]] audio codecs, sinceas thatthe resultssmaller insize significantlyis smallerfar filesmore thanconvenient [[lossless compression|lossless]]for compressiondistribution. Lossless audio coding formats such as [[FLAC]] and [[Apple Lossless]] are sometimes usedavailable, though theyat the createcost somewhatof larger files.

[[Uncompressed audio]] formats, such as [[pulse-code modulation]] (.wav), are also sometimes used.