Size limits for WAV and AIFF files

From Audacity Development Manual
Revision as of 15:59, 22 April 2019 by PeterSampson (talk | contribs) (Revised - Based on 4GB = 4,294,967,296 bytes)
Jump to: navigation, search


Linked This page is linked to in the Audacity app from the Help Button help button in the error dialog.
Alert Do not rename or delete this page unless and until the corresponding link in the app is changed.
Pseudo renames can be achieved with a DISPLAYTITLE. If a rename is absolutely necessary then a redirect must be left behind.
WAV files are limited to a maximum size of 4GB, see the following table for how this translates to time durations

Original based on 4GB = 4,000,000,000 bytes

Maximum sizes of WAV files in time duration (hours:minutes)
Sample Format Stereo Mono
16-bit PCM (default) 6h:18m 12h:36m
24-bit PCM 4h:12m 8h:24m
32-bit float PCM 3h:09m 6h:18m


Revised - Based on 4GB = 4,294,967,296 bytes

Maximum sizes of WAV files in time duration (hours:minutes)
Sample Format Stereo Mono
16-bit PCM (default) 6h:45m 13h:31m
24-bit PCM 4h:30m 9h:01m
32-bit float PCM 3h:22m 6h:45m