AudioFormat
is the class that specifies a particular arrangement of
data in a sound stream. By examining the information stored in the audio
format, you can discover how to interpret the bits in the binary sound data.
Every data line has an audio format associated with its data stream. The audio format of a source (playback) data line indicates what kind of data the data line expects to receive for output. For a target (capture) data line, the audio format specifies the kind of the data that can be read from the line.
Sound files also have audio formats, of course. The AudioFileFormat
class encapsulates an AudioFormat
in addition to other, file-specific
information. Similarly, an AudioInputStream
has an
AudioFormat
.
The AudioFormat
class accommodates a number of common sound-file
encoding techniques, including pulse-code modulation (PCM), mu-law encoding,
and a-law encoding. These encoding techniques are predefined, but service
providers can create new encoding types. The encoding that a specific format
uses is named by its encoding
field.
In addition to the encoding, the audio format includes other properties that further specify the exact arrangement of the data. These include the number of channels, sample rate, sample size, byte order, frame rate, and frame size. Sounds may have different numbers of audio channels: one for mono, two for stereo. The sample rate measures how many "snapshots" (samples) of the sound pressure are taken per second, per channel. (If the sound is stereo rather than mono, two samples are actually measured at each instant of time: one for the left channel, and another for the right channel; however, the sample rate still measures the number per channel, so the rate is the same regardless of the number of channels. This is the standard use of the term.) The sample size indicates how many bits are used to store each snapshot; 8 and 16 are typical values. For 16-bit samples (or any other sample size larger than a byte), byte order is important; the bytes in each sample are arranged in either the "little-endian" or "big-endian" style. For encodings like PCM, a frame consists of the set of samples for all channels at a given point in time, and so the size of a frame (in bytes) is always equal to the size of a sample (in bytes) times the number of channels. However, with some other sorts of encodings a frame can contain a bundle of compressed data for a whole series of samples, as well as additional, non-sample data. For such encodings, the sample rate and sample size refer to the data after it is decoded into PCM, and so they are completely different from the frame rate and frame size.
An AudioFormat
object can include a set of properties. A property is
a pair of key and value: the key is of type String
, the associated
property value is an arbitrary object. Properties specify additional format
specifications, like the bit rate for compressed formats. Properties are
mainly used as a means to transport additional information of the audio
format to and from the service providers. Therefore, properties are ignored
in the matches(AudioFormat)
method. However, methods which rely on
the installed service providers, like
(AudioFormat, AudioFormat)
isConversionSupported
may consider properties, depending on the respective
service provider implementation.
The following table lists some common properties which service providers should use, if applicable:
Property key | Value type | Description |
---|---|---|
"bitrate" | Integer
| average bit rate in bits per second |
"vbr" | Boolean
| true , if the file is encoded in variable bit rate (VBR)
|
"quality" | Integer
| encoding/conversion quality, 1..100 |
Vendors of service providers (plugins) are encouraged to seek information about other already established properties in third party plugins, and follow the same conventions.
- Since:
- 1.3
- See Also:
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Nested Class Summary
Nested ClassesModifier and TypeClassDescriptionstatic class
TheEncoding
class names the specific type of data representation used for an audio stream. -
Field Summary
FieldsModifier and TypeFieldDescriptionprotected boolean
Indicates whether the audio data is stored in big-endian or little-endian order.protected int
The number of audio channels in this format (1 for mono, 2 for stereo).protected AudioFormat.Encoding
The audio encoding technique used by this format.protected float
The number of frames played or recorded per second, for sounds that have this format.protected int
The number of bytes in each frame of a sound that has this format.protected float
The number of samples played or recorded per second, for sounds that have this format.protected int
The number of bits in each sample of a sound that has this format. -
Constructor Summary
ConstructorsConstructorDescriptionAudioFormat
(float sampleRate, int sampleSizeInBits, int channels, boolean signed, boolean bigEndian) Constructs anAudioFormat
with a linear PCM encoding and the given parameters.AudioFormat
(AudioFormat.Encoding encoding, float sampleRate, int sampleSizeInBits, int channels, int frameSize, float frameRate, boolean bigEndian) Constructs anAudioFormat
with the given parameters.AudioFormat
(AudioFormat.Encoding encoding, float sampleRate, int sampleSizeInBits, int channels, int frameSize, float frameRate, boolean bigEndian, Map<String, Object> properties) Constructs anAudioFormat
with the given parameters. -
Method Summary
Modifier and TypeMethodDescriptionint
Obtains the number of channels.Obtains the type of encoding for sounds in this format.float
Obtains the frame rate in frames per second.int
Obtains the frame size in bytes.getProperty
(String key) Obtain the property value specified by the key.float
Obtains the sample rate.int
Obtains the size of a sample.boolean
Indicates whether the audio data is stored in big-endian or little-endian byte order.boolean
matches
(AudioFormat format) Indicates whether this format matches the one specified.Obtain an unmodifiable map of properties.toString()
Returns a string that describes the audio format, such as: "PCM SIGNED 22050 Hz 16 bit mono big-endian".
