The following tables compare general and technical information for a variety of audio coding formats.

For listening tests comparing the perceived audio quality of audio formats and codecs, see the article Codec listening test.

General information

Audio compression formatCreatorFirst public release dateLatest stable versionCostProprietary implementations (codecs)Open-source implementations (codecs)Uses (other than consumer audio)Music reproduction (consumer audio)Telephony appLossless audio compressionPatentedDRM
EncoderPlayer
AACISO/IEC MPEG Audio Committee1997ISO/IEC 14496-3Non-freeNero Digital Audio, Apple CoreAudio (via QuickTime, iTunes or afconvert)FAAC (encoding only), FAAD2 (decoding only), FFmpeg, Audiocogs (decoding only), Fraunhofer FDK AACDigital TV service, Digital Radio, Internet streamingYesAAC-LD/AAC-ELDMPEG-4 SLSYesFairPlay (.m4p extension)
AC-3Dolby Laboratories1992ATSC A52:2018FreeDVD players, digital television, CamcorderFFmpeg, liba52 (decoding only), Aften (encoding only), libavc (2.0 channels max)Theatrical movie presentation, Digital TV service & home-video (personal recorders, DVD, etc.)NoNoNoNo?
AC-4Dolby Laboratories2014ATSC A342:2022-03Non-freeDigital television, Harmonic Inc., DS Broadcast, Ateme, Synamedia, Dolby Media Encoder & Dolby Encoding EngineExoPlayer (decoding only for supported mobile devices), librempeg (decoding only)Digital TV serviceNoNoNoYes?
ALACApple Inc.2004-04-28QuickTime 7.6FreeQuickTime, iTunes, RealPlayerMacOSforge, FFmpeg, Audiocogs (decoding only)Music archivalYesNoYesFreePossible, but never implemented
ALSISO/IEC MPEG Audio Committee2005ISO/IEC 14496-3FreeMPEG-4 ALSFFmpeg (decoding only)-YesNoYesYes?
AMBEDigital Voice Systems??Non-free?mbelibLow bandwidth HF/VHF digital radio, VoIP trunkingNoNoNoYes?
AMR3GPP1999-06-22ETSI TS 126 071 V9.0.0 (2009)Non-freeQuickTime, RealPlayerFFmpeg (decoding only), FFmpeg with OpenCORE libraries, Androidvoice recordingNoYesNoYesNo
AMR-WB (G.722.2)3GPP2001-04-10ETSI TS 126 190 V8.0.0 (2009-01)Non-freeQuickTime, RealPlayerFFmpeg (decoding only), FFmpeg with VisualOn libraries, Android (decoding only), opencore-amr for both encoding and decodingvoice recordingNoYesNoYesNo
AMR-WB+3GPP2004-06-14ETSI TS 126 290 V8.0.0 (2009-01)Non-free??voice recordingYesYesNoYesNo
aptXQualcomm19892007Non-freeBroadcast audio codecs: 2wcom systems, Systembase, APT, AVT, Harris Corporation, MAYAH, Prodys, Qbit; wireless headphones: iSkin, JayBird Gear, DTS discs for moviesFFmpegLow latency Studio/transmitter link, Bluetooth A2DP stereo, digital wireless microphoneYesNoNoYesNo
ATRACSony Corp.1991ATRAC3plusNon-freeMiniDisc, Walkman, VAIO, Clie, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, SDDS, SonicStage, SoundForge, RealPlayer, ConnectPlayerFFmpeg (decoding only, ATRAC Advanced Lossless is only partially supported)voice recording, theatrical movie presentationYesNoYesYesYes
BroadVoice (BV16, BV32)Broadcom2009-08-191.2Free??Speech, VoIP, Low latency, voice recordingNoYesNoFreeNo
CELTXiph.Org Foundation, Jean-Marc Valin2007-12-080.11.1 (merged into Opus)Free?libceltSpeech, VoIP, Low latency, Studio/transmitter link, wireless audioYesYesNoNoNo
Codec2David Rowe2010-08-251.2.0 (2023-07-14)Free?c2enc, c2dec, FFmpeg with libcodec2 libraryLow bandwidth HF/VHF digital radio, VoIP trunkingNoYesNoNoNo
Eclipsa AudioSamsung Electronics and Google (under AOMedia)January 2025 (Commercial brand); October 2023 (IAMF standard)2.0Free?Eclipsa AudioIAMF, libspatialaudio 0.4 for VideoLANInternet Streaming, Digital Television Services, Home-video etc.YesNoYesNo?
EncodecFacebook2022-10-25v0.1.1 (2022-10-26)Free?Speech, VoIP, voice recordingYesYesNo?No
