Audio file formats – Apple Final Cut Express HD User Manual
Page 988
988
Part XII
Audio File Formats
 AAC or .mp4: Advanced Audio Coding. This format is a continuation of the MP3 audio
format, improving quality while reducing file size. This audio format is commonly
used in MPEG-4 multimedia files, and can support features such as surround sound.
 AIFF/AIFC: Audio Interchange File Format. An audio format for Macintosh computers
commonly used for storing uncompressed, CD-quality sound (similar to WAVE files for
Windows-based PCs).
 Audio CD Data (.cdda): Compact Disc Digital Audio. Audio files stored on CD.
 MP3: Short for MPEG-1, layer 3 audio. This is a very popular format for online
music distribution.
 Sound Designer II: Sound Designer II, sometimes seen abbreviated as SD2. A
monophonic and stereophonic audio file format, originally developed by Digidesign
for Macintosh computers.
 System 7 Sound: An older sound format developed by Apple.
 uLaw: File format developed by Sun that provides logarithmic encoding for a larger
dynamic range than normal 8-bit samples. Approximately equivalent to 12-bit
samples, but suffers from more noise than linear encodings.
 WAVE: The format for storing sound in files developed jointly by Microsoft and IBM.
For a complete list of all QuickTime-compatible file formats, see the documentation
that came with QuickTime Pro or visit Apple’s QuickTime website at