audio file formats;

WAV: .wav

Waveform Audio File Format;

WAV is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs. It is an application for storing data in 'chunks'. It is the main format used on Windows systems for raw and typically uncompressed audio. WAV is a leading format used by professional-level audio and video applications.

MP3: .mp3

MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III;

MP3 is a patented (doesn't have a universally accepted definition) digital audio encoding using a form of lossy data compression. It is a common audio format for consumer audio storage as well as the conventional standard of digital audio compression for the transfer and playback of music on digital audio players.

AIFF: .aiff .aif .aifc

Audio Interchange File Format;

AIFF is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data for PCs and other electronic audio devices. It is most commonly used on Apple Macintosh computer systems. The audio data in a standard AIFF file is uncompressed pulse-code modulation (method to digitally represent sampled analog signals). Standard AIFF is a leading format used by professional-level audio and video applications.

decibel;

The decibel is used to measure sound level and is widely used in electronics, signals and communication. The decibel is a logarithmic unit used to describe a ratio - which may be power, sound pressure, voltage or intensity or others.

The symbol for decibel is dB.

hertz;

Hertz is a term in audio used to describe frequency or tone. It is the unit of frequency defined as the number of cycles per second. Human hearing is sensitive to frequencies ranging from 20 to 20 000 Hz. One of its most common uses is the description of sine wave, particularly those used in radio and audio applications.

The symbol for hertz is Hz.

frequency;

Audio frequency refers to/represents the range of signals that are audible to the human ear. It is the property of sound that most determines pitch. Ultimately, audio frequency refers to the number of cycles per unit of time. It is measured in hertz (Hz). The general range of audible frequencies is 20 to 20 000 Hz, varying from individual to individual.

track;

A track is a single stream of any audio which contains channel/s. Tracks can be viewed and altered digitally. In the program Audacity, a track is shown in a waveform display.

Digital audio tracks let you store audio data as digital sound values rather than as musical symbols. A digital audio track works like a recording tape that you can include in a musical document and on which you can record whatever you want for subsequent playback.

channel;

Channel refers to an individual discrete audio track. One channel is just one separate stream of audio information. There is only one channel in mono audio sources. More commonly, there are sources that hold two channels - stereo sources. Sources with more than two channels are referred to as multichannel.

stereo;

Audio stereo refers to sound which is divided into two separate channels. These two channels are played back simultaneously via separate speakers. This causes it to create a fuller sound and provide the ability to mix sounds between both channels. Humans hear the world with two ears so using dual sound sources make it more realistic.

The following are examples of stereo sound:

• spreading the instruments in a music track from left to right

• following the action in a video