Integrating Audio Seamlessly: Techniques for Film Editors Using Magix Movie Editor 2023

How to add Audio to Video in Magix Movie Edit Pro

Shanoon Cox

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Having a perfect soundtrack to your videos is as important as having a perfectly captured footage, because the music and sounds you add to your videos, set the atmosphere of the video. Choosing the right music and atmospheric sounds to match the action taking place in the video is an important task that shouldn’t be taken lightly since the video’s reception by the audience depends on it. Failing to lip-sync or to add a knocking sound when someone is entering the room will reduce the realism of your film and break the illusion you tried so hard to create.

Let’s have a look at how you can add and remove audio files to video using Magix Movie Edit Pro video editing software.

How to add audio to video in Magix Movie Edit Pro

Before deciding to remove the audio file that was recorded together with the video clip, make sure that you already have sounds and music that will replace it. Having the audio recordings that match your video perfectly is of utmost importance because if you add files that don’t match the video the final result will be barely watchable.

1.Import the video clip and separate the video and audio

All video clips also contain an audio file, that isn’t displayed on the Magix Movie Edit Pro’s timeline until the two files are separated. In order to separate the audio and video file, you need to select the video file you placed on the timeline, by dragging it from the ‘Import’ tab and dropping it on the video track and then click on the ‘Ungroup’ icon on the editor’s timeline.

2.Remove and replace the files on the audio track

After clicking on the ‘Ungroup’ icon, you will be able to see an audio file on the editor’s audio track. If you would like to remove it from the project entirely, select the audio file and click on the ‘Delete’ button on your keyboard. However, if you would like to keep parts of the original audio track, select the file, place the playhead at the position in the file where you would like to make the cut and then click on the ‘Split objects’ icon on the toolbar. Repeat the same action at the position where you would like the sound file to end.

Adding new audio files to your project is simple, because all you need to do is head over to the ‘Import’ tab, locate the files you want to use in your video on your hard-drive and drag and drop them onto the audio track. Cut out the parts of the audio file you don’t want to use by clicking on the ‘’Split objects’ icon and make sure that the length of the audio matches the length of the video.

3.Edit the audio files

Magix Movie Edit Pro offers a large number of audio effects that can help you create a better soundtrack for your video. Click on the ‘Effects’ tab and slide down to the ‘Audio Effects’ section where you can adjust the volume, clean the background noises in the audio or apply some of many audio effects located under the ‘Audio Effects’ option. Additional audio effects can be purchased at the Magix Movie Edit Pro’s store, but some of the effects can be pricey for consumer-level video editors.

If you would like to merge the freshly created audio file with the video file after you applied all the audio effects you wanted, simply click on the ‘Group’ icon, located next to the ‘Ungroup’ icon on the editor’s toolbar.

Alternative Way of Adding Audio to a Video

Even though adding audio files to videos isn’t such a complicated process in Magix Movie Edit Pro, you might still consider using a video editing software that provides more options for audio editing. Wondershare Filmora will enable you to split, trim, add or remove audio files from your project in just a few simple steps. The software also gives you access to numerous royalty free music tracks that can be used in videos created with Filmora. Producing great visual content with Filmora video editing software is a simple process that can be completed in a short period of time, due to the abundance of the editing tools that make the editing process fast and easy.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Having a perfect soundtrack to your videos is as important as having a perfectly captured footage, because the music and sounds you add to your videos, set the atmosphere of the video. Choosing the right music and atmospheric sounds to match the action taking place in the video is an important task that shouldn’t be taken lightly since the video’s reception by the audience depends on it. Failing to lip-sync or to add a knocking sound when someone is entering the room will reduce the realism of your film and break the illusion you tried so hard to create.

Let’s have a look at how you can add and remove audio files to video using Magix Movie Edit Pro video editing software.

How to add audio to video in Magix Movie Edit Pro

Before deciding to remove the audio file that was recorded together with the video clip, make sure that you already have sounds and music that will replace it. Having the audio recordings that match your video perfectly is of utmost importance because if you add files that don’t match the video the final result will be barely watchable.

1.Import the video clip and separate the video and audio

All video clips also contain an audio file, that isn’t displayed on the Magix Movie Edit Pro’s timeline until the two files are separated. In order to separate the audio and video file, you need to select the video file you placed on the timeline, by dragging it from the ‘Import’ tab and dropping it on the video track and then click on the ‘Ungroup’ icon on the editor’s timeline.

2.Remove and replace the files on the audio track

After clicking on the ‘Ungroup’ icon, you will be able to see an audio file on the editor’s audio track. If you would like to remove it from the project entirely, select the audio file and click on the ‘Delete’ button on your keyboard. However, if you would like to keep parts of the original audio track, select the file, place the playhead at the position in the file where you would like to make the cut and then click on the ‘Split objects’ icon on the toolbar. Repeat the same action at the position where you would like the sound file to end.

Adding new audio files to your project is simple, because all you need to do is head over to the ‘Import’ tab, locate the files you want to use in your video on your hard-drive and drag and drop them onto the audio track. Cut out the parts of the audio file you don’t want to use by clicking on the ‘’Split objects’ icon and make sure that the length of the audio matches the length of the video.

3.Edit the audio files

Magix Movie Edit Pro offers a large number of audio effects that can help you create a better soundtrack for your video. Click on the ‘Effects’ tab and slide down to the ‘Audio Effects’ section where you can adjust the volume, clean the background noises in the audio or apply some of many audio effects located under the ‘Audio Effects’ option. Additional audio effects can be purchased at the Magix Movie Edit Pro’s store, but some of the effects can be pricey for consumer-level video editors.

If you would like to merge the freshly created audio file with the video file after you applied all the audio effects you wanted, simply click on the ‘Group’ icon, located next to the ‘Ungroup’ icon on the editor’s toolbar.

Alternative Way of Adding Audio to a Video

Even though adding audio files to videos isn’t such a complicated process in Magix Movie Edit Pro, you might still consider using a video editing software that provides more options for audio editing. Wondershare Filmora will enable you to split, trim, add or remove audio files from your project in just a few simple steps. The software also gives you access to numerous royalty free music tracks that can be used in videos created with Filmora. Producing great visual content with Filmora video editing software is a simple process that can be completed in a short period of time, due to the abundance of the editing tools that make the editing process fast and easy.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Having a perfect soundtrack to your videos is as important as having a perfectly captured footage, because the music and sounds you add to your videos, set the atmosphere of the video. Choosing the right music and atmospheric sounds to match the action taking place in the video is an important task that shouldn’t be taken lightly since the video’s reception by the audience depends on it. Failing to lip-sync or to add a knocking sound when someone is entering the room will reduce the realism of your film and break the illusion you tried so hard to create.

Let’s have a look at how you can add and remove audio files to video using Magix Movie Edit Pro video editing software.

How to add audio to video in Magix Movie Edit Pro

Before deciding to remove the audio file that was recorded together with the video clip, make sure that you already have sounds and music that will replace it. Having the audio recordings that match your video perfectly is of utmost importance because if you add files that don’t match the video the final result will be barely watchable.

