Audio File Formats and Codecs Flashcards

What does 'AAC' stand for in audio encoding?

Answer: Advanced Audio Coding

AAC stands for Advanced Audio Coding, a lossy compression standard designed as a successor to MP3 with better quality at similar bit rates.

According to the Nyquist theorem, what must the sample rate be to accurately capture a given audio frequency?

Answer: At least twice the highest frequency being recorded

The Nyquist theorem states that the sample rate must be at least twice the highest frequency to be reproduced, which is why 44.1 kHz captures up to 22,050 Hz.

Which audio format compresses audio files to be smaller than WAV while maintaining bit-for-bit identical audio quality?

Answer: FLAC

FLAC achieves file size reductions of 40–60% compared to WAV through lossless compression, allowing perfect reconstruction of the original audio.

What is the highest standard bit rate available for MP3 encoding?

Answer: 320 kbps

320 kbps is the highest standard bit rate for MP3, providing the best audio quality achievable within the MP3 format specification.

What is the primary role of the OGG file format in audio?

Answer: To serve as an open multimedia container that typically wraps Vorbis audio compression

OGG is a free, open container format that most commonly wraps the Vorbis lossy audio codec, serving as an open-source alternative to MP3.

Which of the following audio formats supports Variable Bit Rate (VBR) encoding?

Answer: MP3

MP3 supports VBR encoding, which allocates more bits to complex audio passages and fewer bits to simpler ones, optimizing quality and file size.

What file extension do Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC) files most commonly use?

Answer: .m4a

ALAC files use the .m4a extension, sharing the same container as AAC files but containing lossless audio data instead of lossy compressed audio.