Sound files 1.4. The header

The bulk of most sound files is formed by the samples. The sample part is usually preceded by a header, which contains information about:

  1. The type of file (WAV, AIFF, AIFC, NeXT/Sun, NIST, Kay, FLAC...).
  2. The sampling frequency (§1.1).
  3. The encoding (linear, 8 or 16 bit, byte order, μ-law, A-law, see §1.2).
  4. The number of channels (mono, stereo, see §1.3).
  5. The duration (usually the number of samples).

### Links to this page

- Sound files
- Sound files 1. General structure