WAV
| Filename extension |
.wav .wave |
|---|---|
| Internet media type |
audio/vnd.wave, audio/wav, audio/wave, audio/x-wav |
| Type code | WAVE |
| Uniform Type Identifier (UTI) | com.microsoft.waveform-audio |
| Developed by | IBM and Microsoft |
| Initial release | August 1991 |
| Latest release | Multiple Channel Audio Data and WAVE Files 7 March 2007 (update) |
| Type of format | Audio file format, container format |
| Extended from | RIFF |
| Extended to | BWF, RF64 |
Waveform Audio File Format (WAVE, or WAV due to its filename extension; pronounced /wæv/ or /weɪv/ ) is an audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on personal computers. The format was developed and published for the first time in 1991 by IBM and Microsoft. It is the main format used on Microsoft Windows systems for uncompressed audio. The usual bitstream encoding is the linear pulse-code modulation (LPCM) format.
WAV is an application of the Resource Interchange File Format (RIFF) bitstream format method for storing data in chunks, and thus is similar to the 8SVX and the Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) format used on Amiga and Macintosh computers, respectively.