Re: [ARSCLIST] .wav file content information

[John Spencer <js@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A bit more...waiting to catch a plane!

Pro Tools, Nuendo, and Pyramix (off the top of my head) all support saving
as BWF.  If you look at the file you have created (as per the EBU link), it
will end with the suffix ".wav".  Don't worry about ".bwf", it shouldn't be
used, and programs that don't utilize the BWF "chunk" will ignore the
information.

You will note that all of these are "multitrack" DAW platforms.

Be careful about what you think you might want to put in there, however, as
we have seen cross-platform incompatibilities regarding the availability of
the header information.  There are BWF reader apps out there (check
Sourceforge.net)

Most of the stereo editing programs (Sound Forge, Adobe Audition, etc.) that
we use DON'T save BWF information - I've always found that a bit strange.

Regarding the usage of MYSQL or other database applications, remember that
the relative size of the metadata "stack" will be MUCH smaller than the
resultant audio files.  We prefer to link the metadata record with a unique
ID in the BWF header that we also record in the metadata database.  By
"loosely coupling" the two, you can add/ make changes to the individual
metadata record without having to load the audio file itself.

I would be more concerned that the metadata that I was collecting was
structured in a manner that would allow for it to move into other database
environments without re-keying the information.

Hope this helps.

John
--
John Spencer
http://www.bridgemediasolutions.com/


> From: Angie Dickinson <angie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Reply-To: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx>
> Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2005 11:20:07 -0700
> To: ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] .wav file content information
>
> andy kolovos wrote:
>
>> It's easy to enter data into the RIFF, but how one does it varies
>> greatly between software packages.  Furthermore not all audio editors
>> support RIFF viewing and editing, nor do all audio editors support .bwf
>> files.
>
> So, what audio editors use the bwf extension?  As I understand it, none
> should.
>
> John Spencer included a very nice FAQ based link in his reply.  Check
> out the question "Is the file extension for a BWF file .bwf?"
>
> Here's another good link.
> http://www.aes.org/standards/b_reports/b_meeting-reports/aes114-sc-06-01-repor
> t.cfm
>
>> On another note, while Adobe Audition 1.0 won't support (or at least
>> won't let you save) BWF files with .bwf extensions, it seems to have no
>> trouble opening and dealing with BWF files with .wav extensions.
>
> Again, John's link should have your answer to this.
>
> Angie Dickinson
> Avocado Productions
>