WavPack
WavPack is an open-source audio compression format that provides lossless and high-quality lossy compression for WAV files. It was designed to compress CD-quality audio into files 40-70% the size of regular WAVs while being playable by most WAV players.
lossless
compression
audio
wav
WavPack: Open-Source Audio Compression Format
WavPack is an open-source audio compression format offering lossless and high-quality lossy compression for WAV files, reducing file size by 40-70% while maintaining compatibility with most WAV players.
What is WavPack?
WavPack is an open-source lossless and lossy audio compression format developed by David Bryant. It was designed to efficiently compress CD-quality audio (16-bit, 44.1 kHz) to about 40-70% the size of an equivalent uncompressed WAV file while being playable by most WAV players.
Some key features of WavPack include:
- Lossless and lossy compression modes - The lossless mode preserves the original CD-quality audio data perfectly. The lossy mode discards less audible data to achieve high compression ratios with minimal loss of quality.
- Fast decoding - Streamlined decoding algorithms allow WavPack files to be quickly decompressed and played back in real-time on most systems.
- Error correction - Any corrupted bits in a WavPack file can be corrected to restore the original data.
- Metadata support - It can store extra information like cover art, lyrics, artist info in WavPack files.
- Open source - Released under BSD license. The code and format is transparently documented.
WavPack's efficient hybrid lossless/lossy technology, speed, error correction abilities and open source nature make it a popular archiving and distribution format among audio enthusiasts and musicians.
WavPack Features
Features
- Lossless compression
- High compression ratios
- Fast encoding and decoding
- Error correction
- Metadata support
- Open source
Pricing
- Open Source
Pros
High compression ratios
Retains original audio quality for lossless compression
Fast performance
Wide compatibility
Free and open source
Cons
Less widely supported than FLAC or ALAC
Limited adoption and support in hardware players
Lossy encoding not as efficient as MP3 or AAC
Official Links
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