AIFF File Format with LPCM Audio

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AIFF File Format with LPCM Audio

Table of Contents

Identification and description
Local use
Sustainability factors
Quality and functionality factors
File type signifiers
Notes
Format specifications
Useful references

Format Description Properties

ID: fdd000116
Short name: AIFF_LPCM
Content categories: sound
Format Category: file-format
Other facets: unitary, binary, sampled
Last significant FDD update: 2010-06-28
Draft status: Full

Identification and description

Relationship to other formats
Full name	Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) with LPCM Audio
Description	AIFF wrapper containing an LPCM sound bitstream.
Production phase	Used primarily as a initial- or middle-state format, including use as a master file for audio captured live digitally or reformatted from analog sources.
Subtype of	AIFF, Audio Interchange File Format
Contains	LPCM, Linear Pulse Coded Modulated Audio (LPCM)

Local use

LC experience or existing holdings	None
LC preference	General preference for recorded sound is WAVE_LCPM.

Sustainability factors

Disclosure	Fully documented; see AIFF and LPCM.
Documentation	See AIFF and LPCM.
Adoption	Widely adopted among Apple users engaged in professional audio work; some adoption beyond, although most Windows users select WAVE_LPCM, which is functionally equivalent. AIFF_LPCM is used as the master format by the Harvard University Library Digital Initiative audio reformatting activity.
Licensing and patents	See AIFF and LPCM.
Transparency	See AIFF and LPCM.
Self-documentation	See AIFF.
External dependencies	None
Technical protection considerations	None known to the compilers of this document.

Quality and functionality factors

Sound
Normal rendering	Good support.
Fidelity (high audio resolution)	Excellent to good, depending upon encoding parameters selected.
Multiple channels	[Possible use of two-channel encoding with multiplexed data to provide support for additional channels. ?]
Support for user-defined sounds, samples, and patches	None
Functionality beyond normal rendering	None

File type signifiers and format identifiers

Tag	Value	Note
Filename extension	aif
Internet Media Type	audio/aiff audio/x-aiff sound/aiff audio/x-pn-aiff	Selected from The File Extension Source. Internet Media Type for AIFF not found at https://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/.
Magic numbers	Hex: 46 4F 52 4D 00 ASCII: FORM	From The File Extension Source.
Uniform Type Identifier (Mac OS)	AIFF

Notes

General
History

Format specifications

See Disclosure under Sustainability factors.

Useful references

URLs

Creating AIFF Audio formatted files (http://www.paulbourke.net/dataformats/audio/). By Paul Bourke, September 1996. Also includes descriptions for .au sound files (Sun Microsystems) and the WAVE sound file format.
See also AIFF.

Last Updated: 08/10/2021