Wave File/Broadcast Wave File

[IGWright]

Does anybody know what the difference is between these two. I've been tracking on a *.CPR and the old audio files come up as BWFs, while the new ones are just WFs.


Ian

[orange]

essentially broadcast wavs are wavs with timecode data stamped into the header.

http://www.sr.se/utveckling/tu/bwf/

I think that there's an option in cubase to select what format you want to record in.

si

[Bob Olhsson]

Broadcast waves have the equivalent of a tape box legend available in the header. They are the only international standard professional audio file format and most future professional audio applications can be expected to work with them.

[IGWright]

Thanks guys. I wondering a couple o' things at this point:

1 What format should I default to?
2 Is there a way of converting one format to the other?


Thanks,


Ian

[orange]

you can convert one to the other with something like wavelab (for the PC). They are essentially the same file - the BW has extra info in the header.

what should you record in ? - stick to normal wav for the time being - as some software won't import BW (invalid header ?)

Before everybody jumps in and says BW is better...it is..and will probably become the standard - but it aint yet.

si

[dkatz42]

Originally Posted by IGWright

Thanks guys. I wondering a couple o' things at this point:

1 What format should I default to?
2 Is there a way of converting one format to the other?


Thanks,


Ian

No conversion is necessary in the BWF->WAV direction (other than perhaps changing the file name extension) since WAV files by definition can have unrecognized chunks of data in them that can be skipped (so anything should be able to read BWFs that thinks they're WAVs.)

There's not a lot of usefulness in going the other way unless you wanted to stick fake timecode in the front of the file, which is trivial to do (seems like somebody should have a utility to do it.)

[echoclerk]

So reviving this thread as I've just been thinking about whether I shoudl be tracking in Cubase as Broadcast Wave or just Wave?

Are there problems with using Broadcast Wave still? (the original post was a few years old).

When Exporting I assume it doesn' really matter if you use either though, right?

but would it be a kind of backup to say exporting as OMF (for compatibility?).

If you move a file during mixing etc. will the Broadcast MetaData timecode etc be auto updated?

I just don't know If i should set Broadcast to Default.

[echoclerk]

So no one knows what one should use by default for tracking?

[andsonic]

If you have an option for BWF, select that. If you don't, then select .wav.
I use Samplitude, which records as .wav, but it's really BWF.
Also, since this thread first got published, some many DAWs now support recording in wav format. DP has added wav. Logic will allow you to record in wav.
Many times I will record in Logic (or I will get a PT session). Samplitude reads the time chunks and drops the files at the correct postion in the timeline.

[rcb4t2]

+1 for BWF: Having just got a session from another engineer out of Cubase with regions that don't start at zero and no timecode --- use the one that stamps the timecode.

[DeadPoet]

BWF makes exchanging files with other systems and platforms a breeze!


I've noticed though in Cubase that once a file is recorded as regular wav and you change to BWF the original files don't get the timestamp. Or am I missing something?



Herwig