Specialists in Speech and Audio Software Development

Material Copyright © 2023 ESPICO Ltd

Windows Media Audio (WMA)

Microsoft’s Windows Media Audio (WMA) is a proprietary audio compression format. The WMA 9 codec samples audio at 44.1 or 48kHz using 16 bits, offering CD quality at data rates from 64 to 192 kilobits per second (Kbps). The WMA 9 codec supports variable bit rate encoding (VBR), which enables even higher quality audio at smaller file sizes by automatically varying the encoding bit rate according to the complexity of the audio data.

Windows Media Audio 10 Professional (WMA 10 Pro) is the most flexible WMA codec available. Its profiles support full-resolution 24-bit/96 kHz audio in stereo, 5.1 channel, 7.1 channel surround sound and highly efficient mobile capabilities.

Windows Media Audio 9 Lossless creates a bit-for-bit duplicate of the original audio file so that no data is lost, making it ideal for archiving content masters. Windows Media Audio 9 Voice is a low bit-rate codec, primarily targeted for speech content but also performs very well with mixed-mode content.

Features

• WMA decoder implementation that fully supports all versions of WMA, namely V2, V7, V8, V9, V9beta, V9NC, and VBR (Variable Bit Rate)
• Microsoft Quality Testing certified for WMA V2-V9: 5kbps A C 384 kbps

Availability

ESPICO’s optimised solution can be ported to any platform. Platforms supported include:

• ZSP Cores including ZSP400, ZSP500, ZSP800 families
• ARM including Cortex and NeonTM
• MIPS32 74KTM
• Ceva DSP Cores

Applications

• Mobile
• Set-top boxes
• Car audio
• Smart phones
• Portable audio systems