View source for Timeline of audio formats

{{Short description|none}}

An '''audio format''' is a medium for [[sound recording and reproduction]]. The term is applied to both the physical [[recording media]] and the [[recording format]]s of the [[audio frequency|audio content]]—in [[computer science]] it is often limited to the [[audio file format]], but its wider use usually refers to the physical method used to store the data. Note on the use of analog compared to digital in this list; the definition of digital used here for early formats is that which is represented using discrete values rather than fluctuating variables. A piano roll is digital as it has discrete values, that being a hole for each key, unlike a phonograph record which is analog with a fluctuating groove. 

Music is recorded and distributed using a variety of audio formats, some of which store additional information.

== Timeline of audio format developments ==
{|class="wikitable"
! Year
! Physical media formats
! Recording formats
|-
! 1805
| [[Panharmonicon]]
| Digital, automated sound reproducing machine.
|-
! 1817
| [[Apollonicon]]
| Digital, automated sound reproducing machine.
|-
! 1851
| [[Player piano|Piano Cylinder]]
| Digital, automatically played by means of revolving cylinders 
|-
! 1877
| [[Phonograph|Tinfoil Phonograph]]
|[[File:Edison and phonograph edit1.jpg|thumb|185x185px| In 1877, Thomas Edison invented the first recorder that could also play back]] Analog; sound waveform transcribed to tinfoil
|-
! 1883
| [[Piano roll]]
|[[File:Piano Roll Open.png|thumb| A piano roll used in a player piano]] Digital (vacuum-operated piano)
|-
! 1886
| Music Box disc
|[[File:Music Box discs.jpg|thumb|260x260px| 8<nowiki>''</nowiki> disc for playback on a music box]] Digital (vacuum-operated music box)
|-
! rowspan="3" |Late 1880s
| Brown Wax cylinder
|[[File:Brownwaxcylinders.jpg|thumb| A collection of brown wax cylinders, vertical-groove]] Analog; vertical groove, vertical stylus motion - could be re-recorded
|-
| Organ Cob
| Mechanical digital (vacuum-operated organ)
|-
| [[Ediphone]], [[Dictaphone]]
|[[File:Dictaphone sylinder.jpg|thumb| A Dictaphone cylinder for voice recording]] Analog, the Ediphone and subsequent wax cylinders used in Edison's other product lines continued to be sold up until 1929 when the [[Edison Manufacturing Company]] folded.
|-
! 1894
| Pathé cylinder
|[[File:Pathé Cylinder.png|thumb| The vertical-groove pathé cylinder]] Mechanical analog; vertical grooves, vertical stylus motion
|-
! 1897
| 7<nowiki>''</nowiki> [[78rpm record|78rpm Record]] (Emile Berliner Patent)
| Mechanical analog; lateral groove, horizontal stylus motion - made from hard rubber
|-
! 1898
| [[Wire recording]]
|[[File:Peirce wire recorder.jpg|thumb| A Peirce 55-B dictation wire recorder from 1945]] Analog; magnetization; DC [[Tape bias|bias]]
|-
! 1901
| 10<nowiki>''</nowiki> [[78rpm record|78rpm Record]]
|[[File:Record, sound (AM 1999.155.94-4).jpg|thumb|78rpm record - playable on modern turntables]] Mechanical analog; lateral groove, horizontal stylus motion - made from shellac
|-
! 1902
| [[Edison Records|Edison Gold Moulded Record]]
|[[File:Edisongoldmoulded.jpg|thumb|Edison's "gold moulded" black wax cylinder record]] Mechanical analog; vertical groove, horizontal stylus motion - made from hard black wax - 160rpm standard - 100 threads per inch
|-
! rowspan="2" |1903
| 12<nowiki>''</nowiki> [[78rpm record]]
| Mechanical analog; lateral grooves, horizontal stylus motion
|-
| [[Phonograph record|Phonograph]] Postcard
|[[File:Gramophone-Postcard-front.png|thumb|239x239px| A phonograph post card, playable on 78rpm turntables]] Mechanical analog; lateral groove, horizontal stylus motion
|-
! rowspan="2" |1905
|[[Phonograph record|Centre-start phonograph]] Record