Enhanced AC-3 (E-AC-3)Dolby Laboratories2004ATSC A52:2018FreeDigital televisionFFmpegTheatrical movie presentation, digital TV service & home-video (personal recorders, DVD, etc.)NoNoNoYesYes
EVSFraunhofer, JVC Kenwood, NTT, NTT Docomo, Panasonic, Ericsson2014?Non-free????YesYesNoYesNo
FLACXiph.Org Foundation, Josh Coalson2001-07-201.5.0 (2025-02-11)FreeFLAC, Flake (encoding only), FFmpeg, FLACCL (encoding only), Audiocogs (decoding only)Music archivalYesNoYesNoNo
G.711ITU-T1972 (ITU-T standard from 1988)G.711 Appendix II (02/00)FreeVarious proprietary VoIP softwareFFmpeg, Ekiga, Asterisk (PBX) and almost any VoIP softwarevoice recordingNoYesNoNoNo
G.722ITU-T1988-11FreeVarious proprietary VoIP softwareAsterisk (PBX), QuteCom, FFmpegvoice recordingNoYesNoNoNo
G.722.1ITU-T1999-09G.722.1 (05/05)FreeVarious proprietary VoIP softwareFreeSWITCH, PJSIP, etcvoice recordingNoYesNoYesNo
G.722.2 (AMR-WB)ITU-T (adopted directly from 3GPP)2002-01G.722.2 (07/03)Non-freeQuickTime, RealPlayerFFmpeg (decoding only), FFmpeg with VisualOn libraries, Android (decoding only)voice recording, audioNoNoNoYesNo
G.723.1ITU-T1996-03G.723.1 (05/06)Non-freeVarious proprietary VoIP softwareFFmpegvoice recordingNoYesNoYesNo
G.726ITU-T1990-12FreeVarious proprietary VoIP softwareFFmpeg, Ekiga and other VoIP softwarevoice recordingNoYesNoNoNo
G.728ITU-T1992-09Non-freeVarious proprietary VoIP softwareFFmpeg (decoding only)voice recordingNoYesNoYesNo
G.729ITU-T1996-03G.729 (06/12)FreeFreeVarious proprietary VoIP softwareFFmpeg (decoding only)voice recordingNoYesNoExpiredNo
G.729.1ITU-T2006-05G.729.1 Am.8 (03/13)FreeFreeVarious proprietary VoIP softwarevoice recording, DECT telephonyNoYesNoNoNo
GSM-FRETSI Special Mobile Group1990-1994 (ETS 300 580-2)ETSI EN 300 961 V8.1.1 (2000–11)FreeFFmpeg (decoding only), FFmpeg with external library libgsm, Ekiga and other VoIP softwarevoice recordingNoYesNo?No
HE-AACISO/IEC MPEG Audio Committee2003ISO/IEC 14496-3???Fraunhofer FDK AAC?YesNoNo??
iLBCGlobal IP Solutions2002RFC 3951FreeCisco IP Communicator, old versions of SkypeEkiga, Asterisk (PBX) and other VoIP software, FFmpeg with libilbc libraryvoice recordingNoYesNoFreeNo
iSACGlobal IP Solutions?FreeYahoo! MessengerWebRTCvoice recordingNoYesNoYes?
Michael Bevin2002-09-070.4b (2004-02-08)FreeWinamp with old plugin version, foobar2000 with old plugin version?Music archivalYesNoYesNoNo
LC3Bluetooth SIG2022-04-111.03 (2023-05-09)Free?, Android 13, BlueZSpeechYesYesNo?No
LDACSony Corp.2015-04?Non-freeSony Walkman, Sony Products, mobile phones, Android 8 (encoding only), pipewire (encoding and decoding)Bluetooth audioYesNoNoYesNo
LHDCSavitech20175.0.6 (2022-08-03)Non-freeMobile phones, Bluetooth headphones, Home receiversAndroid 10Bluetooth audioYesNoYesYesNo
L2HCHuawei20203.0 (2023-09-19)Non-freeHuawei products, EMUI, HarmonyOSAndroid 10, OpenHarmony, Oniro OSBluetooth audio NearLink audioYesYesYesYesYes
LyraGoogle2021-04-061.32 / V3 (2022-12-21)FreeGoogle DuoLyraSpeech, VoIP, voice recordingYesYesNo?No
Monkey's AudioMatthew T. Ashland200013.18 (2026-07-01)FreeMonkey's Audio, FFmpeg (decoding only)Music ArchivalYesNoYesNoNo
MP1 (MPEG-1/2 Audio Layer I)ISO/IEC MPEG Audio Committee1991-12-06ISO/IEC 11172-3, ISO/IEC 13818-3Free?FFmpeg (decoding only)-YesNoNoExpiredNo
MP2 (MPEG-1/2 Audio Layer II)ISO/IEC MPEG Audio Committee1993ISO/IEC 11172-3, ISO/IEC 13818-3Freevarious DVD software, video software, audio softwareTooLAME (encoding only), TwoLAME (encoding only), FFmpegDAB, DVB, DVD, VCD, SVCDYesNoNoFreeNo
MP3 (MPEG-1/2/2.5 Audio Layer III)ISO/IEC MPEG Audio Committee1993ISO/IEC 11172-3, ISO/IEC 13818-3FreeFhG, l3enc, MP3enc, (old implementations: Xing TOMPG, SCMPX)LAME (encoding only), FFmpeg (decoding only), libmad (decoding only), Audiocogs (decoding only), (old implementations: BladeEnc)-YesNoNoExpiredYes (optional, rarely used)
