Comment by geocar | Hacker News Reader

Comment by geocar | Hacker News Reader

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I bet you have seen a `.wav` file but I bet you don't know what it is.

The file format itself is exhaustively documented:

https://mmsp.ece.mcgill.ca/Documents/AudioFormats/WAVE/WAVE....

https://www.tactilemedia.com/info/MCI_Control_Info.html

https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd0000...

VLC has conveniently a list of all of the formats/subformats and their ids (including MP4/AAC):

https://chouquette.videolan.me/vlc/vlc__codecs_8h_source.htm...

Adobe documented all of the metadata fields they use (XMP) and how to reconcile with "native" metadata in MP4 audio streams and WAVE/RIFF streams with the XMP model.

https://web.archive.org/web/20180225154501/https://wwwimages...

Almost every professional container format could be an otape, but `.wav` is by far the most widely supported.

I know what a .wav file is, but I can skip around a .wav file, so again, what audio file format is intentionally hard to skip around?

> I know what a .wav file is,

No. I think you have seen a .wav file before, maybe several, but I do not think you know what a .wav file is or even had the foggiest idea it could contain MP4 audio and images tracks playlists and metadata flags about overwriting and content locking until I just told you.

It took me a couple weeks to digest that material and implement every dark corner of wav I could find a decade ago, and it has only moved on so I know there is more, and it is frankly insulting for you to tell me you know what a .wav file is the way I am telling you, the day after you have learned this.

> but I can skip around a .wav file,

No. The reason you can skip around a .wav file is because you have a piece of software that does so. You could delete it, or have self-control.

For sure, you could also have a piece of software that doesn't: It's probably less work than writing a spec and convincing everyone else to make that software for you.

> so again, what audio file format is intentionally hard to skip around?

An executable (the piece of software).

The good news is with the rise of app stores, its easier and easier for artists to convince fans to run an app and have a unique and entertaining experience, including the one you are imagining.

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