|[[File:Lazaretto-centre-start-detail.jpg|thumb|A modern vinyl LP with a centre-start cut]] Mechanical analog; lateral groove, horizontal stylus motion, starts from the centre of the disc
|-
|Pathé disc
|[[File:Pathe disc.png|thumb|The vertical-groove pathé disc]] Mechanical analog; vertical groove, vertical stylus motion
|-
! 1907
| [[Indestructible Record Company|Indestructible Record]]
|[[File:Edison indestuctable record.png|thumb|Indestructible Record cylinder, vertical groove. Constructed of black celluloid on a cardboard core with metal bands at each end]] Mechanical analog; vertical groove, vertical stylus motion - made from black celluloid with cardboard and inner metal bands
|-
! 1908
| [[Phonograph cylinder|Amberol Cylinder Record]]
|[[File:Edison Amberol Record.png|thumb| The Edison "Amberol" cylinder record, vertical groove]] Mechanical analog; vertical groove, vertical stylus motion - made from hard black wax - 160rpm standard - 200 threads per inch
|-
! rowspan="2" |1912
|[[Edison Diamond Disc|Diamond Disc]]
|[[File:DiamondDiscPhonograph.jpg|thumb| The Edison vertical-groove "diamond disc"]] Mechanical analog; vertical groove, vertical stylus motion - made from [[Bakelite]] or [[Kaolinite|china clay]]
|-
| Blue Amberol cylinder record
|[[File:Edison Blue Amberol Cylinder.jpg|thumb| The Edison vertical-groove "Blue Amberol" cylinder]] Mechanical analog; vertical groove, vertical stylus motion - made from blue celluloid with [[Plaster-of-Paris|plaster of paris]] core - 160rpm standard - 200 threads per inch
|-
! 1924
| [[Gramophone record#Electrical recording|Electrical cut record]]
| Mechanical analog; electrically cut from amplified microphone signal, lateral groove, horizontal stylus motion, discs at 7", 10", 12", most at 78&nbsp;rpm<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://historyofrecordingblog.wordpress.com/24-2/|title = The Electrical Era|date = August 2017}}{{better source needed|date=August 2024}}</ref>
|-
! rowspan="2" | 1930
| Filmophone flexible record
|[[File:Fimophone flexible record.jpg|thumb|A red Filmophone record]] Mechanical analog; lateral groove, horizontal stylus movement - made from cellulose of various colours - 78rpm
|-
| [[Durium Records|Durium Record]] or [[Hit of the Week Records]]
|[[File:Durium Record.png|thumb|A brown Durium 78rpm record]] Mechanical analog; lateral groove - made from paper coated in a brown resin ([[Durium]])
|-
! rowspan="2" | 1930s
| [[Reel-to-reel]], [[Magnetic tape#Magnetic tape audio storage|magnetic tape]]
|[[File:Open reel audio tape.jpg|thumb|Studio master tape reel]] Analog; magnetization; AC "bias" dramatically increases linearity/fidelity, tape speed at 30 [[Inch per second|ips]], later 15 ips and other refined speeds: {{frac|7|1|2}} ips, {{frac|3|3|4}} ips, {{frac|1|7|8}} ips
|-
| [[Electrical transcription]]s
| Mechanical analog; electrically cut from amplified microphone signal, [[high fidelity]] sound, lateral or vertical groove, horizontal or vertical stylus motion, most discs 16" at {{frac|33|1|3}}&nbsp;rpm
|-
! 1942
| [[SoundScriber]]
|[[File:Sound Scriber Discs.png|thumb|Green, vertical groove Sound Scriber disks]] Mechanical analog; vertical groove, 4–6 inch discs, it recorded sound by pressing grooves into soft vinyl discs
|-
! 1947
| [[Dictabelt]] (Memobelt)
| Analog, medium consisting of a thin, plastic belt 3.5" wide that was placed on a cylinder and rotated like a tank tread, developed by the [[Dictaphone]] company in 1947
|-
! 1948
| Vinyl [[LP record]] (Columbia)
| Analog, with preemphasis and other equalization techniques (LP, RIAA); lateral groove, horizontal stylus motion; discs 7", 10" and 12" at {{frac|33|1|3}}&nbsp;rpm, 1st LP Columbia ML 4001 Milstein, Mendelssohn Violin Concerto
|-
! 1949
| Vinyl [[45 record]] (RCA)
