5 min read
WAV vs AIFF for filmmakers: which one belongs in your project
The audio inside is the same. What differs is the paperwork wrapped around it, and in film the paperwork is the point.
WAV and AIFF both store linear PCM audio without compression. Same samples, same fidelity. Converting one to the other changes the header, not the sound. So the choice comes down to what the container carries and what your tools expect.
Metadata and timecode
Broadcast WAV adds the bext chunk, which holds start timecode, originator, description and coding history, plus iXML for track names and scene and take. That is the backbone of a location sound workflow. AIFF has metadata chunks but nothing as standardised for production sound.
Where AIFF still wins
- Long standing support across Apple tools and older Mac based libraries.
- Sound effects collections often ship AIFF with embedded loop and instrument data.
- Some music workflows and samplers prefer it.
File size is identical
At the same rate, depth and channel count, a WAV and an AIFF of the same recording are within a few kilobytes of each other. Neither saves space.
The 4 GB question
Classic WAV is limited to 4 GB by its 32 bit size fields, which a long multitrack take can hit. RF64 extends WAV past that limit and most recorders write it automatically. AIFF has a comparable limit with AIFF-C variants.
Practical rule
Use BWF WAV for anything that touches production sound, because timecode and track names have to survive. Use AIFF when a library, a client or a Mac based tool asks for it, and convert losslessly in either direction.