Audio file formats are complicated. If you plan to make extensive use of high-quality sound, you are well-served to become familiar with the pros and cons of the various formats, learn about converting file formats, and understand codexes.
Understanding the various file formats available to you and what their advantages and disadvantages are can help you improve your PowerPoint audio.
Photo credit: Gordan Jovic
Note: PowerPoint only supports WAV file format for transitions, but you can use other formats for music, narration, and sound effects on a slide.
| Format |
Description |
| MIDI (RMI) |
Consumes the least resources
Works well with basic sound card
Works in PowerPoint and the viewer
Best suited to background scores
Convert to WAV for presentations played across a variety of computers. |
| WAV |
Many files available in this format
Easiest to use in PowerPoint
Only sound usable in transitions
Huge file size with many codecs. |
| MP3 |
Mainstream format, the audio layer of MPEG video format
Small in size
Sounds nearly as good as WAV
Easily transportable with presentation
Can convert WAV files to MP3 |
| CD Audio |
Disk must be present in CD when presentation is run
PowerPoint identifies track only; does not identify specific CD title
Must use same CD drive each time you run CD with presentation
Can convert CD audio to WAV, ASF or MP3 format
Encoding requires copyright ownership or permission |
| WMA (Windows Media Audio) |
Microsoft’s alternative to MP3
Sounds great
Works on all Windows computers
Convert CD tracks to WMA with Windows Media Player
For other conversions, use Windows Media Encoder, available for download from Microsoft |
| AIFF |
Apple Macintosh standard
Newer versions of Windows Media Player support AIFF |
| ASF |
Streaming audio format
Allows use of larger sound files
Used for playing sound in presentations on the Web or from CD |
Sound Recorder, a Windows accessory, can be used to convert WAV files to other formats and to adjust file compression.
Windows Media Player can be used to save CD audio files as WMA files.
You can learn more about sound at these sites:
Finding Sound on the Web
A site offering free sounds may have exactly what you need,or you may need to purchase the sound you need.
The sites below are good resources for WAV and MP3 recordings:
Before you add any sound downloaded from the Web or from a CD, be sure you have the permission of the copyright holder of that recording.
Check the related topics list below for more articles on adding sound to PowerPoint.
