Sustainability of Digital Formats: Planning for Library of Congress Collections

Introduction | Sustainability Factors | Content Categories | Format Descriptions | Contact
Format Description Categories >> Browse Alphabetical List

Broadcast WAVE File Format, Version 1, with LPCM Audio

>> Back
Table of Contents
Format Description Properties Explanation of format description terms

Identification and description Explanation of format description terms

Full name Broadcast WAVE file, version 1, with LPCM encoded audio.
Description Broadcast WAVE file, version 1, with LPCM encoded audio.
Production phase Used for content in initial, middle, and final states.
Relationship to other formats
    Subtype of WAVE_BWF_1, Broadcast WAVE Audio File Format, Version 1
    Contains LPCM, Linear Pulse Code Modulated Audio (LPCM)
    Used by IMF_Package, Interoperable Master Format (IMF). IMF does not specify a version of Broadcast WAVE. Identified in Warner Brothers IMF specification as of January 2024.

Local use Explanation of format description terms

LC experience or existing holdings When reformatting analog sound recordings, the Broadcast WAVE format (either version), wrapping LPCM, is used as the archival master format for mono and stereo audio at the Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation and by the American Folklife Center.
LC preference The Broadcast WAVE format (either version), wrapping LPCM, is preferred as the archival master format for mono and stereo audio when reformatting analog sound recordings. The Library is a participant in the Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiative (FADGI) Audio-Visual Working Group that published a recommended guideline for BWF bext metadata conforming to version 1 in 2009, with an update conforming to version 2 in 2012. Additional updates supporting use of the CUE and ADTL chunks were published in 2021.

Sustainability factors Explanation of format description terms

Disclosure See WAVE_BWF_1 and LPCM.
    Documentation See WAVE_BWF_1 and LPCM.
Adoption See WAVE_BWF_1 and LPCM.
    Licensing and patents See WAVE_BWF_1 and LPCM.
Transparency See WAVE_BWF_1 and LPCM.
Self-documentation See WAVE_BWF_1 and LPCM.
External dependencies See WAVE_BWF_1 and LPCM.
Technical protection considerations  

Quality and functionality factors Explanation of format description terms

Sound
Normal rendering Supported
Fidelity (high audio resolution) See LPCM.
Multiple channels See WAVE_BWF_1.
Support for user-defined sounds, samples, and patches See WAVE_BWF_1.
Functionality beyond normal rendering Not applicable.

File type signifiers and format identifiers Explanation of format description terms

Tag Value Note
Filename extension wav
 
Internet Media Type See related format.  See WAVE.
Magic numbers See related format.  See WAVE.
Pronom PUID See notes
Pronom's fmt/704 covers Broadcast WAVE 1 PCM Encoding but this is not precisely the same as an LPCM encoding.
Wikidata Title ID See related format. 

See WAVE and LPCM


Notes Explanation of format description terms

General  
History  

Format specifications Explanation of format description terms


Useful references

URLs


Last Updated: 01/02/2024