Convert .WMA into .AIFF Files - Fast, Free and Secure. We also have information of .WMA and .AIFF Files extensions on this page.
- Information about WMA |
File extension |
wma |
File category |
Audio |
Stands for |
Windows Media Audio |
Developer |
Microsoft |
Overview |
It is an audio file format which is proprietary or closed source software. It is available in four different versions. First one is the original WMA codec. This gives competition to the MP3 and it came into existence in 1999. Next is WMA Pro which is an advanced and new codec. It uses lossy compression but provides audios of high resolution. The third is WMA lossless codec and it encodes audio without losing any information. Lastly, there is WMA Voice which is again a lossy compression and it was developed for audios with low bandwidth or low bit rates. Microsoft has developed an advanced systems format which is used by ‘Windows Media Audio' to store encoded audios. Metadata objects like the album, the genre of track and title; etc. can also be added in this codec. The prime use of this extension by users is streaming on the internet. |
Technical description |
Microsoft has various claims about this codec. Firstly, it was alleged that at 64kbps this format will deliver the same quality of audio as of CD. This was rejected at the end. The second claim is that it gives better sound quality than MP3 at the same bit rate. Thirdly, it was professed that this extension provides a similar quality of audio at a lower bit rate than MP3 at a higher bit rate. Apart from this, there is an option available for this container i.e. DRM(Digital rights management) and this option is completely elective. One may or may not choose this choice. A number of software support this format like Windows media player, Microsoft expression encoder; etc. |
Links |
wikipedia.org |
- Information about AIFF |
File extension |
aiff |
File category |
Audio |
Stands for |
Audio Interchange File Format |
Developer |
Apple Inc. |
Overview |
AIFF is an uncompressed audio file format. It keeps the original file without losing any data. This is the main reason why these files require more storage space. One minute-long audio requires nearly 10MB space. It is widely used by Apple Macintosh/Apple Mac and also musicians use this format for their recordings. Exact copies of music can be formed using this format with the added benefit of sound quality, which is well maintained in these files. Though it follows lossless format(not compressed), yet, there is another variant of it named AIFF-C developed by Apple afterwards and it is the compressed version. The only disadvantage of these files is a large size. |
Technical description |
Mostly AIFF files have uncompressed Pulse Code Modulation(PCM) data which means at regular intervals the amplitude of the analog signal is reduced from continuous-time signal to a discrete-time signal and every sample is quantized to the closest value. An AFF file has various parts which are known as chunks and each chunk has its own ID which is mostly termed as FourCC. This ID is a sequel of four bytes which distinctly identify data formats. The several chunks found in this format are Common, Sound data, Marker, Instrument, Comment, Name, Author, Copyright, Annotation, Audio recording, MIDI data, Application, and ID3. The first two chunks are essential every time(Common chunk and Sound data Chunk). Lastly, these files have the capability of storing Metadata in five chunks-Name, author, comment, annotation and copyright. Metadata delivers information about the data that is data about data. |
Links |
wikipedia.org |