MPEG-H 3D AudioISO/IEC MPEG Audio Committee2013-01ISO/IEC 23008-3Non-freeFhG, MainConcept (encoding only),Digital TV service, voice recordingYesNoNoYesNo
MusepackFrank Klemm/MDT19971.30 (2009-04-02)FreeMusepack, FFmpeg (decoding only)-YesNoNoNoNo
Nellymoser AsaoNellymoser Inc.2002?Non-freeAdobe Flash, Flash PlayerFFmpegvoice recordingNoNoNoYes?
OptimFROGFlorin Ghido2001-12-165.100 (2016-09-02)FreeOptimFROG and (decoding only).(decoding only)Music archivalYesNoYesNoNo
OpusXiph.Org Foundation, Internet Engineering Task Force2012-09-11RFC 6716 (libopus1.6.1, 2026-01-14)Freelibopus, FFmpegSpeech, VoIP, Low latency, Studio/transmitter link, wireless audio, voice recording, WebRTCYesYesNoYesNo
OSQSteinberg2002?FreeWaveLabFFmpeg (decoding only)Music archivalYesNoYesNoNo
Dominic Szablewski2023-02-021.0 (2023-04-24)Freeqoa, FFmpeg (decoding only)-YesYesNoNoNo
Sebastian Lehmann2006-09-01v0.7.26 (2026-06-10)FreeSacMusic archivalYesNoYesNoNo
SatinMicrosoft2020?Non-freeMicrosoft Teams, Skype?Speech, VoIP, voice recordingYesYesNoYesNo
SBCBluetooth SIG2003A2DP 1.3 (2012-07-24)Free for BluetoothA2DPBlueZ, FFmpegBluetooth audioYesNoNoYesNo
ShortenTony Robinson1993-03-303.6.1 (2007-03-19, final release)FreeShortenFFmpeg (decoding only)-YesNoYesNo (with commercial use restriction)No
SILKSkype Limited2009-01-07Merged into OpusFreeSkypeSILK Speech Codecvoice recordingNoYesNoYes?
Siren 7PictureTel Corp. (now Polycom Inc.)1999?Microsoft Office CommunicatorFreeSWITCH (libg722_1, aMSN (libsiren - part of libmsn), FFmpeg (decoding only)voice recordingNoYesNoYes?
Hubert Siuzdak2024-02-201.2.1 (2024-09-11)FreeSpeech, VoIP, voice recordingYesYesNoNoNo
SpeexXiph.Org Foundation, Jean-Marc Valin2003-03-241.2.1 (obsoleted by Opus)FreeAdobe Flash Player 10Speex, FFmpeg with libspeex libraryvoice recordingNoYesNoNoNo
SVOPCSkype Limited2007-03-282008-09-23 (Skype 3.8) (replaced by SILK)Non-freeSkypevoice recordingNoYesNoYesNo
Thomas Becker2007-01-262.3.3 (2022-06-30)FreeWinamp with TAK plugin, foobar2000 with plugin, XMPlayFFmpeg (decoding only)Music archivalYesNoYesNoNo
Fabrice Bellard2024-04-082024-04-08FreeNoTSAC, Linux: , Windows (experimental): . Does encoding and decoding in one app, no separate encoder and decoderSpeech, VoIP, voice recordingYesYesNoNoNo
True Audio (TTA)TAU Software19992.3 (2015-02-24)FreeTTA, FFmpeg-YesNoYesNoNo
TwinVQNippon Telegraph and Telephone1996 (?)Non-freeWinamp with VQF plugin, NTT TwinVQ player/encoder, Yamaha SoundVQ player, Nero Media PlayerFFmpeg (decoding only)speechYesNoNoYes?
USACFraunhofer IIS20124.4.0 (2023-06-21)Non-free?EZ CD Audio Converter, FFmpeg with Mainconcept plugin (encoder only), Sonnox, Apple (decoder only), QuickTime (Mac version & decoder only).Exhale (encoder only), FFmpeg (decoding only with Fraunhofer FDK AAC library enabled for manually command, native decoding only), Android (decoder only)-YesNoNoNoNo
Vorbis (Ogg)Xiph.Org Foundation2000-05-111.3.7 (2020-07-04)Freelibvorbis, aoTuV, FFmpeg-YesNoNoNoNo
WAVIBM, Microsoft1991-082007-03-07FreeAllMusic archivalYesNoYesNoNo
WavPackConifer Software19985.9.0 (2026-01-16)FreeWavPack, FFmpegMusic archivalYesNoYesNoNo
Windows Media AudioMicrosoft199911.0Free for consumer licensees of the Windows operating system [citation needed]Free for licensees of the Windows operating systemWindows Media Player, Windows Media EncoderFFmpeg (decoding only for Pro, Lossless and Voice)internet streamingYesNoYesYesOptional
Audio compression formatCreatorFirst public release dateLatest stable versionEncoderPlayerProprietary implementations (codecs)Open-source implementations (codecs)Uses (other than consumer audio)Music reproduction (consumer audio)Telephony appLossless audio compressionPatentedDRM
cost

