You can
also easily cut and paste sections of files??”to remove or add a few seconds of silence, for example.
Making audio files lighter
In addition to categorizing audio by file format, you can also think of audio on the Web as being in one of
two categories: uncompressed or compressed. AIFF and WAV audio files come in compressed and uncompressed
formats, but only the uncompressed versions play in Web browsers. If you can??™t compress an audio
file in some way, the only way to reduce its file size is to reduce its quality in one of three ways:
n Convert a stereo file into a mono file: A stereo file has two audio channels, whereas a mono file
has only one. Converting a stereo file to mono halves its file size.
n Lower the bit depth: From 16-bit to 8-bit, for example. A lower bit depth reduces the accuracy
and cleanness of the stored audio waveforms.
n Lower the sample rate: From 44 kHz to 22 kHz, for example. This lowers the range of audio frequencies
in the recording, chopping off the ???high end??? or treble frequencies.
You can make the preceding conversions by opening the audio file in an application such as Audacity, a
free, cross-platform audio program available at http://audacity.sourceforge.net, and changing
the parameters, as shown in Figure 27-1.
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