1.Import the video clip and separate the video and audio

All video clips also contain an audio file, that isn’t displayed on the Magix Movie Edit Pro’s timeline until the two files are separated. In order to separate the audio and video file, you need to select the video file you placed on the timeline, by dragging it from the ‘Import’ tab and dropping it on the video track and then click on the ‘Ungroup’ icon on the editor’s timeline.

2.Remove and replace the files on the audio track

After clicking on the ‘Ungroup’ icon, you will be able to see an audio file on the editor’s audio track. If you would like to remove it from the project entirely, select the audio file and click on the ‘Delete’ button on your keyboard. However, if you would like to keep parts of the original audio track, select the file, place the playhead at the position in the file where you would like to make the cut and then click on the ‘Split objects’ icon on the toolbar. Repeat the same action at the position where you would like the sound file to end.

Adding new audio files to your project is simple, because all you need to do is head over to the ‘Import’ tab, locate the files you want to use in your video on your hard-drive and drag and drop them onto the audio track. Cut out the parts of the audio file you don’t want to use by clicking on the ‘’Split objects’ icon and make sure that the length of the audio matches the length of the video.

3.Edit the audio files

Magix Movie Edit Pro offers a large number of audio effects that can help you create a better soundtrack for your video. Click on the ‘Effects’ tab and slide down to the ‘Audio Effects’ section where you can adjust the volume, clean the background noises in the audio or apply some of many audio effects located under the ‘Audio Effects’ option. Additional audio effects can be purchased at the Magix Movie Edit Pro’s store, but some of the effects can be pricey for consumer-level video editors.

If you would like to merge the freshly created audio file with the video file after you applied all the audio effects you wanted, simply click on the ‘Group’ icon, located next to the ‘Ungroup’ icon on the editor’s toolbar.

Alternative Way of Adding Audio to a Video

Even though adding audio files to videos isn’t such a complicated process in Magix Movie Edit Pro, you might still consider using a video editing software that provides more options for audio editing. Wondershare Filmora will enable you to split, trim, add or remove audio files from your project in just a few simple steps. The software also gives you access to numerous royalty free music tracks that can be used in videos created with Filmora. Producing great visual content with Filmora video editing software is a simple process that can be completed in a short period of time, due to the abundance of the editing tools that make the editing process fast and easy.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

Having a perfect soundtrack to your videos is as important as having a perfectly captured footage, because the music and sounds you add to your videos, set the atmosphere of the video. Choosing the right music and atmospheric sounds to match the action taking place in the video is an important task that shouldn’t be taken lightly since the video’s reception by the audience depends on it. Failing to lip-sync or to add a knocking sound when someone is entering the room will reduce the realism of your film and break the illusion you tried so hard to create.

Let’s have a look at how you can add and remove audio files to video using Magix Movie Edit Pro video editing software.

How to add audio to video in Magix Movie Edit Pro

Before deciding to remove the audio file that was recorded together with the video clip, make sure that you already have sounds and music that will replace it. Having the audio recordings that match your video perfectly is of utmost importance because if you add files that don’t match the video the final result will be barely watchable.

1.Import the video clip and separate the video and audio

All video clips also contain an audio file, that isn’t displayed on the Magix Movie Edit Pro’s timeline until the two files are separated. In order to separate the audio and video file, you need to select the video file you placed on the timeline, by dragging it from the ‘Import’ tab and dropping it on the video track and then click on the ‘Ungroup’ icon on the editor’s timeline.

2.Remove and replace the files on the audio track

After clicking on the ‘Ungroup’ icon, you will be able to see an audio file on the editor’s audio track. If you would like to remove it from the project entirely, select the audio file and click on the ‘Delete’ button on your keyboard. However, if you would like to keep parts of the original audio track, select the file, place the playhead at the position in the file where you would like to make the cut and then click on the ‘Split objects’ icon on the toolbar. Repeat the same action at the position where you would like the sound file to end.

Adding new audio files to your project is simple, because all you need to do is head over to the ‘Import’ tab, locate the files you want to use in your video on your hard-drive and drag and drop them onto the audio track. Cut out the parts of the audio file you don’t want to use by clicking on the ‘’Split objects’ icon and make sure that the length of the audio matches the length of the video.

3.Edit the audio files

Magix Movie Edit Pro offers a large number of audio effects that can help you create a better soundtrack for your video. Click on the ‘Effects’ tab and slide down to the ‘Audio Effects’ section where you can adjust the volume, clean the background noises in the audio or apply some of many audio effects located under the ‘Audio Effects’ option. Additional audio effects can be purchased at the Magix Movie Edit Pro’s store, but some of the effects can be pricey for consumer-level video editors.

If you would like to merge the freshly created audio file with the video file after you applied all the audio effects you wanted, simply click on the ‘Group’ icon, located next to the ‘Ungroup’ icon on the editor’s toolbar.

Alternative Way of Adding Audio to a Video

Even though adding audio files to videos isn’t such a complicated process in Magix Movie Edit Pro, you might still consider using a video editing software that provides more options for audio editing. Wondershare Filmora will enable you to split, trim, add or remove audio files from your project in just a few simple steps. The software also gives you access to numerous royalty free music tracks that can be used in videos created with Filmora. Producing great visual content with Filmora video editing software is a simple process that can be completed in a short period of time, due to the abundance of the editing tools that make the editing process fast and easy.

Download Mac Version ](https://tools.techidaily.com/wondershare/filmora/download/ )

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Unlocking a World of Gratis Aural Enhancements Online

No matter what type of video you’re making – promotional, movie festival candidate, or just something for fun – you want to be certain that you have the right sound effects available for your use. Sound FX makes your video more attractive and can add some emotion to what is happening on-screen.

But, how can you find free sound FX? In this article, we’re going to provide you with the 8 best websites where you can download all the sound FX you may ever need, and all for free!

Recommend a Versatile Tool to Edit Audios Easily - Filmora

If you want to add sound effects to your videos in a minute, using an all-in-one video editor is the best choice because you can save a lot of time. Fortunately, Wondershare Filmora is one of the most versatile video editors globally, which has various types of built-in royalty-free background music, sound effects, music clips, etc. Choose the sound effects that suit your audio and create stunning audio/videos in no time.

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

8 Best Free Sound FX Resources

1. freeSFX

With hundreds of different types of sound effects and music tracts in any category you can imagine, free SFX is an easy-to-use website that is very easy to navigate.

If you’re looking for humor, they have a number of “cartoony” sounds you can use. Need something more realistic or out in nature? They’ve got it too.

You can browse or search the site easily and find what you need in just a few minutes of searching around the website.

2. Partners In Rhyme

Partners in Rhyme put a special emphasis on providing free sound effects and royalty-free options, not only for FX but for music.

Almost all of the options on here have lifetime licensing agreements, so no matter how you wish to use the music or FX, you don’t have to worry about copyright issues coming up in the future.

Partners in Rhyme have recently started updating their website with new FX and plan on doing more well into the future.

3. PacDV

PacDV is one of the oldest free sound effects hubs on the internet; they’ve been providing FX royalty-free since 2001.