Notes

  1. The 'Music' category is merely a guideline on commercialized uses of a particular format, not a technical assessment of its capabilities. For example, MP3 and AAC dominate the personal audio market in terms of market share, though many other formats are comparably well suited to fill this role from a purely technical standpoint.
  2. First public release date is first of either specification publishing or source releasing, or in the case of closed-specification, closed-source codecs, is the date of first binary releasing. Many developing codecs have pre-releases consisting of pre-1.0 versions and perhaps 1.0 release candidates (RCs), although 1.0 may not necessarily be the release version.
  3. Latest stable version is that of specification or reference tools.
  4. If there happens to be OSI licensed software available for a particular format, this does not necessarily permit one to use said codec free of charge. Likewise, if there is only proprietary licensed software available for a particular format, one might be able to use the codec free of charge.

Operating system support

CodecWindowsmacOSLinuxBSDUnixPalm OSSymbian OSRockboxiOSAndroidChromiumHarmonyOSOpenHarmonyOniro OS
AACYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
AC-3YesYesYesYesYes?YesYesYesYes?YesYesYes
ALACYesYesYesYesYesNoNoYesYesYesNoYesNoNo
ALS??????????????
aptXYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoYesNoNo??
CELTYesYesYesYesYesYesNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNo
E-AC3YesYesYesYesYes?YesNoYesYes?YesYesYes
EclipsaYesYesYesYesYes???YesYesYesYesYes?
FLACYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
LC3YesNoYesYesYesNoNoNoNoYesNoYesYesYes
L2HCYesNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNoYesNoYesYesYes
Monkey's AudioYesYesYesYesYesNoNoYesNoNoNoNoNoNo
MP3YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
MusepackYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNo
OpusYesYesYesYesYesNoNoYesYesYesYesYesYesYes
RealAudioYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNo
SpeexYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoNo
True Audio (TTA)YesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoYesYesYesYesYes
USACYesYesYesNoNoNoNoNoYesYesNo???
VorbisYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoYesYesYesYesYes
WavPackYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoNoNoYesYesYes
WMAYesYesYesYesYesYesYesYesNoYesNoYes??

