Size limits for WAV and AIFF files

Linked This page is linked to in the Audacity app from the help button in the error dialog when attempting to create a WAV file bigger than 4GB.

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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

We could provide greater accuracy by providing seconds - but I don't think that is really necessary. It accounts for the rounding errors shonw in the table, which we could smooth out.

Smoothed - 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:30m
24-bit PCM	4h:30m	9h:00m
32-bit float PCM	3h:22m	6h:44m