"Format" Panel

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The "Format" panel controls the file format and the associated settings of the output file.


Click on to expand the panel.


These are the audio settings for all file formats except "Windows Media Audio - Profile".

Compressor Choose the audio compressor here. Depending on the file type, the available audio compressors will be different. The availability of the other settings depends on the audio compressor. Some of the common codecs are: PCM - The audio data is not compressed. It offers the best quality at the expense of disk space.   MPEG Layer-3 - Same compression as the MP3 file. Good compression and good quality.   Windows Media Audio - This is the Windows Media Audio codec. Good compression and good quality.   Sample rate This setting determines how many samples are taken per second to represent the original audio. For CD quality, use 44.1khz. For DVD quality (sometimes called "Better than CD quality"), use 48khz. However, 22.05khz is normally enough for casual recording. Higher sample rate means higher quality and bigger file. Channel Select "Stereo" for 2 channels, or "Mono" for 1 channel. Bits/Sample Use 16 bits for finer details. Only use 8 bits if space is an important concern. Higher resolution means better quality and bigger file. Bitrate For uncompressed audio, the bitrate is calculated given the sample rate, resolution, and number of channels (stereo or mono). For compressed audio, you may be given a list of choices. Choose higher bitrate for better quality. Choose lower bitrate to conserve space.

When "Windows Media Audio - Profile" is selected as the "Audio Type", the additional settings are different.

WMA format is a compressed format defined by Microsoft. It is supported by some portable players. With "Windows Media Audio - Profile" as the selected file type, its encoding quality is determined by the selected profile.

You must have Windows Media Format runtime installed to encode WMA audio.

Version This "Version" setting determines which version of Windows Media format to use. Always use the highest version for the best quality, unless backward compatibility is a concern. Profile The "Profile" combo box shows a list of profiles for Windows Media Audio. This list changes depending on the selected "Version". Choose the one which serves your audience the best. You can use Windows Media Profile Editor, which is a component of Windows Media Encoder package from Microsoft, to create your own profile. Save the profile to "WM Profiles" folder in the program installation directory, and the profile name will show up as a "Profile" choice.