Multimedia frameworks support

Audio compression formatACMDirectShowQuickTimeGStreamerFFmpegMedia Foundation
8SVXYes (ffdshow)Yes ([വൈ[ffdshow]])Yes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes (ffdshow)
AACYesYes (ffdshow, Monogram)YesYes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes
AC3YesYes (ffdshow)Yes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes
AC4NoNoNoYes ()NoNo
ALS??????
AMRNoNoYesYes (GStreamer Ugly Plug-ins)YesYes
ALACYesYes (ffdshow)YesYes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes
aptX????Yes?
ATRAC3Yes (ffdshow)Yes (ffdshow)Yes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes (ffdshow)
ATRAC3plusNoNoNoNoYesYes (ffdshow)
CELT??????
Cook CodecYes (ffdshow)Yes (ffdshow)Yes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes (ffdshow)
DCA aka DTSYes (ffdshow)Yes (ffdshow)Yes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes (ffdshow)
DTS-HDYes (ffdshow)Yes (ffdshow)Yes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes (ffdshow)
E-AC-3YesYes (ffdshow)Yes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes
Eclipsa AudioYesYes (ffdshow)Yes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes
FLACyesYes (ffdshow)Yes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer Base Plug-ins, GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes
L2HC??????
HE-AAC??????
Monkey's AudioYes (ffdshow)Yes (ffdshow)Yes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes (ffdshow)
WavPackYes (ffdshow)Yes (ffdshow)Yes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes (ffdshow)
ShortenYes (ffdshow)Yes (ffdshow)Yes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes (ffdshow)
Sonic AudioYes (ffdshow)Yes (ffdshow)Yes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes (ffdshow)
MP3YesYesYesYes (GStreamer Ugly, GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes
RealAudioYes (ffdshow)Yes (ffdshow)Yes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in, GStreamer DLL loader plugin + Binary Codec Packages)YesYes (ffdshow)
SpeexYes (ffdshow)Yes (ffdshow)Yes (Perian)Yes (GStramer Good Plug-ins, GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes (ffdshow)
VorbisYes (ffdshow)Yes (ffdshow)Yes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer Base Plug-ins, GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes (ffdshow)
La???NoNoNoNoNoYes (ffdshow)
LPACNoNoNoNoNoYes (ffdshow)
Windows Media Audio v1YesYesYes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes
Windows Media Audio v2YesYesYes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes
Windows Media Audio ProYesYesYes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes
Windows Media Audio LosslessYesYesYes (flip4mac)Yes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes
Windows Media Audio VoiceYesYesNoNoYesYes
MusepackYes (ffdshow)Yes (ffdshow, Monogram)Yes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes (ffdshow)
Meridian Lossless PackingYes (ffdshow)Yes (ffdshow)Yes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes (ffdshow)
Nellymoser Asao Codec in FlashYes (ffdshow)Yes (ffdshow)Yes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes (ffdshow)
OptimFROGNoNoNoNoNoYes (ffdshow)
TruespeechYesYesYes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes (ffdshow)
True Audio (TTA)Yes (ffdshow)Yes (ffdshow)Yes (Perian)Yes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes (ffdshow)
QCELPYes (ffdshow)Yes (ffdshow)YesYes (GStreamer FFmpeg plug-in)YesYes (ffdshow)
Audio compression formatACMDirectShowQuickTimeGStreamerFFmpegMedia Foundation

