Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
What digital audio formats aside from FLAC are considered "non-proprietary,
> or open source"? Is WAV? How about AIFF?
Both of those are used and have proven their utility. WAV probably has the
edge, but a preservation engineer would be a better person to ask. (Matt
Sohn, hello?) But the link that started this discussion is the first time
I've heard of a compressed format being used for preservation. If a FLAC
file is corrupted, can it be at least partially recovered, the way WAV can?
The Library of Congress's digital preservation website has an extensive
list of audio file formats and their characteristics here:
http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/formats/fdd/sound_fdd.shtml
I thought at some point I saw a narrower listing of formats preferred for
preservation purposes, but maybe I dreamed that. Still, reading these specs
makes it pretty clear which formats are best for preservation and why.
--
Matt Snyder
Archivist
Special Collections Unit
The New York Public Library
[log in to unmask]
Tel: 917-229-9582
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