AIFF

Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data on personal computers. The format was co-developed by Apple Computer based on Electronic Arts Interchange File Format (IFF) and is most commonly used on Apple Macintosh computer systems. AIFF is also used by Silicon Graphics Incorporated.

The audio data in an AIFF file are uncompressed big-endian pulse-code modulation (PCM) so the files tend to be much larger than files that use lossless compression (such as FLAC) or lossy compression formats such as Vorbis and MP3. Uncompressed AIFF files at compact-disc settings (44.1K samples/sec, 16 bits, 2 channels) thus have a bitrate of 1411.2 kbit/s. The AIFF-Compressed (AIFF-C or AIFC) format supports compression ratios as high as 6:1.

An AIFF file is divided into a number of chunks. Each chunk is identified by a chunk ID known as a OSType.

Types of chunks found in AIFF files:
* Common Chunk (required)
* Sound Data Chunk (required)
* Marker Chunk
* Instrument Chunk
* Comment Chunk
* Name Chunk
* Author Chunk
* Copyright Chunk
* Annotation Chunk
* Audio Recording Chunk
* MIDI Data Chunk
* Application Chunk

See also

* RIFF
* FourCC
* Apple Lossless