Technical details

Lossy formats
Audio compression formatAlgorithmSample rateBit rateLatencyCBRVBRStereoMultichannel
AACMDCT, Hybrid Subband (AAC-HE)8–192kHz, also: 7.35kHz, but used rarely.8–529kbit/s (stereo, 44.1 kHz) 8–576kbit/s (stereo, 48 kHz)20–405msYesYesYes: Dual, Mid/Side, Intensity, ParametricYes: Up to 48 channels
AC3MDCT32, 44.1, 48kHz32–640kbit/s32–48msYesTheoretically; no good encoders exist which support VBRYesYes: Up to 6 channels
AC4MDCT48kHz24-1536 kbit/s?YesNoYesYes: Up to 24 channels
AMBE?8kHz2-9.6kbit/s?????
AMRACELP8kHz4.75, 5.15, 5.90, 6.70, 7.40, 7.95, 10.20, 12.20kbit/s25msYesYesNoNo
AMR-WB (G.722.2)ACELP16kHz6.60, 8.85, 12.65, 14.25, 15.85, 18.25, 19.85, 23.05, 23.85kbit/s25msYesYesYes: only in MPEG-4 Part 12 containerNo
AMR-WB+ACELP8, 11.025, 16, 22.05, 32, 44.1, 48kHz6–36kbit/s (mono) 7–48kbit/s (stereo)60–90msYesYesYesNo
aptXSubband ADPCM24–48kHz (stereo)192–384kbit/s (stereo)2msYes (4:1)NoYesYes: Up to 8 channels
ATRAC1MDCT-Hybrid Subband44.1kHz292kbit/s>100msYesNoYes: Dual OnlyNo
ATRAC3MDCT-Hybrid Subband44.1kHz66, 105, 132, 146, 176, 264, 352kbit/s>100msYesNoYes: Dual (LP2), Mid/Side (LP4)No
ATRAC3plusMDCT-Hybrid Subband44.1, 48kHz32–768kbit/s>100msYesNoYesYes: Up to 8 channels
ATRAC9MDCT-Hybrid Subband12, 24, 48kHz36-672 kbit/s>100 msYesNoYesYes: Up to 8 channels
BroadVoice (BV16, BV32)Two-Stage Noise Feedback Coding (TSNFC)8, 16kHz16, 32kbit/s5msYesNoNoNo
Codec2Speech8kHz0.7, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 2.4, 3.2kbit/s20–40msYesNoNoNo
E-AC3MDCT32, 44.1, 48kHz32–6144 kbit/s5.33–48msYesNoYesYes: Up to 15 channels
Eclipsa Audio (With lossy codecs)Hybrid16 kHz to 96 kHz (Opus decoded at exactly 48 kHz for sync)Adaptive and Varies based on CodecVariesYesYesYesObject based, Uncapped virtual objects
E-aptXSubband ADPCM15–48kHz60, 384, 767, 1024kbit/s, 1.28Mbit/s?Yes (4:1)NoYesYes: Up to 8 channels
EncodecNeural networks24kHz (Mono) 48kHz (Stereo)1.5 (Mono only), 3, 6, 12, 24kbit/s?YesNoYesNo
EVSSpeech8, 16, 32, 48kHz5.9, 7.2, 8, 9.6, 13.2, 16.4, 24.4, 32, 48, 64, 96, 128kbit/s + AMR-WB bitrate modes20 msYesOnly 5.9 kbit/s with DTX onYesNo
GSM-HRVSELP8kHz5.6kbit/s25msYesNoNoNo
GSM-FRRPE-LTP8kHz13kbit/s20–30msYesNoNoNo
GSM-EFRACELP8kHz12.2kbit/s20–30msYesNoNoNo
HE-AAC?22 ~ 96kHz (also 16 kHz, but used somewhat rarely)16 ~ 80 kbit/s (other bitrates, but used somewhat rarely: 3 ~ 264 kbit/s)~130msYesYesYes: Dual, Mid/Side, Intensity, ParametricYes: Up to 48 channels
HVXCSpeech8kHz2, 4kbit/s36msYesYesNoNo
iLBCBlock Independent LPC8kHz13.33, 15.20kbit/s25, 40msYesNoNoNo
iSACTransform coding16, 32kHz10–52kbit/s33, 63msYesYesNoNo
LC3Speech8, 16, 24, 32, 48kHz16-320 kbit/s7.5-10 msYesNoYesNo
LDACSubband ADPCM44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192kHz303, 606, 909kbit/s (44.1/88.2/176.4kHz) 330, 660, 990kbit/s (48/96/192kHz)?YesNoYesNo
LHDCSubband ADPCM44.1, 48, 96kHz400, 560, 900kbit/s?YesNoYesNo
L2HCSubband ADPCM44.1, 48, 96, 192kHz400, 560, 960, 1920kbit/s?YesNoYes?
LyraSpeech8, 16, 32, 48kHz3.2, 6, 9.2kbit/s20 msYesNoNoNo
MP3 (MPEG-1, 2, 2.5 Audio Layer III)MDCT, Hybrid Subband8, 11.025, 12, 16, 22.05, 24, 32, 44.1, 48kHz8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 80, 96, 112, 128, 144, 160, 192, 224, 256, 288, 320kbit/s>100msYesYesYes: Dual, Mid/Side, IntensityNo
