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Re: Sound file formats for journal



Hi,

I would vote for WAV (i.e. RIFF) or FLAC (the latter because it uses
*lossless* - i.e. bit-exact reversible - compression, is widely accepted, is
playable with most current media players, and is open source and free of
legal encumbrances). MP3 should definitely *not* be used if the aim of
including the wav files is to allow others to replicate the authors' work,
because it is not lossless.

I don't think the bit depth or sample rate should be standardised though -
converting the files between the "resolution" used by the authors to any
specific standard will not (usually) be a lossless operation.

Steve.


> -----Original Message-----
> From: AUDITORY - Research in Auditory Perception 
> [mailto:AUDITORY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Neil Hockley
> Sent: Friday, September 14, 2012 9:10 AM
> To: AUDITORY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: Sound file formats for journal
> 
> Hi everyone,
> 
> I would definitely voice my support for .wav format.  The 
> processing involved with MP3 and other compressed formats may 
> create unintentional changes to the stimuli that may be 
> misinterpreted.
> 
> Kind regards
> 
> Neil
> 
> Neil S. Hockley 
> Senior Development Audiologist 
> M. Sc. Aud(C) 
> 
> Bernafon AG, Switzerland
> Morgenstrasse 131, 3018 Bern
> Direct     +41 31 998 16 25
> E-mail    nh@xxxxxxxxxxx
> Website   www.bernafon.com
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: AUDITORY - Research in Auditory Perception 
> [mailto:AUDITORY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Dan Stowell
> Sent: 14 September 2012 09:55
> To: AUDITORY@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [AUDITORY] Sound file formats for journal
> 
> Robert,
> 
> It's not clear to me whether you're asking about short-term 
> presentation or long-term archival. I think Etienne's 
> response covers the important points for short-term (although 
> I would point out that MP3 has an overwhelming critical mass 
> of usage, and certainly doesn't rely on flash for playback!).
> 
> For archival, the "TC04" archiving standard (IASA 2009) would 
> recommend that you aim for 24bit / 96 kHz BWAV (BWAV, 
> "Broadcast WAV", is related to ordinary WAV, with some small 
> tweaks to the format for scaleability).
> 
> Best
> Dan
> 
> 
> On 13/09/12 15:54, Robert Zatorre wrote:
> > Dear list
> >
> > In an effort to enhance the Frontiers in Auditory Cognitive 
> > Neuroscience journal, we would like to enable sounds files to be 
> > uploaded for reviewers to be able to hear the stimuli used 
> in a given experiment.
> > Eventually we would also like to have a means of having these sound 
> > files embedded directly into the online journal article so that 
> > readers can hear the stimuli used. (Of course this could apply not 
> > only to stimuli, but also to other sound files that are part of the 
> > study, such as recorded vocalizations, speech or musical sounds 
> > produced under some experimental conditions, and so forth)
> >
> > My question for you all is what file formats do you think we would 
> > need to support? The two obvious ones are wav and mp3, but perhaps 
> > there are others that you may think are important or that have some 
> > advantages that should also be considered.
> >
> > Thank you for your thoughts.
> >
> > PS feel free to send me your comments directly
> >
> > -+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
> >
> > Robert J. Zatorre, Ph.D.
> > Montreal Neurological Institute
> > 3801 University St.
> > Montreal, QC Canada H3A 2B4
> > phone: 1-514-398-8903
> > fax: 1-514-398-1338
> > e-mail: robert.zatorre@xxxxxxxxx
> > web site: www.zlab.mcgill.ca
> 
> --
> Dan Stowell
> Postdoctoral Research Assistant
> Centre for Digital Music
> Queen Mary, University of London
> Mile End Road, London E1 4NS
> http://www.elec.qmul.ac.uk/digitalmusic/people/dans.htm
> http://www.mcld.co.uk/
>