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WAVE_LPCM_BWF, Broadcast WAVE Audio File Format
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Format Description Properties
• ID: fdd000003
• Short name: WAVE_LPCM_BWF
• Content categories: sound
• Format category: file format
• Last significant update: 2005-01-05
• Draft status: Full
Identification and description 
| Full name | Broadcast Wave. version 1 |
| Description | File format intended for the exchange of audio material between different broadcast environments and equipment based on different computer platforms.
Based on the Microsoft WAVE audio file format, Broadcast Wave adds a "Broadcast Audio Extension" chunk to hold the minimum information considered necessary for broadcast applications. Version 1 (July 2001) |
| Relationship to other formats | |
| Contains | LPCM Linear PCM |
| Subtype of | RIFF Resource Interchange File Format for Windows 3.1 |
| Subtype of | WAVE |
| Subtype of | WAVE_LPCM |
| Used by | AES31 |
Local use
| LC experience or existing holdings | None |
| LC preference | Proposed as preferred master format for mono or stereo audio |
Sustainability factors
| Disclosure | |
| Standardization | Standardized by European Broadcast Union as EBU Standard N22 - 1997. |
| Other documentation | See WAVE_LPCM. |
| Adoption | Developed as a refinement of the WAVE format by the European Broadcast Union. Recommended as the preferred format for the delivery of music recordings to record companies in the Draft Recommendation for Delivery of Recorded Music Projects developed by the Delivery Specifications Committee of the Producer's and Engineer's Wing of the Recording Academy (National Academy of the Recording Arts and Sciences).
Audio format specified in AES31, the Audio Engineering Society's specification for session interchange
|
| Licensing and patent claims | No special issues. |
| Transparency | See Linear PCM for audio encoding. BWF metadata is human-readable |
| Self-documentation | The Broadcast Audio Extension holds metadata identifying the originator and the date and time of creation.
The CART/Audio Delivery Extension to BWF has been proposed to the Audio Engineering Society as an additional metadata chunk.
|
| External dependencies | None |
| Technical protection considerations | None |
Quality and functionality factors (sound)
| Fidelity (support for high audio resolution) | See WAVE_LPCM. |
| Sound field (support for multi-channel audio) | No |
| Functionality beyond normal sound rendering | No |
File type signifiers
| Tag type | Value | Note |
| Filename Extension | wav | |
| Internet Media Type | See WAVE | |
| Magic numbers | See WAVE | |
Notes
Format specifications
URLs
• EBU Standard N22 - 1997:
The Broadcast Wave Format, A format for audio data files in broadcasting. (http://www.ebu.ch/CMSimages/en/tec_text_n22-1997_tcm6-4645.pdf)
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Useful references
URLs
• http://www.ebu.ch/en/technical/publications/userguides/bwf_user_guide.php
• http://www.ebu.ch/tech_32/tech_t3285_v1.pdf
• http://www.grammy.com/recommendations.pdf
• http://www.broadcastpapers.com/radio/cartchunk01.htm
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Last Updated: 03/ 7/2007