|[[File:Richard Burton narrating 'The Little Prince', short 45 RPM demo excerpt.jpg|thumb|A 7<nowiki>''</nowiki> 45rpm record]] Analog 45&nbsp;rpm vinyl 7" disk, first 45 pressed "PeeWee the Piccolo" RCA 47-0147 Indianapolis
|-
! rowspan="2" | 1950
| [[Tefifon]]
|[[File:Tefifon 4078533.JPG|thumb|A stand-alone Tefifon player with cartridge loaded]] Electro–mechanical analog, vinyl belt housed in a cassette, used an embossing technique using a stylus to imprint the information, was the first thing to resemble a modern audio cassette
|-
| 16 2/3rpm [[vinyl record]]
|[[File:1959 Seeburg 16 rpm record.jpg|thumb| A label close-up on a 16rpm vinyl]] Mechanical analog; lateral groove, horizontal stylus motion - played at half the regular speed of an LP
|-
! 1951
| [[:de:Minifon|Minifon]] P55
|[[File:Minifon Kassette.jpg|thumb|Minifon cassette]] Analog, magnetic wire on reel, 30&nbsp;cm/s or about 11.8&nbsp;[[Inch per second|ips]] was quickly adopted by many governments as being the ultimate "spy" recorder of its day
|-
! rowspan="2" | 1957
| [[Stereophonic]] vinyl record
|[[File:Audio Fidelity first stereo LP.jpg|thumb| An early stereo record label]] Analog, with pre-emphasis and other equalization techniques. Combination lateral/vertical stylus motion with each channel encoded 45 degrees to the vertical
|-

| Dictet
|[[File:Dictet cassette.png|thumb|Cassette for the Dictaphone Dictet dictation machine]] Analog, {{frac|1|4}} tape, 2.48 in/s, (3" reels housed 5.875 × 3 × .4375 inch cassette), developed by the [[Dictaphone|Dictaphone Corp]]
|-
! 1958
| [[RCA tape cartridge]] (Sound Tape) (Magazine Loading Cartridge)
|[[File:RCA Sound Tape Cartridge.png|thumb| The cassette format created by RCA]] Analog, {{frac|1|4}} inch wide tape (stereo & mono), {{frac|3|3|4}} in/s & 1.875 in/s, one of the first attempts to offer reel-to-reel tape recording quality in a convenient format for the consumer market
|-
! rowspan="2" | 1959
| NAB Cart Tape ([[Fidelipac]])
|[[File:Fidelipac.png|thumb| The cartridge known as a "Fidelipac"]] Analog, {{frac|1|4}} inch wide tape in cartridge, {{frac|7|1|2}} in/s & 15 in/s, Introduced in 1959 by [[Collins Radio]], the cart tape format was designed for use by radio broadcasters to play commercials, bumpers and announcements
|-
| [[Ricoh Synchrofax|Synchrofax Sound Paper]]
| Magnetic coating on paper.
|-
! 1962
| [[Stereo-Pak|4-Track]] (Muntz Stereo-Pak)
| Analog, {{convert|1/4|in|mm|adj=mid|-wide}} tape, {{frac|3|3|4}} in/s, endless-loop cartridge
|-
! 1962
| [[Compact cassette]]
|[[File:CassetteTypes1.jpg|thumb| Variants of the Compact Cassette]] Analog, with bias. {{convert|0.15|in|mm|2}} tape, {{frac|1|7|8}} [[Inch per second|ips]]. 1970: introduced [[Dolby noise reduction]]
|-
! 1964
| [[Sanyo Micro Pack 35]]<br >Channel Master 6546<br >Westinghouse H29R1
| [[File:Micro Pack thirty-five.jpg|thumb| The micro pack recording system, intended for dictation]] {{frac|1|4}} inch wide tape housed in a transparent cartridge measuring 2.6 × 2.9 × 1.9 inches, tape was stored on two reels residing atop one another, keeping the cartridge compact
|-
! 1964
| [[Sabamobil]]
| A cartridge format for embedding and easy handling usual 3-inch-tape-reels with {{frac|1|4}} inch tape, compatible to reel-to-reel audio recording in {{frac|3|3|4}} ips.
|-
! rowspan="2" | 1965
| [[Stereo 8|8-Track]] (Stereo-8)
|[[File:8track inside.JPG|thumb|The inside of an 8-track cartridge]] Analog, {{frac|1|4}} inch wide tape, {{frac|3|3|4}} in/s, endless-loop cartridge
|-
| [[DC-International]] cassette system
|[[File:DC-International Kassette.jpg|thumb|DC-International cassette]] Analog cassette format introduced by Grundig, Telefunken and Blaupunkt: 120 × 77 × 12&nbsp;mm cassette with {{frac|1|4}} inch wide tape run at 5.08&nbsp;cm per second.