Their sounds have been used in various contexts, and they are always producing new movie-quality FX that you can easily add to anything that you may be putting together. They also provide other filmmaking resources to aspiring video makers.

4. MotionElements

If you’ve done any filmmaking, you’ve likely utilized MotionElements at some point in time. They have an unlimited download plan for $16.50 a month, but they also offer a number of free sound effects that you can use without a subscription. They are constantly updating their free sound FX page so that filmmakers like you have the access you need to great resources.

5. Sound Effects from YouTube

YouTube Studio, a part of the YouTube creation suite, offers a number of different free sound effects and free music that can be used in anything you post on the site.

Their entire library is pretty specific, including multiple types of gunfire, planes, vehicles, and more.

So, if you have something in your film that should have a particular sound effect, you can easily find it on YouTube Studio.

6. Flash Kit

While Flash Kit has been developed for Flash developers, anyone can use their resources in any sort of visual media that they produce.

With hundreds of loops and FX in 15 different categories, Flash Kit makes it simple for you to explore your options and find exactly what you’re looking for with just a couple of clicks. Their library isn’t as extensive as some of the others listed here, but there is still a lot for you to choose from.

7. SoundEffects+

The library with over 5000 different, free sound effects at SoundEffects+ makes it one of the most extensive libraries that you can search on the web.

Their license agreement is easy to understand, and they are always adding new sound effects to their library on a regular basis.

SoundEffects+ has dozens of categories with some of the most unique options you can find, or you can just browse to see what works for your purposes.

8. Airborne Sound

Airborne Sound has put together entire libraries of sound that you can utilize to find the perfect mix of music you want.

Not only that, but you can get the MP3, CD Quality, and Pro versions for absolutely free, no matter which package you choose. They do have paid versions of loops + Pro versions, but they’re only 99 cents, and they give you the best quality sound effects.

They also have other free sound FX that you can get individually if that’s what you prefer to do.

Conclusion

These sites can help you find the tools you need and ensure that you’ve got everything necessary to stay ahead of your sound effects needs. You’ve got all of the tools at your fingertips, you just want to be sure that you keep an eye out for them and use them effectively in your filmmaking.

Versatile Video Editor - Wondershare Filmora

An easy and powerful video editor.

Numerous effects to choose from.

Try It Free Try It Free

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

8 Best Free Sound FX Resources

1. freeSFX

With hundreds of different types of sound effects and music tracts in any category you can imagine, free SFX is an easy-to-use website that is very easy to navigate.

If you’re looking for humor, they have a number of “cartoony” sounds you can use. Need something more realistic or out in nature? They’ve got it too.

You can browse or search the site easily and find what you need in just a few minutes of searching around the website.

2. Partners In Rhyme

Partners in Rhyme put a special emphasis on providing free sound effects and royalty-free options, not only for FX but for music.

Almost all of the options on here have lifetime licensing agreements, so no matter how you wish to use the music or FX, you don’t have to worry about copyright issues coming up in the future.

Partners in Rhyme have recently started updating their website with new FX and plan on doing more well into the future.

3. PacDV

PacDV is one of the oldest free sound effects hubs on the internet; they’ve been providing FX royalty-free since 2001.

Their sounds have been used in various contexts, and they are always producing new movie-quality FX that you can easily add to anything that you may be putting together. They also provide other filmmaking resources to aspiring video makers.

4. MotionElements

If you’ve done any filmmaking, you’ve likely utilized MotionElements at some point in time. They have an unlimited download plan for $16.50 a month, but they also offer a number of free sound effects that you can use without a subscription. They are constantly updating their free sound FX page so that filmmakers like you have the access you need to great resources.

5. Sound Effects from YouTube

YouTube Studio, a part of the YouTube creation suite, offers a number of different free sound effects and free music that can be used in anything you post on the site.

Their entire library is pretty specific, including multiple types of gunfire, planes, vehicles, and more.

So, if you have something in your film that should have a particular sound effect, you can easily find it on YouTube Studio.

6. Flash Kit

While Flash Kit has been developed for Flash developers, anyone can use their resources in any sort of visual media that they produce.

With hundreds of loops and FX in 15 different categories, Flash Kit makes it simple for you to explore your options and find exactly what you’re looking for with just a couple of clicks. Their library isn’t as extensive as some of the others listed here, but there is still a lot for you to choose from.

7. SoundEffects+

The library with over 5000 different, free sound effects at SoundEffects+ makes it one of the most extensive libraries that you can search on the web.

Their license agreement is easy to understand, and they are always adding new sound effects to their library on a regular basis.

SoundEffects+ has dozens of categories with some of the most unique options you can find, or you can just browse to see what works for your purposes.

8. Airborne Sound

Airborne Sound has put together entire libraries of sound that you can utilize to find the perfect mix of music you want.

Not only that, but you can get the MP3, CD Quality, and Pro versions for absolutely free, no matter which package you choose. They do have paid versions of loops + Pro versions, but they’re only 99 cents, and they give you the best quality sound effects.

They also have other free sound FX that you can get individually if that’s what you prefer to do.

Conclusion

These sites can help you find the tools you need and ensure that you’ve got everything necessary to stay ahead of your sound effects needs. You’ve got all of the tools at your fingertips, you just want to be sure that you keep an eye out for them and use them effectively in your filmmaking.

Versatile Video Editor - Wondershare Filmora

An easy and powerful video editor.

Numerous effects to choose from.

Try It Free Try It Free

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

8 Best Free Sound FX Resources

1. freeSFX

With hundreds of different types of sound effects and music tracts in any category you can imagine, free SFX is an easy-to-use website that is very easy to navigate.

If you’re looking for humor, they have a number of “cartoony” sounds you can use. Need something more realistic or out in nature? They’ve got it too.

You can browse or search the site easily and find what you need in just a few minutes of searching around the website.

2. Partners In Rhyme

Partners in Rhyme put a special emphasis on providing free sound effects and royalty-free options, not only for FX but for music.

Almost all of the options on here have lifetime licensing agreements, so no matter how you wish to use the music or FX, you don’t have to worry about copyright issues coming up in the future.

Partners in Rhyme have recently started updating their website with new FX and plan on doing more well into the future.

3. PacDV

PacDV is one of the oldest free sound effects hubs on the internet; they’ve been providing FX royalty-free since 2001.

Their sounds have been used in various contexts, and they are always producing new movie-quality FX that you can easily add to anything that you may be putting together. They also provide other filmmaking resources to aspiring video makers.

4. MotionElements

If you’ve done any filmmaking, you’ve likely utilized MotionElements at some point in time. They have an unlimited download plan for $16.50 a month, but they also offer a number of free sound effects that you can use without a subscription. They are constantly updating their free sound FX page so that filmmakers like you have the access you need to great resources.

5. Sound Effects from YouTube

YouTube Studio, a part of the YouTube creation suite, offers a number of different free sound effects and free music that can be used in anything you post on the site.

Their entire library is pretty specific, including multiple types of gunfire, planes, vehicles, and more.

So, if you have something in your film that should have a particular sound effect, you can easily find it on YouTube Studio.

6. Flash Kit

While Flash Kit has been developed for Flash developers, anyone can use their resources in any sort of visual media that they produce.

