Ultimate Podcast Audio Format

WAV and MP3 would have enough to create your podcast. You can start out recording with a larger WAV file in your audio app and at mixdown you can convert it to a smaller MP3 for uploading to your podcast host.

When you export your podcast to MP3 or convert a WAV to MP3 you can feel confident choosing 44.1 and 128kbps. The reason MP3s became the format of choice for podcasts are because they were the format of choice for free and open sharing of music.

'''What exactly is an MP3? '''

MP3 (MPEG Layer 3) is the most widely supported audio format playable by most all portable audio players, Internet connected TVs, and software based media players. This compression makes the MP3 very popular for all mobile audio-playing devices, particularly the Apple iPod.

MP3 ID3 Tags

MP3’s contain information and images that are useful for the listener of your show. This information is stored into the mp3 in a tagged format called ID3. There are two major versions. ID3v1 defines a fixed-length data block that is always placed at the end of the file. ID3v2, which has very little in common with ID3v1. When you upload MP3 files with ID3 tags, that stored info gets displayed automatically. There are many utilities that can read and write ID3 tags, including Windows Explorer to some extent.

Other audio Formats

M4A / AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) is designed to replace MP3 as the major audio format, AAC (also known as M4A) has an overall smaller file size and better audio quality. It is high quality keeps it relevant, as users who need to hear distinct sounds on audio files will need this over more common file types.

WMA is a file extension used with Windows Media Player and it is designed for Windows. WMA is both an audio format and an audio codec. WMA was intended to be a competitor for the MP3 audio formats.

WAV is a Waveform Audio File that stores waveform data. WAV files are ideal for shorter sound bites because their uncompressed form means they're large files, making them difficult to stream.

FLAC is Free Lossless Audio Codec. It is an audio file compressed into a smaller size of the original file.

ALAC, or Apple Lossless Audio Codec, sounds identical to original recorded audio, but it's compressed to a smaller size without discarding bits.

Vorbis is an open source patent-free audio compression format, developed as a replacement for proprietary digital audio encoding formats, such as MP3, VQF, and AAC. Vorbis encoding may be used at higher data rates for better fidelity.

AIFF is an audio file that's completely uncompressed and can be played on both Macs and PCs. This format is quite popular upon Apple platforms, and is commonly adopted in professional programs that handle digital audio waveforms.

DSD is even higher in quality than CD-quality and HD download formats such as FLAC and ALAC. It was designed to be a simpler, more space efficient way of storing digital music data than PCM.

Converting Video and Audio to MP3

MP3 format can compress the audio by a factor of between 10 and 14, so if, for example, a podcast with that’s originally 100 megabytes in a lossless format is converted to an MP3, the resulting file can be about 10 megabytes. A great tool for converting audio files on a PC and Mac is Video 2 MP3 Converter.

Best Audio Formats for Podcasts

Most people still use MP3, whilst others stick with lossless audio like FLAC to maintain quality. So remember is that great sound quality starts with the recording stage. Recording an uncompressed audio file with a great mic in a quiet room with proper input gain and mic technique will yield a better sounding audio file.