 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2016) |
| Filename extension |
.aiff .aif .aifc |
|---|---|
| Internet media type |
audio/x-aiff audio/aiff |
| Type code | AIFF, AIFC |
| Uniform Type Identifier (UTI) | public.aiff-audio public.aifc-audio |
| Developed by | Apple Inc. |
| Initial release | 21 January 1988[1] |
| Latest release | |
| Type of format | audio file format, container format |
| Extended from | IFF (File format) |
Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data for personal computers and other electronic audio devices. The format was developed by Apple Inc. in 1988 based on Electronic Arts' Interchange File Format (IFF, widely used on Amiga systems) and is most commonly used on Apple Macintosh computer systems.
The audio data in most AIFF files is uncompressed pulse-code modulation (PCM). This type of AIFF file uses much more disk space than lossy formats like MP3—about 10 MB for one minute of stereo audio at a sample rate of 44.1 kHz and a bit depth of 16 bits. There is also a compressed variant of AIFF known as AIFF-C or AIFC, with various defined compression codecs.
In addition to audio data, AIFF can include loop point data and the musical note of a sample, for use by hardware samplers and musical applications.
The file extension for the standard AIFF format is .aiff or .aif. For the compressed variants it is supposed to be .aifc, but .aiff or .aif are accepted as well by audio applications supporting the format.
- ^ Apple Computer, Inc. (1989-01-04), Audio Interchange File Format, A Standard for Sampled Sound Files, Version 1.3 (PDF), retrieved 2010-03-21
- ^ P. Kabal (2005-03-15). "Audio File Format Specifications - AIFF / AIFF-C Specifications". McGill University. Retrieved 2010-03-21.