With hundreds of loops and FX in 15 different categories, Flash Kit makes it simple for you to explore your options and find exactly what you’re looking for with just a couple of clicks. Their library isn’t as extensive as some of the others listed here, but there is still a lot for you to choose from.

7. SoundEffects+

The library with over 5000 different, free sound effects at SoundEffects+ makes it one of the most extensive libraries that you can search on the web.

Their license agreement is easy to understand, and they are always adding new sound effects to their library on a regular basis.

SoundEffects+ has dozens of categories with some of the most unique options you can find, or you can just browse to see what works for your purposes.

8. Airborne Sound

Airborne Sound has put together entire libraries of sound that you can utilize to find the perfect mix of music you want.

Not only that, but you can get the MP3, CD Quality, and Pro versions for absolutely free, no matter which package you choose. They do have paid versions of loops + Pro versions, but they’re only 99 cents, and they give you the best quality sound effects.

They also have other free sound FX that you can get individually if that’s what you prefer to do.

Conclusion

These sites can help you find the tools you need and ensure that you’ve got everything necessary to stay ahead of your sound effects needs. You’ve got all of the tools at your fingertips, you just want to be sure that you keep an eye out for them and use them effectively in your filmmaking.

Versatile Video Editor - Wondershare Filmora

An easy and powerful video editor.

Numerous effects to choose from.

Try It Free Try It Free

Try It Free

For Win 7 or later (64-bit)

Try It Free

For macOS 10.12 or later

8 Best Free Sound FX Resources

1. freeSFX

With hundreds of different types of sound effects and music tracts in any category you can imagine, free SFX is an easy-to-use website that is very easy to navigate.

If you’re looking for humor, they have a number of “cartoony” sounds you can use. Need something more realistic or out in nature? They’ve got it too.

You can browse or search the site easily and find what you need in just a few minutes of searching around the website.

2. Partners In Rhyme

Partners in Rhyme put a special emphasis on providing free sound effects and royalty-free options, not only for FX but for music.

Almost all of the options on here have lifetime licensing agreements, so no matter how you wish to use the music or FX, you don’t have to worry about copyright issues coming up in the future.

Partners in Rhyme have recently started updating their website with new FX and plan on doing more well into the future.

3. PacDV

PacDV is one of the oldest free sound effects hubs on the internet; they’ve been providing FX royalty-free since 2001.

Their sounds have been used in various contexts, and they are always producing new movie-quality FX that you can easily add to anything that you may be putting together. They also provide other filmmaking resources to aspiring video makers.

4. MotionElements

If you’ve done any filmmaking, you’ve likely utilized MotionElements at some point in time. They have an unlimited download plan for $16.50 a month, but they also offer a number of free sound effects that you can use without a subscription. They are constantly updating their free sound FX page so that filmmakers like you have the access you need to great resources.

5. Sound Effects from YouTube

YouTube Studio, a part of the YouTube creation suite, offers a number of different free sound effects and free music that can be used in anything you post on the site.

Their entire library is pretty specific, including multiple types of gunfire, planes, vehicles, and more.

So, if you have something in your film that should have a particular sound effect, you can easily find it on YouTube Studio.

6. Flash Kit

While Flash Kit has been developed for Flash developers, anyone can use their resources in any sort of visual media that they produce.

With hundreds of loops and FX in 15 different categories, Flash Kit makes it simple for you to explore your options and find exactly what you’re looking for with just a couple of clicks. Their library isn’t as extensive as some of the others listed here, but there is still a lot for you to choose from.

7. SoundEffects+

The library with over 5000 different, free sound effects at SoundEffects+ makes it one of the most extensive libraries that you can search on the web.

Their license agreement is easy to understand, and they are always adding new sound effects to their library on a regular basis.

SoundEffects+ has dozens of categories with some of the most unique options you can find, or you can just browse to see what works for your purposes.

8. Airborne Sound

Airborne Sound has put together entire libraries of sound that you can utilize to find the perfect mix of music you want.

Not only that, but you can get the MP3, CD Quality, and Pro versions for absolutely free, no matter which package you choose. They do have paid versions of loops + Pro versions, but they’re only 99 cents, and they give you the best quality sound effects.

They also have other free sound FX that you can get individually if that’s what you prefer to do.

Conclusion

These sites can help you find the tools you need and ensure that you’ve got everything necessary to stay ahead of your sound effects needs. You’ve got all of the tools at your fingertips, you just want to be sure that you keep an eye out for them and use them effectively in your filmmaking.

Versatile Video Editor - Wondershare Filmora

An easy and powerful video editor.

Numerous effects to choose from.

Try It Free Try It Free

The Audio Experts’ Manual to Identifying Superior Sound Formats

How to Choose Best Audio Formats

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The quality of sound that you hear depends on various factors, and an appropriate audio format is one of them. While each type of acoustic file has its own significance, choosing the best audio format as per the target player, expected audience, and/or supporting videos or images (if any) is something that needs much consideration to offer a flawless listening experience.

With that said, here you will learn about some of the most common sound file types, which among them could be the best audio format according to your requirements, and a couple of important points that you must keep in might while picking an extension for your media preparations.

• Part 1: 10 Most Common Audio Formats
• Part 2: How to Choose Best Audio Format?
• Part 3: Which Audio File Formats Does YouTube Support?
• Part 4: Audio Format in Filmora

Using Filmora to Record & Edit & Save Audio Easily

Wondershare Filmora is a simple yet robust video editing software that allows you to save a video to mp3 easily. Besides, if you want to remove background noise from audio, or change the audio volume or remove unwanted audio parts from the video, you should definitely try Filmora.

---

Part 1: 10 Most Common Audio Formats

Before listing the most common audio file formats, it is important to understand the categories of the sound files. Every audio format that exists belongs to one (or more) category depending on the way it is being created and the characteristics it has.

In a nutshell, there are three major categories, including:

• Uncompressed Audio Format
• Lossless Compressed Audio Format
• Lossy Compressed Audio Format

Below is a brief introduction of each of the classes listed above along with the audio file types that belong to them:

1. Uncompressed Audio Format

Uncompressed audio is the original sound that has been recorded directly from the source in the analog form, and then converted to a digital signal without any modifications or compressions. Because an uncompressed sound is prepared with no retouching or manipulations, it gives an as-is listening experience. Since no compression is done on such a file either, it occupies a remarkably huge amount of space on your storage media.

Some sound files that fall under this category include:

1) Pulse-Code Modulation (PCM)

A PCM file is the digital version of an analog waveform that is created by recording the audio samples, technically known as pulses. The PCM format is mostly used when creating optical media discs, typically the CDs and DVDs.

2) Waveform Audio File Format (WAV)

Generally used on the Windows platform, this audio format is not a file itself but a container that may contain both compressed or uncompressed files. However, in most cases, it is the latter that a WAV file has, and PCM format is one of them.

You may also interest: YouTube to WAV >>

3) Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF)

AIFF is almost identical to WAV format in its characteristics with the only difference that, unlike the latter, it was developed by Apple somewhere in 1988, and works as a container for both compressed and uncompressed audio files. While the compressed version of the format is called AIFF-C, the term Apple Loop is used when the scenario is otherwise. As it is with WAV, even AIFF files mostly contain uncompressed audio, that usually is PCM.