MPEG-1 Audio Layer II (MP2)Subband32, 44.1, 48kHz32, 48, 56, 64, 80, 96, 112, 128, 160, 192, 224, 256, 320, 384kbit/sYesYes: but decoders are not required to support itYes: Dual, IntensityNo
MPEG-2 Audio Layer II (MP2)Subband16, 22.05, 24kHz8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 80, 96, 112, 128, 144, 160kbit/sYesYes: but decoders are not required to support itYesYes: up to 5 full range audio channels and an LFE-channel with MPEG Multichannel
MusepackSubband32, 37.8, 44.1, 48kHz20–350kbit/s?NoYesYesYes: Up to 8 channels
OpusMDCT, LPC, LTP8–48kHz6–510kbit/s5–66.5msYesYesYesYes: Up to 255 channels
RealAudioMDCTVaries (see article)Varies (see article)VariesYesYesYesYes: Up to 6 channels
SatinSpeech8, 16, 32, 48kHz6-36 kbit/s?YesNoYesNo
SILKLPC, LTP8, 12, 16, 24kHz6–40kbit/s25msYes???
Siren 7Derived from PT716plus, MLT16kHz16, 24, 32kbit/s40msYesNoNoNo
Siren 14MLT32kHz24, 32, 48kbit/s (mono) 48, 64, 96kbit/s (stereo)40msYesNoYesNo
Siren 22MLT48kHz32, 48, 64kbit/s (mono) 64, 96, 128kbit/s (stereo)40msYesNoYesNo
Neural networks24, 32, 44.1kHz0.98 (24 kHz), 1.9 (32 kHz), 2.6 (44.1 kHz)kbit/s?YesNoNoNo
SpeexCELP8, 16, 32, (48)kHz2.15–24.6kbit/s (NB) 4–44.2kbit/s (WB)30ms (NB) 34ms (WB)YesYesYes: IntensityYes
Neural networks, modified version of Descript Audio Codec, extended for stereo with a transformer model to shrink even more while keeping the quality high.44.1kHz (Mono and Stereo). Other sample rates: Uncertain.~0.45-5.5 kbps (mono) ~0.6-7.5 kbps (stereo)?YesNoYesNo
USAC?7.35, 8, 11.025, 12, 16, 19.2, 22.05, 24, 32, 38.4, 44.1, 48, 57.6, 64, 88.2, 96kHz6-128 kbit/s (mono) 12-320kbit/s (stereo)?YesYesYesNo
VMR-WBACELP16kHz8.55, 4.0, 0.8, 13.3, 6.2, 2.7, 1.0kbit/s33.75msYesYes??
Vorbis (Ogg)MDCT8–192kHz45-500 kbit/s (32-500kbit/s for aoTuV tunings)>100msYes/ABRYesYes: Dual, Lossless, Phase, Point (Intensity)Yes: Up to 255 channels
WavPack LossyPrediction, Quantization1Hz to 16.777216MHz196kbit/s and up in lossy mode (for CD audio)3523.8 msYesYesYesYes: Up to 256 channels
Windows Media Audio StandardMDCT8, 11.025, 16, 22.05, 32, 44.1, 48kHz8–768kbit/s>100msYesYesYesUnofficial, requires modification
Windows Media Audio ProMDCT8, 11.025, 16, 22.05, 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96kHz (8-22.05kHz not supported by all encoders)4–768kbit/s>100msYesYesYesYes: At least 8 channels, expandable
Windows Media Audio VoiceACELP?8, 11.025, 16, 22.05kHz officially (can be hacked to support higher sample rates)4-20kbit/s officially (can be hacked to support higher bitrates)?YesNoUnofficial, requires modificationUnofficial, requires modification
Lossless formats
Audio compression formatAlgorithmSample rateBits per sampleLatencyStereoMultichannel
ALACLossless1–384kHz16, 20, 24, 32?YesYes: Up to 8 channels
ALSLossless0–4GHz8, 16, 24, 32 (int or float)?YesYes: Up to 65536 channels
ATRAC Advanced LosslessLossless44.1kHz16?YesNo
Dolby TrueHDLossless48, 96, 192kHz16, 20, 24?YesYes: 5.1, 7.1, and Dolby Atmos object-based audio
DTS-HD Master AudioLossless48, 96, 192kHz16, 24?YesYes: Up to 7.1
Eclipsa Audio (with Lossless codecs)Hybrid,LosslessVaries16, 24, 32 (float)?YesObject based, Uncapped virtual objects
