WAV (WAVE) files are audio files playable via multimedia playback software such as Windows Media Player and other software available for your operating system. These files contain any sounds such as sound effects, music or spoken words. WAV files are large in size and with the advent of MP3 and MP4 WAV files are becoming less popular and less common. They were created and developed by IBM and Microsoft but unlike MP3 and MP4 the WAV file format does not use a form of lossy compression so file sizes are therefore much bigger and now less popular.
Wav files are the standard digital audio format in Windows. Using the .WAV file extension, 8- or 16-bit samples can be taken at rates of 11,025 Hz, 22,050 Hz and 44,100 Hz. The highest quality being th 16-bit at 44,100 HZ, this highest level is the sampling rate of an audio CD and uses 88KB of storage per second. All general sounds in Windows, such as when you log in, are in the .WAV format. The default content of a WAV file is uncompressed (although they can be used to store compressed formats such as MP3), pulse code modulated (PCM) digital samples derived from the analog source.
Associated programs
CyberLink PowerDirector Microsoft Windows Media Player Roxio Creator 2009
The M4R is an iPhone ringtone file that is essentially a renamed AAC (m4a) file. Not all iTunes Music Store songs can be used to create M4R ringtones. In order to create an M4R ring tone from an iTunes song, the song must allow for M4R ringtone creation. An M4R ring tone is automatically transferred to a user's iPhone when the iPhone is synced with the user's computer.
M4R is essentially a renamed AAC (M4A) file - it is similar to MP3 but compresses the digital audio files further. It is part of the MPEG-4 standard and is specified in the ISO/IEC standard 14496-3. It is a lossy algorithm much like AAC and MP3. M4R supports auditory masking - essentially discarding data with minimal loss of quality.