You may also like: Best AIFF to MP3 Converters >>

4) Data Stream Digital (DSD)

Used by Sony and Phillips, DSD is also not a format itself but a container that can store PCM files to provide decent sound quality. However, due to distortions in the composed audio, DSD files are not much in trend.

2. Lossless Compressed Audio Format

Lossless Compressed audio format is a type of file that is compressed using some advanced methods without compromising with the quality of the sound. This means that when played, you experience the same acoustic excellence as that of the source, i.e. uncompressed audio. However, even though the lossless compressed files are comparatively small in size, they still occupy decent amount of space on the hard drive or any other storage media in use.

Some formats that fall under the lossless compressed category include:

1) Free Lossless Audio Code (FLAC)

At around half the size of the source sound file, FLAC offers the original audio quality without removing any acoustic information during compression. Being an opensource and royalty-free audio format, FLAC is even easier to get, and in most cases is used as an alternative to MP3.

Check some of the best FLAC editor programs >>

2) Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC)

Introduced by Apple Inc. and initially released as a proprietary product, ALAC was made royalty-free and opensource in 2011. Even though ALAC files are larger in size when compared to FLAC, the former format is used in iTunes and iOS as the latter isn’t supported by these platforms.

3. Lossy Compressed Audio Format

These are the highly compressed files that occupy significantly less amount of space on your storage media. However, during the compression process, some acoustic information is lost in order to reduce the file size. Nevertheless, if compressed correctly, the deterioration in the quality is almost negligible, and cannot be experienced unless the listener is quite experienced and the source recording is played next to the compressed audio simultaneously.

Some audio formats that fall under the lossy compressed category include:

1) MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 (MP3)

This is one of the most common file types and the best audio format for almost all media types that have sound. An MP3 file is free from the noises of the least significant in the composed audio. In addition, all the acoustic information with the frequency that normal human beings fail to catch (below 20Hz and above 20000Hz) is safely erased during compilation and compression. Furthermore, what makes MP3 the best audio file format is its ability to accommodate with almost all the devices of nearly any platform such as Android, Windows, iOS, Mac, etc.

Check this MP3 editor and convert video to MP3 easily.

2) OGG

This one, again, is not in fact an audio format but is a container for audio that generally stores Vorbis files. Although OGG files are way advanced in terms of sound quality and even offer higher compression ratio when compared with MP3, they are not much in use as many platforms and devices don’t support the format till date.

3) AU

AU is a format by Sun, DEC, and NeXT. It is yet another container that can hold both lossless and lossy files. AU files are mostly used in UNIX.

What’s the difference between common audio file formats like MP3, WAV, and FLAC? Watch the video below to learn more.

---

Part 2: How to Choose Best Audio Format?

If you are a media creator, and are into the business of preparing audio and video content for your clients or directly for the audience, it is imperative to understand what could be the best audio file format to compose the audiovisual files. Here are a few tips that you must keep in mind in this context before proceeding:

• Uncompressed Audio

If the media type you are about to create is expected to be used for further editing before exporting to a different format, using an uncompressed audio format would be best as it offers a smooth and flawless post-production experience without giving much overhead to the processor.

• Lossless Compressed Audio

If your audiences own highly sophisticated audio players with Hi-Fi speaker systems, and they are also good at recognizing and understanding the differences between poor and optimal audio quality, using lossless compressed audio format would be a good choice as it gives decent sound quality in smaller file size.

• Compressed Audio

If you are preparing a media for home users and casual listeners, you can safely use an audio format that has been prepared using a higher compression ratio. In such a scenario, MP3 is the best audio format that not only offers the decent sound quality, it also occupies less amount of space on your storage media, thus enabling you to save more files at a given time.

Part 3: Which Audio File Formats Does YouTube Support?

At the time of this writing, YouTube supports two types of formats namely MPEG-2 and MPEG-4. Although both of these are video containers, they also hold audio files. Details about both these types are as follows:

• MPEG-2
  • Audio Bitrate: 128kbps or above
  • Audio Codec: Dolby AC-3 or MPEG Layer II
• MPEG-4
  • **Video Codec:**264
  • Audio Bitrate: 128kbps or above

Since many people nowadays produce videos in MP4 due to its wide range of supported devices and players and the fact that the container is used by majority of users worldwide, MPEG-4 with audio format could be mostly seen on YouTube.

Part 4: Audio Format in Filmora

Being one of the most versatile post-production tools preferred by many professional editors worldwide, Filmora comes with a variety of audio formats from all the three categories discussed above. Furthermore, Filmora also displays relevant information about each of the file types it offers.

The following table shows a list of formats and the details that Filmora supports:

Video Format	Corresponding Audio Encoder	Audio Type
MP4	Lossy Compressed
WMV	WMA8, WMA9	Uncompressed
AVI	MP3, PCM	Lossy Compressed, Uncompressed
MOV	Lossy Compressed
F4V	Lossy Compressed
MKV	MP3	Lossy Compressed
TS	MPEG-2 Audio	Lossy Compressed
3GP	Lossy Compressed
MPEG-2	MPEG-2 Audio	Lossy Compressed
WEBM	Vorbis	Lossy Compressed

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The quality of sound that you hear depends on various factors, and an appropriate audio format is one of them. While each type of acoustic file has its own significance, choosing the best audio format as per the target player, expected audience, and/or supporting videos or images (if any) is something that needs much consideration to offer a flawless listening experience.

With that said, here you will learn about some of the most common sound file types, which among them could be the best audio format according to your requirements, and a couple of important points that you must keep in might while picking an extension for your media preparations.

• Part 1: 10 Most Common Audio Formats
• Part 2: How to Choose Best Audio Format?
• Part 3: Which Audio File Formats Does YouTube Support?
• Part 4: Audio Format in Filmora

Using Filmora to Record & Edit & Save Audio Easily

Wondershare Filmora is a simple yet robust video editing software that allows you to save a video to mp3 easily. Besides, if you want to remove background noise from audio, or change the audio volume or remove unwanted audio parts from the video, you should definitely try Filmora.

---

Part 1: 10 Most Common Audio Formats

Before listing the most common audio file formats, it is important to understand the categories of the sound files. Every audio format that exists belongs to one (or more) category depending on the way it is being created and the characteristics it has.

In a nutshell, there are three major categories, including:

• Uncompressed Audio Format
• Lossless Compressed Audio Format
• Lossy Compressed Audio Format

Below is a brief introduction of each of the classes listed above along with the audio file types that belong to them:

1. Uncompressed Audio Format

Uncompressed audio is the original sound that has been recorded directly from the source in the analog form, and then converted to a digital signal without any modifications or compressions. Because an uncompressed sound is prepared with no retouching or manipulations, it gives an as-is listening experience. Since no compression is done on such a file either, it occupies a remarkably huge amount of space on your storage media.

Some sound files that fall under this category include:

1) Pulse-Code Modulation (PCM)

A PCM file is the digital version of an analog waveform that is created by recording the audio samples, technically known as pulses. The PCM format is mostly used when creating optical media discs, typically the CDs and DVDs.