FLACLossless1–1.048575MHz (>655.350kHz need not be streamable)4–324.3–92ms (46.4ms typical)YesYes: Up to 8 channels
HD-AAC??????
Lossless0–4GiHz16?YesNo
L2HCLossless44.1kHz16?YesNo
Monkey's AudioLossless1–655.350kHz[citation needed]8, 16, 24, 32 and 32-bit float1670 to 26,749 ms (varies with compression)YesYes: Up to 32 channels since version 5.50
OptimFROGLossless0–4GiHz8, 16, 24, 32 (int or float)?YesNo
OSQLossless6, 8, 11.025, 16, 22.05, 32, 44.1, 48, 64, 88.2, 96kHz8, 16, 20, 24?YesNo
RealAudio LosslessLossless8, 11.025, 16, 22.05, 32, 44.1kHz16VariesYesNo
Lossless1–48kHz1-16?YesNo
Lossless8–192kHz8, 16, 24?YesYes: Up to 6 channels
True Audio (TTA)Lossless0–4GiHz8, 16, 24approx. 1045msYesYes: Up to 16 (with ffmpeg), but no channel allocation
WavPack LosslessLossless, Hybrid1Hz to 1GiHzUp to 32 (and 32-bit float), and 1-bit DSD.?YesYes: Up to 256 channels
Windows Media Audio LosslessLossless8, 11.025, 16, 22.05, 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96kHz16, 24>100msYesYes: Up to 6 channels
ITU-T formats
Audio compression formatAlgorithmSample rateBit rateBits per sampleLatencyCBRVBRStereoMultichannel
G.711companding A-law or μ-law, PCM8kHz64kbit/s8 bit (log)125μs (typical)YesNoNoNo
G.711.0Lossless compression of G.7118kHz0.2–65.6kbit/s8 bit (log)5–40msNoYesNoNo
G.711.1MDCT, A-law, μ-law8, 16kHz64, 80, 96kbit/s16 bit11.875msYesYesNoNo
G.718CELP, MDCT, Lossy8, 16kHz8, 12, 12.65, 16, 24, 32kbit/s16 bit42.875–43.875msYesYesNoNo
G.718BCELP, MDCT, Lossy, Sinusoidal Coding32kHz36, 40, 48kbit/s16 bit49.625msYesYesNoNo
G.719MDCT, Lossy (incorporates elements of Siren Codec and Ericsson technology)48kHz32–88kbit/s in 4kbit/s steps, 88–128kbit/s in 8kbit/s steps16 bit40msYesNoYes: only in MPEG-4 Part 12 containerYes: only in MPEG-4 Part 12 container
G.721ADPCM, Lossy8kHz32kbit/s13 bitYesNoNoNo
G.722sub-band ADPCM, Lossy16kHz64kbit/s (comprises 48, 56 or 64kbit/s audio and 16, 8 or 0kbit/s auxiliary data)14 bit4msYesNoNoNo
G.722.1Modulated Lapped Transform (MDCT), Lossy (based on Siren Codec)16kHz24, 32kbit/s16 bit40msYesNoNoNo
G.722.1CModulated Lapped Transform (MDCT), Lossy (based on Siren Codec)32kHz24, 32, 48kbit/s16 bit40msYesNoNoNo
G.722.2 (AMR-WB)multi-rate wideband ACELP, Lossy16kHz6.60, 8.85, 12.65, 14.25, 15.85, 18.25, 19.85, 23.05, 23.85kbit/s14 bit25msYesYesYes: only in MPEG-4 Part 12 containerNo
G.723ADPCM, Lossy8kHz24, 40kbit/s13 bitYesNoNoNo
G.723.1MP-MLQ, ACELP, Lossy8kHz5.3, 6.3kbit/s13 bit37.5msYesNoNoNo
G.726ADPCM, Lossy8kHz16, 24, 32, 40kbit/s13 bit125μsYesNoNoNo
G.727ADPCM, Lossy8kHz16, 24, 32, 40kbit/s13 bitYesYesNoNo
G.728low-delay CELP, Lossy8kHz16kbit/s13 bit0.625msYesNoNoNo
G.729CS-ACELP, Lossy8kHz8kbit/s13 bit15msYesNoNoNo
G.729DCS-ACELP, Lossy8kHz6.4kbit/s13 bitYesNoNoNo
G.729ECS-ACELP, Lossy8kHz11.8kbit/s13 bit15msYesNoNoNo
G.729.1CELP, TDBWE, TDAC (MDCT), Lossy8, 16kHz8kbit/s, 12–32kbit/s in 2kbit/s steps16 bit48.9375msYesYesNoNo

Notes

See also

External links

  • 2011-06-07 at theWayback Machine
  • Tsabary, Eldad. "." eContact! 9.4 — Perte auditive et sujets connexes / Hearing (Loss) and Related Issues (May 2007). Montréal: CEC.
  • Rodman, Jeffrey "" (July, 2008)