MP3 VS WAV

markkaz

markkaz

I Love YTtalk
I purchased a Zoom H6 Handy Recorder and am doing the settings.
It came pre-set to record as WAV44.1kHz/16bit

On one hand, I would think that MP3 is just fine for YouTube.
Especially for what I do and Vlogging.

On the other hand, we are doing HD video, why not have the best audio?

What's your opinion on when to use MP3 vs WAV?
 
I know a few things about WAV vs MP3, WAV has large file sizes and I think it is like a raw format. MP3's on the other hand are smaller in file size and are meant to have audio stripped from the original that the human ear cannot hear so it results in a much smaller file size and is meant to sound exactly the same to us. I havent had any noticeable issues using MP3s myself and the audio sounds fine to me. @Tarmack knows his audio quite well and might want to chime in here.
 
I think MP3 files are more program-friendly. I've had issues in the past trying to convert a file over into a program when it was a wav file. :whistling2:
 
WAV is uncompressed, MP3 is compressed, so you'll get better quality out of WAV but iirc YouTube will compress it to a max of 320kbps. :)

EDIT: Just to correct myself, it's actually up to 384kbps in stereo and up to 512kbps in 5.1 Audio. :)
 
WAV is not as compatible as MP3 in terms of if you need to use it in other programs, but WAV ends up slightly better Quality...so you gotta to yo' pick!
 
Wav is far better quality and your audio size is so much smaller than your video I don't see why you would choose to skimp on quality.
 
@Rouge For the most part, I will just be using the audio with Sony Vegas.

I just did a test with one of the mics and it sounds so much better than the built-in audeio with my camera. I can't hear that 'noise'!
 
Most people can't tell the difference. .Wav will result in a much larger file and has better quality. .MP3 is smaller and lower quality.

As long as the .mp3 recording is a high bitrate, you won't notice a difference upon import and render. That said, I always use the highest quality I can get prior to the render.
 
OK, Jeff also recommended WAV, 24/96 and boy, the sound is great!
I see what you mean about file sizes.
My WAV file is 180KB, video file is 865K, for a 10:17 recording.
So the audio file is about 20% of what the video file size.
That means that each video is going to take up about 20% more external hard drive space.
 
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