2) Waveform Audio File Format (WAV)

Generally used on the Windows platform, this audio format is not a file itself but a container that may contain both compressed or uncompressed files. However, in most cases, it is the latter that a WAV file has, and PCM format is one of them.

You may also interest: YouTube to WAV >>

3) Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF)

AIFF is almost identical to WAV format in its characteristics with the only difference that, unlike the latter, it was developed by Apple somewhere in 1988, and works as a container for both compressed and uncompressed audio files. While the compressed version of the format is called AIFF-C, the term Apple Loop is used when the scenario is otherwise. As it is with WAV, even AIFF files mostly contain uncompressed audio, that usually is PCM.

You may also like: Best AIFF to MP3 Converters >>

4) Data Stream Digital (DSD)

Used by Sony and Phillips, DSD is also not a format itself but a container that can store PCM files to provide decent sound quality. However, due to distortions in the composed audio, DSD files are not much in trend.

2. Lossless Compressed Audio Format

Lossless Compressed audio format is a type of file that is compressed using some advanced methods without compromising with the quality of the sound. This means that when played, you experience the same acoustic excellence as that of the source, i.e. uncompressed audio. However, even though the lossless compressed files are comparatively small in size, they still occupy decent amount of space on the hard drive or any other storage media in use.

Some formats that fall under the lossless compressed category include:

1) Free Lossless Audio Code (FLAC)

At around half the size of the source sound file, FLAC offers the original audio quality without removing any acoustic information during compression. Being an opensource and royalty-free audio format, FLAC is even easier to get, and in most cases is used as an alternative to MP3.

Check some of the best FLAC editor programs >>

2) Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC)

Introduced by Apple Inc. and initially released as a proprietary product, ALAC was made royalty-free and opensource in 2011. Even though ALAC files are larger in size when compared to FLAC, the former format is used in iTunes and iOS as the latter isn’t supported by these platforms.

3. Lossy Compressed Audio Format

These are the highly compressed files that occupy significantly less amount of space on your storage media. However, during the compression process, some acoustic information is lost in order to reduce the file size. Nevertheless, if compressed correctly, the deterioration in the quality is almost negligible, and cannot be experienced unless the listener is quite experienced and the source recording is played next to the compressed audio simultaneously.

Some audio formats that fall under the lossy compressed category include:

1) MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 (MP3)

This is one of the most common file types and the best audio format for almost all media types that have sound. An MP3 file is free from the noises of the least significant in the composed audio. In addition, all the acoustic information with the frequency that normal human beings fail to catch (below 20Hz and above 20000Hz) is safely erased during compilation and compression. Furthermore, what makes MP3 the best audio file format is its ability to accommodate with almost all the devices of nearly any platform such as Android, Windows, iOS, Mac, etc.

Check this MP3 editor and convert video to MP3 easily.

2) OGG

This one, again, is not in fact an audio format but is a container for audio that generally stores Vorbis files. Although OGG files are way advanced in terms of sound quality and even offer higher compression ratio when compared with MP3, they are not much in use as many platforms and devices don’t support the format till date.

3) AU

AU is a format by Sun, DEC, and NeXT. It is yet another container that can hold both lossless and lossy files. AU files are mostly used in UNIX.

What’s the difference between common audio file formats like MP3, WAV, and FLAC? Watch the video below to learn more.

---

Part 2: How to Choose Best Audio Format?

If you are a media creator, and are into the business of preparing audio and video content for your clients or directly for the audience, it is imperative to understand what could be the best audio file format to compose the audiovisual files. Here are a few tips that you must keep in mind in this context before proceeding:

• Uncompressed Audio

If the media type you are about to create is expected to be used for further editing before exporting to a different format, using an uncompressed audio format would be best as it offers a smooth and flawless post-production experience without giving much overhead to the processor.

• Lossless Compressed Audio

If your audiences own highly sophisticated audio players with Hi-Fi speaker systems, and they are also good at recognizing and understanding the differences between poor and optimal audio quality, using lossless compressed audio format would be a good choice as it gives decent sound quality in smaller file size.

• Compressed Audio

If you are preparing a media for home users and casual listeners, you can safely use an audio format that has been prepared using a higher compression ratio. In such a scenario, MP3 is the best audio format that not only offers the decent sound quality, it also occupies less amount of space on your storage media, thus enabling you to save more files at a given time.

Part 3: Which Audio File Formats Does YouTube Support?

At the time of this writing, YouTube supports two types of formats namely MPEG-2 and MPEG-4. Although both of these are video containers, they also hold audio files. Details about both these types are as follows:

• MPEG-2
  • Audio Bitrate: 128kbps or above
  • Audio Codec: Dolby AC-3 or MPEG Layer II
• MPEG-4
  • **Video Codec:**264
  • Audio Bitrate: 128kbps or above

Since many people nowadays produce videos in MP4 due to its wide range of supported devices and players and the fact that the container is used by majority of users worldwide, MPEG-4 with audio format could be mostly seen on YouTube.

Part 4: Audio Format in Filmora

Being one of the most versatile post-production tools preferred by many professional editors worldwide, Filmora comes with a variety of audio formats from all the three categories discussed above. Furthermore, Filmora also displays relevant information about each of the file types it offers.

The following table shows a list of formats and the details that Filmora supports:

Video Format	Corresponding Audio Encoder	Audio Type
MP4	Lossy Compressed
WMV	WMA8, WMA9	Uncompressed
AVI	MP3, PCM	Lossy Compressed, Uncompressed
MOV	Lossy Compressed
F4V	Lossy Compressed
MKV	MP3	Lossy Compressed
TS	MPEG-2 Audio	Lossy Compressed
3GP	Lossy Compressed
MPEG-2	MPEG-2 Audio	Lossy Compressed
WEBM	Vorbis	Lossy Compressed

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The quality of sound that you hear depends on various factors, and an appropriate audio format is one of them. While each type of acoustic file has its own significance, choosing the best audio format as per the target player, expected audience, and/or supporting videos or images (if any) is something that needs much consideration to offer a flawless listening experience.

With that said, here you will learn about some of the most common sound file types, which among them could be the best audio format according to your requirements, and a couple of important points that you must keep in might while picking an extension for your media preparations.

• Part 1: 10 Most Common Audio Formats
• Part 2: How to Choose Best Audio Format?
• Part 3: Which Audio File Formats Does YouTube Support?
• Part 4: Audio Format in Filmora

Using Filmora to Record & Edit & Save Audio Easily

Wondershare Filmora is a simple yet robust video editing software that allows you to save a video to mp3 easily. Besides, if you want to remove background noise from audio, or change the audio volume or remove unwanted audio parts from the video, you should definitely try Filmora.

---

Part 1: 10 Most Common Audio Formats

Before listing the most common audio file formats, it is important to understand the categories of the sound files. Every audio format that exists belongs to one (or more) category depending on the way it is being created and the characteristics it has.