|-
! 1966
| [[PlayTape]]
| [[File:PlayTape.png|thumb|Two PlayTape cartridges]] Analog, {{frac|1|8}} inch wide tape, endless-loop cartridge, introduced by [[Frank Stanton (entrepreneur)|Frank Stanton]]
|-
! rowspan="2" | 1969
| [[Microcassette]]
|[[File:Microcassette and minicassette.jpg|thumb| A comparison of sizes for the Microcassette and Minicassette]] Analog, {{frac|1|8}} inch wide tape, used generally for note taking, mostly mono, some stereo (developed in the early '80s). 2.4&nbsp;cm/s or 1.2&nbsp;cm/s
|-
| [[Minicassette]]
| Analog, {{frac|1|8}} inch wide tape, used generally for note taking, 1.2 <sup>cm</sup>/<sub>s</sub>
|-
! 1970
| [[Quadraphonic]] [[Stereo 8|8-Track]] (Quad-8) (Q8)
|[[File:Quad 8 Track (white background).jpg|thumb|A Quadraphonic 8-Track Cartridge]] Analog, {{frac|1|4}} inch wide tape, {{frac|3|3|4}} in/s, 4-channel stereo, endless-loop cartridge
|-
! 1971
| [[Quadraphonic]] [[Vinyl Record]] (CD-4) (SQ Matrix)
|[[File:Crystal Awards004.jpg|thumb|An SQ quadraphonic record]] Analog, introduced by CBS Records for matrix and RCA / JVC for CD-4

Recorded two tracks on both stereo channels, requiring a decoder to hear all four tracks. Despite this, the format is playable on any LP turntable.
|-
! 1971
| [[HiPac]]
| Analog, a successor of the 1966 PlayTape, using tape width of the 1963 Compact Cassette, Japan only
|-
! rowspan="2" |1976
| [[Dolby Stereo]] cinema surround sound
| Analog
|-
| [[Elcaset]]
|[[File:Elcaset and Compact Cassette size comparison.jpg|thumb| Elcaset (left) compared to a typical compact cassette (right)]] Analog, name comes from "L-Cassette/Large Cassette"
|-
! 1982
| [[Compact Disc]] (CD-DA)
|[[File:Compact Disc-Korrosion-03.jpg|thumb| The underside of a compact disc]] Digital. [[Linear PCM]] (LPCM)
|-
! 1986
| [[High Definition Compatible Digital]] (HDCD)
|[[File:HDCD.png|thumb|An HDCD album]] Digital. Redbook compatible physical CD containing 20–24 bit information (uses [[linear pulse-code modulation]] (LPCM))
|-
! 1987
| [[Digital Audio Tape]] (DAT)
|[[File:Dat-cartridge.jpg|thumb|A DAT tape]] Digital.
This audio format famously caused controversy among recording companies when released due to the potential of perfect digital copies to increase piracy<ref>{{Cite journal|date=1990-01-01|title=The challenge of introducing digital audio tape technology into consumer markets|journal=Technology in Society|language=en|volume=12|issue=1|pages=91–100|doi=10.1016/0160-791X(90)90031-7|issn=0160-791X|last1=Demetris|first1=Jordan}}</ref>
|-
! 1988
| [[Audio Interchange File Format|AIFF (file format)]]
| Digital. [[Audio Interchange File Format]] (AIFF)
|-
! rowspan="4" | 1992
| [[Digital Compact Cassette]] (DCC)
|[[File:Digital Compact Cassette rear.jpg|thumb| A Digital Compact Cassette]] Digital, {{frac|1|8}} inch wide tape, {{frac|1|7|8}}&nbsp;in/s, introduced by [[Philips]] and [[Matsushita Electric|Matsushita]] in late 1992, marketed as the successor to the standard analog compact cassette
|-
| [[WAV|WAV (file format)]]
| Digital. Named after the waveform created by a sound wave.
|-
| [[Dolby Digital]] Cinema Sound
| Digital. Also known as Dolby Stereo Digital until 1994.
