Editing WAV (section)

{{short description|File format standard for storing audio on PCs}}
{{distinguish|WavPack}}
{{redirect|Wav|the scientific wave|Wave|the waves of water|Wind wave|other uses}}
{{redirect|Wave Sound|the festival|Wave Sound (festival)}}

{{Infobox file format
| name = Waveform Audio File Format (WAVE/WAV)
| icon = 
| logo                   = 
| screenshot             = 
| caption                = 
| extension              = .wav .wave
| mime                   = audio/vnd.wave,<ref>{{cite IETF |rfc=2361 |title=WAVE and AVI Codec Registries |first=E. |last=Fleischman |publisher=IETF |date=June 1998 |doi=10.17487/RFC2361 |access-date=2009-12-06}}</ref> audio/wav, audio/wave, audio/x-wav<ref>{{cite news|url=https://filext.com/file-extension/WAV |title=File Extension .WAV Details |publisher=Filext.com |access-date=2015-08-10}}</ref>
| type code              = WAVE
| uniform type           = com.microsoft.waveform-audio
| magic                  = 
| owner                  = [[IBM]] and [[Microsoft]]
| released               = {{Start date and age|1991|08|df=yes}}<ref name="MPI1">{{cite web |url=https://www.aelius.com/njh/wavemetatools/doc/riffmci.pdf |title=Multimedia Programming Interface and Data Specifications 1.0 |author1=IBM |author2=Microsoft |date=August 1991 |access-date=2020-12-26}}</ref><!-- {{Start date|YYYY|mm|dd|df=yes}} -->
| latest release version = Multiple Channel Audio Data and WAVE Files
| latest release date    = {{Start date and age|2007|03|07|df=yes}} (update)<ref name="wav-specifications">{{cite web |url=https://www.mmsp.ece.mcgill.ca/Documents/AudioFormats/WAVE/WAVE.html |title=Audio File Format Specifications - WAVE or RIFF WAVE sound file |publisher=McGill University |author=P. Kabal |date=2006-06-19 |access-date=2010-03-16}}</ref><ref name="multichaud">{{cite web |url=https://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/audio/multichaud.mspx |title=Multiple Channel Audio Data and WAVE Files |publisher=Microsoft Corporation |date=2007-03-07 |access-date=2010-03-16|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100302142644/https://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/audio/multichaud.mspx|archive-date=2010-03-02}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=January 2025}}
| genre                  = [[Audio file format]], [[container format]]
| container for          = 
| contained by           = 
| extended from          = [[Resource Interchange File Format|RIFF]]
| extended to            = [[Broadcast Wave Format|BWF]], [[RF64]]
| standard               = 
| free                   = 
| url                    = 
}}

'''Waveform Audio File Format''' ('''WAVE''', or '''WAV''' due to its [[filename extension]];<ref name="MPI1" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000001.shtml |title=WAVE Audio File Format |website=[[Library of Congress]] |date=2008-09-12 |access-date=2023-12-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite IETF |draft=draft-ema-vpim-wav-00 |title=Waveform Audio File Format, MIME Sub-type Registration |first1=Laile L. |last1=Di Silvestro |first2=Greg |last2=Baribault |publisher=IETF |date=June 20, 1999 |access-date=2009-12-06}}</ref> pronounced {{IPAc-en|w|æ|v|}} or {{IPAc-en|w|eɪ|v|}} <ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/wav_file|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207062953/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/wav_file|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 7, 2018|title=Definition of WAV file in English|work=Oxford English Living Dictionary}}</ref>) is an [[audio file format]] standard for storing an audio [[bitstream]] on [[personal computer]]s. The format was developed and published for the first time in 1991 by [[IBM]] and [[Microsoft]]. It is the main format used on [[Microsoft Windows]] systems for [[uncompressed audio]]. The usual bitstream encoding is the [[linear pulse-code modulation]] (LPCM) format.

WAV is an application of the [[Resource Interchange File Format]] (RIFF) [[bitstream format]] method for storing data in ''chunks'', and thus is similar to the [[8SVX]] and the [[Audio Interchange File Format]] (AIFF) format used on [[Amiga]] and [[Macintosh]] computers, respectively.