WAVE with LPCM audio

Action Plan: Waveform Audio File Format with LPCM Audio

Last Updated 4/14/2014

Description:  The Waveform Audio File Format is an audio bitstream standard format released by IBM and Microsoft in 1991. It has become a popular format for uncompressed audio. It has become a common master audio format at archives and libraries. The large size of WAV files has limited their prevalence among typical consumers.

Codec:  LPCM (linear pulse-code modulation) is the most common audio encoding for WAV files.

Software:  Windows Media Player,  iTunes ,  Audacity (for conversion, editing)

Long Term Preservation Plan:  Uncompressed, final production WAV files are the #1 preferred audio format used at LC (Library of Congress - Recommended Format Specifications 3/7/2014). It is an open, popular, and well documented format. WAV is limited to files less than four gigabytes in size. WAV files should be retained.

Division Specific Notes: "When reformatting analog sound recordings, the Broadcast WAVE format (either version,  WAVE_BWF_1 or  WAVE_BWF_2), wrapping  LPCM, is used as the archival master format for mono and stereo audio at the  Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation and by the  American Folklife Center... The Broadcast WAVE format (either version), wrapping  LPCM, is preferred as the archival master format for mono and stereo audio when reformatting analog sound recordings. The Library is a participant in the  Federal Agencies Audio-Visual Working Group that published a  recommended specification for BWF bext metadata conforming to version 1 in 2009, with an update conforming to version 2 in 2012. <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;line-height:19.049999237060547px;">( http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/<span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;line-height:19.049999237060547px;">) <span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Arial,Verdana,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small;line-height:normal;">"

<p style="text-align:center;">Review in two years (2016)