Origins of Digital Audio?

[mark4man]

Here's a general type question for you advanced audiophiles out there. Since WAV (& more specifically RIFF) as developed my Microsoft & IBM, have only been in existance since Windows 3.1; & since WAV is the file format used to burn audio CD's, by which format did early digital audio work? Music CD's & Players have been around much longer than Win 3.1, correct? And as for the current period, what are the differences (in CD audio file structure) between what we burn & what is mass marketed? Also: Can anyone point me towards a good web resource on this topic? Thanks much.

mark4man

 

[dachay2tnr]

I'm not an expert here, but you have a misconception. Wave is not the format used on audio CD's. Audio CD's are burned to Red Book standard - which is not a computer file format at all.

I think I recall reading somewhere that Microsoft used audio CD's as a basis for developing the wave format - therefore, there may be some similarities.


Here is some information on Red Book from Steinberg:

Red Book CD is not a real file format
Those of you who are computer literate might know about file formats. Please note that Red Book CD is not a real file format. All the audio on the CD is stored in one big chunk, one file if you will. This is different from hard disks, for example, where each file is stored separately. Understanding the fact that all the audio is in fact one long stream of digital data is something that will probably help you better understand the limitations of the format