Sustainability of Digital Formats: Planning for Library of Congress Collections

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Format Descriptions for Sound

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  • AAC
  • AAC_MP2, Advanced Audio Coding, MPEG-2
  • AAC_ADIF, Advanced Audio Coding, MPEG-2, Audio Data Interchange Format
  • AAC_MP4, Advanced Audio Coding, MPEG-4
  • AAC_MP4_LC, AAC (MPEG-4) Low Complexity Object
  • MP4_FF_2_AAC, MPEG-4 File Format, V.2, with Advanced Audio Coding
  • QTA_AAC, QuickTime Audio, AAC Codec
  • AC-3
  • AC-3_A, AC-3 Compressed Audio (Dolby Digital), Revision A
  • ADM
  • ADM, Audio Definition Model
  • AES3
  • AES3, AES3, Digital Audio Interface Format
  • AES3_SMPTE, AES3 Digital Audio Interface, SMPTE Extensions
  • AIFF
  • AIFF, Audio Interchange File Format
  • AIFF_LPCM, AIFF File Format with LPCM Audio
  • A-Law
  • A-Law, A-Law Compressed Sound Format
  • AMR
  • AMR, Adaptive Multi-Rate Speech Codec
  • AMR-WB, Adaptive Multi-Rate - Wideband Speech Codec
  • AMR-WB+, Extended Adaptive Multi-Rate - Wideband Speech Codec
  • ASF
  • ASF, ASF (Advanced Systems Format)
  • AudCom
  • AudCom, Audible.Com File Format
  • AudCom_MP3, Audible.Com MP3
  • BWF
  • WAVE_BWF_1, Broadcast WAVE Audio File Format, Version 1
  • WAVE_BWF_2, Broadcast WAVE Audio File Format, Version 2
  • WAVE_BWF_LPCM_1, Broadcast WAVE Audio File Format, Version 1, with LPCM Audio
  • WAVE_BWF_LPCM_2, Broadcast WAVE Audio File Format, Version 2, with LPCM Audio
  • CAF
  • CAF, Apple Core Audio Format
  • DLS
  • DLS_1_1b, Downloadable Sounds Format, Version 1.1b
  • DSD
  • DSD, One-bit Delta Sigma Audio Encoding (DSD)
  • DSDIFF, Direct Stream Digital Interchange File Format, Version 1.5
  • DTB
  • DTB_2002 (Digital Talking Book), 2002
  • DTB_2002_NLS (Digital Talking Book), NLS Extension for AMR-WB+ Speech Codec
  • DTB_2005 (Digital Talking Book), 2005
  • DTS
  • DTS, Digital Theater Systems Audio Formats
  • FLAC
  • FLAC_1_1_2, FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec), Version 1.1.2
  • ID3
  • ID3, ID3 Metadata for MP3
  • ID3v1, ID3 Metadata for MP3, version 1
  • ID3v2, ID3 Metadata for MP3, version 2
  • IFF
  • IFF,Electronic Arts Interchange File Format 1985
  • LPCM
  • LPCM, Linear Pulse Code Modulated Audio
  • Matroska
  • Matroska, Matroska Multimedia Container
  • Matroska_AAC, Matroska File Format with Advanced Audio Codec (AAC) Audio Encoding
  • Matroska_LPCM, Matroska File Format with LPCM Audio Encoding
  • Matroska_MP3, Matroska File Format with MP3 Audio Encoding
  • MIDI
  • MIDI_SD, MIDI Sequence Data
  • MODS
  • MODS, Module Music Format (Mods)
  • MP2
  • MPEG_layer_2_audio, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 Layer II Audio Encoding
  • MP3
  • MP3_ENC, MP3 Audio Encoding (MPEG Layer III Audio Encoding)
  • MP3_FF, MP3 File Format
  • µ-Law (Mu-Law)
  • µ-Law, µ-Law (Mu-Law) Compressed Sound Format
  • Ogg
  • Ogg, Ogg File Format
  • Ogg_Vorbis, Ogg Vorbis Audio Format
  • Ogg_FLAC_1_0, Ogg FLAC Audio Format, Version 1.0
  • Ogg_SPX, Ogg Speex Audio Format
  • PCM
  • PCM, Pulse Code Modulated Audio
  • QuickTime
  • Quicktime
  • QTA_MP3, QuickTime Audio, MP3 Codec
  • QTA_AAC, QuickTime Audio, AAC Codec
  • RealMedia
  • RealAudio_10, RealAudio, Version 10
  • RealAudio_AAC, RealAudio, AAC Codec
  • RealAudio_LL, RealAudio, Lossless Codec
  • RealAudio_MC, RealAudio, Multichannel Codec
  • RealAudio_RA, RealAudio, RealAudio Codec
  • RMID
  • RMID, RIFF-based MIDI File Format
  • SHN
  • SHN, Shorten Lossless Audio Format
  • SIB
  • SIB, Sibelius Music Notation Format
  • SMF
  • SMF, Standard MIDI File Format
  • SPX
  • SPX_1_2, Speex Audio Codec, Version 1.2
  • USAC
  • USAC, Unified Speech and Audio Coding
  • Vorbis
  • Vorbis, Vorbis Audio Codec
  • WAVE
  • WAVE, WAVE Audio File Format
  • WAVE_LPCM, WAVE Audio File with LPCM Audio
  • WAVE_BWF_1, Broadcast WAVE Audio File Format, Version 1
  • WAVE_BWF_2, Broadcast WAVE Audio File Format, Version 2
  • WAVE_BWF_LPCM_1, Broadcast WAVE Audio File Format, Version 1, with LPCM Audio
  • WAVE_BWF_LPCM_2, Broadcast WAVE Audio File Format, Version 2, with LPCM Audio
  • WebM
  • WebM, WebM
  • WM (Windows Media)
  • WMA, WMA (Windows Media Audio) File Format
  • WMA_WMA9, Windows Media Audio File with WMA9 Codec
  • WMA_WMA9_LL, Windows Media Audio File with WMA9 Lossless Codec
  • WMA_WMA9_PRO, Windows Media Audio File with WMA9 Professional Codec
  • WMA9, Windows Media 9 Audio Codec
  • WMA9_LL, Windows Media 9 Lossless Audio Codec
  • WMA9_PRO, Windows Media 9 Professional Audio Codec
  • XMF
  • XMF_1_0, eXtensible Music Format, Version 1.0


General notes about sound formats are provided by Sound Quality and Functionality Factors.

The descriptions listed on this page provide information about file formats, file-format classes, bitstream structures and encodings, and the mechanisms used to compress files or bitstreams. Inclusion of a format does not imply that it is preferred or acceptable for Library of Congress collections. Conversely, omission of a format from the list does not imply that it is not preferred or acceptable. Descriptions will be drafted and added over time. Persons with specialized knowledge are encouraged to review and comment on the descriptions using this contact form.

Last updated 03/26/2024