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Windows Media 9 Lossless Audio Codec
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Format Description Properties
• ID: fdd000094
• Short name: WMA9_LL
• Content categories: sound
• Format category: bitstream encoding
• Last significant update: 2004-05-13
Identification and description 
| Full name | Windows Media 9 Lossless Audio Codec |
| Description | Audio bitstream produced by the Windows Media 9 lossless audio codec. |
| Production phase | Used for middle-state purposes, e.g., archiving of high-quality files. |
| Relationship to other formats | |
| Used by | WMA_WMA9_LL, Windows Media Audio file with WMA9_LL codec |
Local use
| LC experience or existing holdings | |
| LC preference | See WMA |
Sustainability factors
| Disclosure | Proprietary. Developed by Microsoft. |
| Documentation | Specifications not disseminated. Some descriptions and software development kits available from Microsoft. |
| Adoption | Not known to the compilers of this document; the WMA file format is widely adopted. The lossless codec is specialized and may not see wide adoption. |
| Licensing and patent claims | See ASF for link to pages covering licensing of Windows Media and the Advanced Systems Format. |
| Transparency | Depends upon algorithms and tools to read; will require sophistication to build tools. |
| Self-documentation | Not applicable |
| External dependencies | None |
| Technical protection considerations | Not applicable |
Quality and functionality factors (video)
| Normal rendering | Good support. |
| Fidelity (support for high audio resolution) | From the codecs page at the Microsoft Windows Media web site: "This codec is a great codec to use for archiving CD collections. Although the compression ratio achieved with this codec is lower than the ratio achieved with other Windows Media Audio 9 codecs, it is still more efficient than direct copying of the digital media content. Using this codec, content will be compressed at a 2:1 or 3:1 ratio depending on the complexity of the original. The audio quality of content compressed using this codec is the best of all Windows Media codecs." |
| Support for multiple sound channels | Not supported [?] |
| Functionality beyond normal rendering | Not applicable |
File type signifiers
| Tag type | Value | Note |
| Filename Extension | Not applicable | |
| Internet Media Type | Not applicable | |
| Magic numbers | Not applicable | |
Notes
Format specifications
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Useful references
URLs
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WMA
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Last Updated: Wednesday, 07-Mar-2007 12:40:20 EST