In a nutshell, there are three major categories, including:

• Uncompressed Audio Format
• Lossless Compressed Audio Format
• Lossy Compressed Audio Format

Below is a brief introduction of each of the classes listed above along with the audio file types that belong to them:

1. Uncompressed Audio Format

Uncompressed audio is the original sound that has been recorded directly from the source in the analog form, and then converted to a digital signal without any modifications or compressions. Because an uncompressed sound is prepared with no retouching or manipulations, it gives an as-is listening experience. Since no compression is done on such a file either, it occupies a remarkably huge amount of space on your storage media.

Some sound files that fall under this category include:

1) Pulse-Code Modulation (PCM)

A PCM file is the digital version of an analog waveform that is created by recording the audio samples, technically known as pulses. The PCM format is mostly used when creating optical media discs, typically the CDs and DVDs.

2) Waveform Audio File Format (WAV)

Generally used on the Windows platform, this audio format is not a file itself but a container that may contain both compressed or uncompressed files. However, in most cases, it is the latter that a WAV file has, and PCM format is one of them.

You may also interest: YouTube to WAV >>

3) Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF)

AIFF is almost identical to WAV format in its characteristics with the only difference that, unlike the latter, it was developed by Apple somewhere in 1988, and works as a container for both compressed and uncompressed audio files. While the compressed version of the format is called AIFF-C, the term Apple Loop is used when the scenario is otherwise. As it is with WAV, even AIFF files mostly contain uncompressed audio, that usually is PCM.

You may also like: Best AIFF to MP3 Converters >>

4) Data Stream Digital (DSD)

Used by Sony and Phillips, DSD is also not a format itself but a container that can store PCM files to provide decent sound quality. However, due to distortions in the composed audio, DSD files are not much in trend.

2. Lossless Compressed Audio Format

Lossless Compressed audio format is a type of file that is compressed using some advanced methods without compromising with the quality of the sound. This means that when played, you experience the same acoustic excellence as that of the source, i.e. uncompressed audio. However, even though the lossless compressed files are comparatively small in size, they still occupy decent amount of space on the hard drive or any other storage media in use.

Some formats that fall under the lossless compressed category include:

1) Free Lossless Audio Code (FLAC)

At around half the size of the source sound file, FLAC offers the original audio quality without removing any acoustic information during compression. Being an opensource and royalty-free audio format, FLAC is even easier to get, and in most cases is used as an alternative to MP3.

Check some of the best FLAC editor programs >>

2) Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC)

Introduced by Apple Inc. and initially released as a proprietary product, ALAC was made royalty-free and opensource in 2011. Even though ALAC files are larger in size when compared to FLAC, the former format is used in iTunes and iOS as the latter isn’t supported by these platforms.

3. Lossy Compressed Audio Format

These are the highly compressed files that occupy significantly less amount of space on your storage media. However, during the compression process, some acoustic information is lost in order to reduce the file size. Nevertheless, if compressed correctly, the deterioration in the quality is almost negligible, and cannot be experienced unless the listener is quite experienced and the source recording is played next to the compressed audio simultaneously.

Some audio formats that fall under the lossy compressed category include:

1) MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 (MP3)

This is one of the most common file types and the best audio format for almost all media types that have sound. An MP3 file is free from the noises of the least significant in the composed audio. In addition, all the acoustic information with the frequency that normal human beings fail to catch (below 20Hz and above 20000Hz) is safely erased during compilation and compression. Furthermore, what makes MP3 the best audio file format is its ability to accommodate with almost all the devices of nearly any platform such as Android, Windows, iOS, Mac, etc.

Check this MP3 editor and convert video to MP3 easily.

2) OGG

This one, again, is not in fact an audio format but is a container for audio that generally stores Vorbis files. Although OGG files are way advanced in terms of sound quality and even offer higher compression ratio when compared with MP3, they are not much in use as many platforms and devices don’t support the format till date.

3) AU

AU is a format by Sun, DEC, and NeXT. It is yet another container that can hold both lossless and lossy files. AU files are mostly used in UNIX.

What’s the difference between common audio file formats like MP3, WAV, and FLAC? Watch the video below to learn more.

---

Part 2: How to Choose Best Audio Format?

If you are a media creator, and are into the business of preparing audio and video content for your clients or directly for the audience, it is imperative to understand what could be the best audio file format to compose the audiovisual files. Here are a few tips that you must keep in mind in this context before proceeding:

• Uncompressed Audio

If the media type you are about to create is expected to be used for further editing before exporting to a different format, using an uncompressed audio format would be best as it offers a smooth and flawless post-production experience without giving much overhead to the processor.

• Lossless Compressed Audio

If your audiences own highly sophisticated audio players with Hi-Fi speaker systems, and they are also good at recognizing and understanding the differences between poor and optimal audio quality, using lossless compressed audio format would be a good choice as it gives decent sound quality in smaller file size.

• Compressed Audio

If you are preparing a media for home users and casual listeners, you can safely use an audio format that has been prepared using a higher compression ratio. In such a scenario, MP3 is the best audio format that not only offers the decent sound quality, it also occupies less amount of space on your storage media, thus enabling you to save more files at a given time.

Part 3: Which Audio File Formats Does YouTube Support?

At the time of this writing, YouTube supports two types of formats namely MPEG-2 and MPEG-4. Although both of these are video containers, they also hold audio files. Details about both these types are as follows:

• MPEG-2
  • Audio Bitrate: 128kbps or above
  • Audio Codec: Dolby AC-3 or MPEG Layer II
• MPEG-4
  • **Video Codec:**264
  • Audio Bitrate: 128kbps or above

Since many people nowadays produce videos in MP4 due to its wide range of supported devices and players and the fact that the container is used by majority of users worldwide, MPEG-4 with audio format could be mostly seen on YouTube.

Part 4: Audio Format in Filmora

Being one of the most versatile post-production tools preferred by many professional editors worldwide, Filmora comes with a variety of audio formats from all the three categories discussed above. Furthermore, Filmora also displays relevant information about each of the file types it offers.

The following table shows a list of formats and the details that Filmora supports:

Video Format	Corresponding Audio Encoder	Audio Type
MP4	Lossy Compressed
WMV	WMA8, WMA9	Uncompressed
AVI	MP3, PCM	Lossy Compressed, Uncompressed
MOV	Lossy Compressed
F4V	Lossy Compressed
MKV	MP3	Lossy Compressed
TS	MPEG-2 Audio	Lossy Compressed
3GP	Lossy Compressed
MPEG-2	MPEG-2 Audio	Lossy Compressed
WEBM	Vorbis	Lossy Compressed

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango

Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions

The quality of sound that you hear depends on various factors, and an appropriate audio format is one of them. While each type of acoustic file has its own significance, choosing the best audio format as per the target player, expected audience, and/or supporting videos or images (if any) is something that needs much consideration to offer a flawless listening experience.

With that said, here you will learn about some of the most common sound file types, which among them could be the best audio format according to your requirements, and a couple of important points that you must keep in might while picking an extension for your media preparations.

