WMA Audio Format

By Dan Hope

The WMA format, short for Windows Media Audio format, was developed by Microsoft. Though it was originally used for the Windows operating system, Microsoft released it for third-party use and the WMA format has become very common in MP3 download services.

Microsoft originally claimed that WMA offers the same quality as MP3 at half the bit rate. But many people are skeptical of this and some independent testing has brought serious doubt to the claim. Nevertheless, WMA is still a good format that allows for customization and audio tag metadata. The format functions like MP3 in that it is a lossy codec, meaning it leaves out audio signals that can’t be heard by the average human. WMA also has a few design improvements over the MP3 format that have made it popular.

There are three other formats related to WMA. They are WMA Pro, WMA Lossless, and WMA Voice. Inexplicably, these formats are not mutually compatible with WMA. But the standard WMA format is the most common, especially in music downloads. When used for MP3 download services, the WMA format will include DRM protection, called PlaysForSure, that prevents duplication. Unfortunately, it also makes the file incompatible with MP3 players that cannot handle protected WMA.

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