| Format
&
example: |
Supporting browsers: | Plug-ins: | Description: |
| WAVE | Windows:
Netscape 2.0 and above, Internet Explorer 3.0 and above
Macintosh: Netscape 2.0 and above, Internet Explorer 3.0 and above |
n/a | WAVEs are Windows and DOS native. They are probably the most widely supported of the sound formats for the web. The sound quality and file size can vary widely depending on the sample size (bits) and whether it is stereo or mono. WAVE is a popular format for the web. |
| AIFF | Windows:
Netscape 2.0 and above, Internet Explorer 3.0 and above
Macintosh: Netscape 2.0 and above, Internet Explorer 3.0 and above |
n/a | AIFFs are the universal Macintosh format. Like WAVEs, the sound quality and file size can vary widely depending on the the sample size (bits) and whether it is stereo or mono. AIFF is a popular format for the web. |
| AU | Windows:
Netscape 2.0 and above, Internet Explorer 3.0 and above
Macintosh: Netscape 2.0 and above, Internet Explorer 3.0 and above |
n/a | AUs are also a popular format for the web. They are UNIX native, originally from the NeXT and SUN platforms. They are supported on almost all platforms at this time. The sound quality is poor as it is an 8 bit format. |
| Real Audio | Windows:
Netscape 2.0 and above, Internet Explorer 3.0 and above
Macintosh: Netscape 2.0 and above, Internet Explorer 3.0 and above |
Real Player | Real Audio is the most popular of the streaming audio formats. A plug-in is required for your browser. Plug-ins are also available for Linux, Iris, Sun, and Solaris, making Real Audio an ideal choice for cross platform streaming audio needs. Real Player will also play streaming video. |
| MIDI | Windows:
Netscape 3.0 and above, Internet Explorer 3.0 and above
Macintosh: Netscape 3.0 and above, Internet Explorer 3.0 and above |
Crescendo, Yamaha MIDplug | MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) started out as a means to interface various electronic instruments. It was later ported over to computers. For a computer user, "MIDI" also refers to the sound file generated. MIDI files can be created via a computer-linked instrument or solely through software. MIDIs are commonly used as background music in web pages because they are generally very small files which download quickly. Depending on your choice of browser, you may need to download a plug-in. |
| VDOlive | Windows:
Netscape 2.0 and above, Internet Explorer 2.0 and above, AOL, other
browsers
Macintosh: Netscape 2.0 and above, Internet Explorer 2.0 and above, AOL, other browsers |
VDOlive Player | Another popular streaming video and audio format. A plug-in is required for you browser. |
| MOD | Windows: Netscape 2.0 and above, Internet Explorer 3.0 and above | MOD Plugin (WIN32) | MODs are Amiga native files. They are also readable on Windows and Macintosh platforms along with others. As Amigas still have a loyal following world-wide, you will occasionally find this format on the web. Windows users may need a 32-bit soundcard to make use of MOD Plugin. |
| MPEG
example.mpg |
Windows:
any browser
Macintosh: any browser |
WinAmp, MacAmp, XingSound MPEG (WIN32) | While somewhat rare, MPEG audio is one of the best sounding formats. It is used primarily for large audio files. For MP3, you need an ISDN line or faster because of the large sizes. |
| StreamWorks
|
Windows: Netscape 2.0 and above, Internet Explorer 3.0 and above. | StreamWorks Player (WIN32) | This is a streaming MPEG player. It is available only for Windows. |
| TrueSpeech | Windows:
Netscape 2.0 and above, Internet Explorer 3.0 and above, other browsers
Macintosh: Netscape 2.0 and above, Internet Explorer 3.0 and above, other browsers |
TrueSpeech | TrueSpeech is actually a type of compression for WAVE files. Files can be compressed as much as 30:1. TrueSpeech gives you high quality, low bandwidth streaming audio. TrueSpeech players and encoders are free and are available for Windows 3.1, 95, and NT and Macintosh. Also, no special server software is needed for doing your own TrueSpeech on the web and there are no fees. |
| EchoCast | Windows:
Netscape 2.0 or above
Macintosh: Netscape 2.0 or above |
EchoCast | EchoCast is another streaming audio product. It is cross-platform. Use EchoCast to broadcast streaming audio on your website (you need FTP capability). Files can be compressed as low as 18:1. |
| Internet Wave | Windows: any browser | Internet Wave | This is another streaming audio product. The server and encoder software is free. |
| Rapid- Transit | Windows:
Netscape 2.0 and above, other browsers
Macintosh: coming soon |
RapidTransit (WIN95) | RapidTransit files can be compressed as much as 50:1, making the files reasonably fast to download. Support for Macintosh, Windows NT, and UNIX is planned in the future. |
| DigiBand Radio | Windows: any browser | Digiband Radio (WIN32) | This is another streaming audio product which uses Real Audio technology. This one allows you to preset as many as 100 channels of radio for listening over the web. The channels are broken down by catagory. Only Windows 95 and NT are presently supported. |
Approximate file sizes for WAVEs, AIFFs, and AUs.
| 60 Seconds | 30 Seconds |
|---|---|
| 44kHz 16 bits - 5MB | 44kHz16 bits - 2.5 MB |
| 22kHz 16 bits - 2.5 MB | 22kHz 16 bits - 1.3 MB |
| 11kHz 16 bits - 1.3 MB | 11kHz 16 bits - 704 K |
| 22kHz 8 bits - 1.3 MB | 22kHz 8 bits - 704 K |
| 11kHz 8 bits - 704 K | 11kHz 8 bits - 384 K |
Created by the Office
for Information Technology - Instructional
Development Center
Audio and Video Streaming | HTML
Code for Sound | Sound Formats | Sound
Software