• Part 1: 10 Most Common Audio Formats
• Part 2: How to Choose Best Audio Format?
• Part 3: Which Audio File Formats Does YouTube Support?
• Part 4: Audio Format in Filmora

Using Filmora to Record & Edit & Save Audio Easily

Wondershare Filmora is a simple yet robust video editing software that allows you to save a video to mp3 easily. Besides, if you want to remove background noise from audio, or change the audio volume or remove unwanted audio parts from the video, you should definitely try Filmora.

---

Part 1: 10 Most Common Audio Formats

Before listing the most common audio file formats, it is important to understand the categories of the sound files. Every audio format that exists belongs to one (or more) category depending on the way it is being created and the characteristics it has.

In a nutshell, there are three major categories, including:

• Uncompressed Audio Format
• Lossless Compressed Audio Format
• Lossy Compressed Audio Format

Below is a brief introduction of each of the classes listed above along with the audio file types that belong to them:

1. Uncompressed Audio Format

Uncompressed audio is the original sound that has been recorded directly from the source in the analog form, and then converted to a digital signal without any modifications or compressions. Because an uncompressed sound is prepared with no retouching or manipulations, it gives an as-is listening experience. Since no compression is done on such a file either, it occupies a remarkably huge amount of space on your storage media.

Some sound files that fall under this category include:

1) Pulse-Code Modulation (PCM)

A PCM file is the digital version of an analog waveform that is created by recording the audio samples, technically known as pulses. The PCM format is mostly used when creating optical media discs, typically the CDs and DVDs.

2) Waveform Audio File Format (WAV)

Generally used on the Windows platform, this audio format is not a file itself but a container that may contain both compressed or uncompressed files. However, in most cases, it is the latter that a WAV file has, and PCM format is one of them.

You may also interest: YouTube to WAV >>

3) Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF)

AIFF is almost identical to WAV format in its characteristics with the only difference that, unlike the latter, it was developed by Apple somewhere in 1988, and works as a container for both compressed and uncompressed audio files. While the compressed version of the format is called AIFF-C, the term Apple Loop is used when the scenario is otherwise. As it is with WAV, even AIFF files mostly contain uncompressed audio, that usually is PCM.

You may also like: Best AIFF to MP3 Converters >>

4) Data Stream Digital (DSD)

Used by Sony and Phillips, DSD is also not a format itself but a container that can store PCM files to provide decent sound quality. However, due to distortions in the composed audio, DSD files are not much in trend.

2. Lossless Compressed Audio Format

Lossless Compressed audio format is a type of file that is compressed using some advanced methods without compromising with the quality of the sound. This means that when played, you experience the same acoustic excellence as that of the source, i.e. uncompressed audio. However, even though the lossless compressed files are comparatively small in size, they still occupy decent amount of space on the hard drive or any other storage media in use.

Some formats that fall under the lossless compressed category include:

1) Free Lossless Audio Code (FLAC)

At around half the size of the source sound file, FLAC offers the original audio quality without removing any acoustic information during compression. Being an opensource and royalty-free audio format, FLAC is even easier to get, and in most cases is used as an alternative to MP3.

Check some of the best FLAC editor programs >>

2) Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC)

Introduced by Apple Inc. and initially released as a proprietary product, ALAC was made royalty-free and opensource in 2011. Even though ALAC files are larger in size when compared to FLAC, the former format is used in iTunes and iOS as the latter isn’t supported by these platforms.

3. Lossy Compressed Audio Format

These are the highly compressed files that occupy significantly less amount of space on your storage media. However, during the compression process, some acoustic information is lost in order to reduce the file size. Nevertheless, if compressed correctly, the deterioration in the quality is almost negligible, and cannot be experienced unless the listener is quite experienced and the source recording is played next to the compressed audio simultaneously.

Some audio formats that fall under the lossy compressed category include:

1) MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 (MP3)

This is one of the most common file types and the best audio format for almost all media types that have sound. An MP3 file is free from the noises of the least significant in the composed audio. In addition, all the acoustic information with the frequency that normal human beings fail to catch (below 20Hz and above 20000Hz) is safely erased during compilation and compression. Furthermore, what makes MP3 the best audio file format is its ability to accommodate with almost all the devices of nearly any platform such as Android, Windows, iOS, Mac, etc.

Check this MP3 editor and convert video to MP3 easily.

2) OGG

This one, again, is not in fact an audio format but is a container for audio that generally stores Vorbis files. Although OGG files are way advanced in terms of sound quality and even offer higher compression ratio when compared with MP3, they are not much in use as many platforms and devices don’t support the format till date.

3) AU

AU is a format by Sun, DEC, and NeXT. It is yet another container that can hold both lossless and lossy files. AU files are mostly used in UNIX.

What’s the difference between common audio file formats like MP3, WAV, and FLAC? Watch the video below to learn more.

---

Part 2: How to Choose Best Audio Format?

If you are a media creator, and are into the business of preparing audio and video content for your clients or directly for the audience, it is imperative to understand what could be the best audio file format to compose the audiovisual files. Here are a few tips that you must keep in mind in this context before proceeding:

• Uncompressed Audio

If the media type you are about to create is expected to be used for further editing before exporting to a different format, using an uncompressed audio format would be best as it offers a smooth and flawless post-production experience without giving much overhead to the processor.

• Lossless Compressed Audio

If your audiences own highly sophisticated audio players with Hi-Fi speaker systems, and they are also good at recognizing and understanding the differences between poor and optimal audio quality, using lossless compressed audio format would be a good choice as it gives decent sound quality in smaller file size.

• Compressed Audio

If you are preparing a media for home users and casual listeners, you can safely use an audio format that has been prepared using a higher compression ratio. In such a scenario, MP3 is the best audio format that not only offers the decent sound quality, it also occupies less amount of space on your storage media, thus enabling you to save more files at a given time.

Part 3: Which Audio File Formats Does YouTube Support?

At the time of this writing, YouTube supports two types of formats namely MPEG-2 and MPEG-4. Although both of these are video containers, they also hold audio files. Details about both these types are as follows:

• MPEG-2
  • Audio Bitrate: 128kbps or above
  • Audio Codec: Dolby AC-3 or MPEG Layer II
• MPEG-4
  • **Video Codec:**264
  • Audio Bitrate: 128kbps or above

Since many people nowadays produce videos in MP4 due to its wide range of supported devices and players and the fact that the container is used by majority of users worldwide, MPEG-4 with audio format could be mostly seen on YouTube.

Part 4: Audio Format in Filmora

Being one of the most versatile post-production tools preferred by many professional editors worldwide, Filmora comes with a variety of audio formats from all the three categories discussed above. Furthermore, Filmora also displays relevant information about each of the file types it offers.

The following table shows a list of formats and the details that Filmora supports:

Video Format	Corresponding Audio Encoder	Audio Type
MP4	Lossy Compressed
WMV	WMA8, WMA9	Uncompressed
AVI	MP3, PCM	Lossy Compressed, Uncompressed
MOV	Lossy Compressed
F4V	Lossy Compressed
MKV	MP3	Lossy Compressed
TS	MPEG-2 Audio	Lossy Compressed
3GP	Lossy Compressed
MPEG-2	MPEG-2 Audio	Lossy Compressed
WEBM	Vorbis	Lossy Compressed

Benjamin Arango

Benjamin Arango is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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