|-
| [[MiniDisc]] (MD)<ref name=CornellTimeline>{{cite web |author=Cornell University Library |author-link=Cornell University Library |location=USA |title=Digital Preservation and Technology Timeline |work=Digital Preservation Management |url=http://www.dpworkshop.org/dpm-eng/timeline/viewall.html |year=2003 |access-date=February 28, 2017 |archive-date=August 6, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150806054331/http://www.dpworkshop.org/dpm-eng/timeline/viewall.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|[[File:MiniDisc.jpg|thumb|A red, translucent MiniDisc cartridge]] Digital. [[Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding]] (ATRAC)
|-
! 1993
| [[Digital Theatre System|DTS]], [[SDDS]], [[MP3]] (file formats)
|[[File:Jurassic Park DTS CD-ROM Disc (1993).jpg|thumb|A photo of a theatrical DTS CD-ROM disc used for the original 1993 release of Jurassic Park]] Digital. [[Digital Theatre System]] (DTS), [[Sony Dynamic Digital Sound]] (SDDS), [[MPEG-1 Audio Layer III]] (MP3)
|-
! 1994
| [[TwinVQ]]
| Digital.
|-
! 1995
| [[RealAudio]]<ref name=CornellTimeline />
|
|-
! 1997
| [[DTS-CD]]
| Digital. [[DTS Coherent Acoustics|DTS]] audio
|-
! 1998
| [[WavPack]] (file format)
| Digital. PCM, lossless compression (2002 hybrid compression) (2016 DSD support)
|-
! rowspan="4" | 1999
| [[DVD-Audio]]
| Digital. Including [[Meridian Lossless Packing]] (MLP), [[Linear PCM]] (LPCM), [[Dolby Digital]] (AC-3) and [[Digital Theatre System]] (DTS)
|-
| [[Super Audio CD]] (SACD)
| Digital. [[Direct Stream Digital]]
|-
| [[Windows Media Audio|WMA]] (file format)
| Digital. [[Windows Media Audio]]
|-
| TTA (file format)
| Digital. The True Audio Lossless Codec.
|-
! rowspan="4" | 2000
| [[FLAC]] (file format)
| Digital. [[FLAC|Free Lossless Audio Codec]] (open, non-proprietary, patent-and-royalty-free)
|-
| [[Vorbis|Ogg Vorbis]] (file format)
| Digital. [[Vorbis|Vorbis compressed audio format]] (open, non-proprietary, patent-and-royalty-free)
|-
| [[Direct Stream Digital#DSD Interchange File Format|DSDIFF]] (file format)
| Digital. [[Direct Stream Digital|DSD]], optional [[Super_Audio_CD#Direct_Stream_Transfer|DST]] compression
|-
| [[APE tag|APE]] (file format)
| Digital. [[Monkey's Audio]]
|-
! 2001
| [[Advanced Audio Coding|AAC]] (file format)
| Digital. [[Advanced audio coding]]
|-
! 2002
| [[Direct Stream Digital#Wideband Single-bit Data|WSD]] (file format)
| Digital. [[Direct Stream Digital|DSD]]
|-
! 2004
| [[Apple Lossless Encoder|ALE]] or [[Apple Lossless Audio Codec|ALAC]] (file formats)
| Digital. [[Apple Lossless]]
|-
! 2005
| [[Direct Stream Digital#DSD Stream File|DSF]] (file format)
| Digital. [[Direct Stream Digital|DSD]]
|-
! rowspan="2" | 2008
| [[slotMusic]]
|[[File:SlotMusic.jpg|thumb| A SlotMusic microSD card: an early attempt to sell pre-recorded music on an SD card]] Digital. Usually at 320&nbsp;kbit/s MP3 on [[microSD]] or microSDHC.
|-
| [[Blu-spec CD]]
| Digital. [[Pulse-code modulation|PCM]]
|-
! 2012
| [[Opus (audio format)|Opus]] (file format)
| Digital. [[Opus (audio format)|Opus lossy audio coding format]] ([[Internet Engineering Task Force|IETF]] standard, open, non-proprietary, royalty-free)
|}

== See also ==
* [[Timeline of video formats]]
* [[Format war]]
* [[Audio data compression]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://recordinghistory.org/technology/history-of-the-technologies-for-recording-music-and-sound-an-overview/ History of Recording Technologies]
* [https://www.obsoletemedia.org/audio/ Museum Of Obsolete Media&nbsp;– Audio Formats]
{{DigitalPreservation}}
{{Audio formats}}
{{Music technology}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Audio Format}}
[[Category:Audio storage| ]]
[[Category:Audio format converters| ]]
[[Category:Technology timelines]]
[[Category:Computing timelines|audio]]
[[Category:Obsolete technologies]]