WAV File

This page contains information on the WAV file extension (Waveform audio format), a popular audio file format

File extension .wav
Category Audio File
Description 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.
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Technical Details 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
Developed by Microsoft & IBM
MIME type audio/wav
audio/wave
audio/x-wav
Useful links Find out more about the WAV format
When to use WAV files ?
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Convert WAV file

Using Zamzar it is possible to convert WAV files to a variety of other formats

Convert WAV file