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Field Details
-
encoding
The audio encoding technique used by this format. -
sampleRate
protected float sampleRateThe number of samples played or recorded per second, for sounds that have this format. -
sampleSizeInBits
protected int sampleSizeInBitsThe number of bits in each sample of a sound that has this format. -
channels
protected int channelsThe number of audio channels in this format (1 for mono, 2 for stereo). -
frameSize
protected int frameSizeThe number of bytes in each frame of a sound that has this format. -
frameRate
protected float frameRateThe number of frames played or recorded per second, for sounds that have this format. -
bigEndian
protected boolean bigEndianIndicates whether the audio data is stored in big-endian or little-endian order.
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Constructor Details
-
AudioFormat
public AudioFormat(AudioFormat.Encoding encoding, float sampleRate, int sampleSizeInBits, int channels, int frameSize, float frameRate, boolean bigEndian) Constructs anAudioFormat
with the given parameters. The encoding specifies the convention used to represent the data. The other parameters are further explained in theclass description
.- Parameters:
encoding
- the audio encoding techniquesampleRate
- the number of samples per secondsampleSizeInBits
- the number of bits in each samplechannels
- the number of channels (1 for mono, 2 for stereo, and so on)frameSize
- the number of bytes in each frameframeRate
- the number of frames per secondbigEndian
- indicates whether the data for a single sample is stored in big-endian byte order (false
means little-endian)
-
AudioFormat
public AudioFormat(AudioFormat.Encoding encoding, float sampleRate, int sampleSizeInBits, int channels, int frameSize, float frameRate, boolean bigEndian, Map<String, Object> properties) Constructs anAudioFormat
with the given parameters. The encoding specifies the convention used to represent the data. The other parameters are further explained in theclass description
.- Parameters:
encoding
- the audio encoding techniquesampleRate
- the number of samples per secondsampleSizeInBits
- the number of bits in each samplechannels
- the number of channels (1 for mono, 2 for stereo, and so on)frameSize
- the number of bytes in each frameframeRate
- the number of frames per secondbigEndian
- indicates whether the data for a single sample is stored in big-endian byte order (false
means little-endian)properties
- aMap<String, Object>
object containing format properties- Since:
- 1.5
-
AudioFormat
public AudioFormat(float sampleRate, int sampleSizeInBits, int channels, boolean signed, boolean bigEndian) Constructs anAudioFormat
with a linear PCM encoding and the given parameters. The frame size is set to the number of bytes required to contain one sample from each channel, and the frame rate is set to the sample rate.- Parameters:
sampleRate
- the number of samples per secondsampleSizeInBits
- the number of bits in each samplechannels
- the number of channels (1 for mono, 2 for stereo, and so on)signed
- indicates whether the data is signed or unsignedbigEndian
- indicates whether the data for a single sample is stored in big-endian byte order (false
means little-endian)
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Method Details
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getEncoding
Obtains the type of encoding for sounds in this format.- Returns:
- the encoding type
- See Also:
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getSampleRate
public float getSampleRate()Obtains the sample rate. For compressed formats, the return value is the sample rate of the uncompressed audio data. When thisAudioFormat
is used for queries (e.g.AudioSystem.isConversionSupported
) or capabilities (e.g.DataLine.Info.getFormats
), a sample rate ofAudioSystem.NOT_SPECIFIED
means that any sample rate is acceptable.AudioSystem.NOT_SPECIFIED
is also returned when the sample rate is not defined for this audio format.- Returns:
- the number of samples per second, or
AudioSystem.NOT_SPECIFIED
- See Also:
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getSampleSizeInBits
public int getSampleSizeInBits()Obtains the size of a sample. For compressed formats, the return value is the sample size of the uncompressed audio data. When thisAudioFormat
is used for queries (e.g.AudioSystem.isConversionSupported
) or capabilities (e.g.DataLine.Info.getFormats
), a sample size ofAudioSystem.NOT_SPECIFIED
means that any sample size is acceptable.AudioSystem.NOT_SPECIFIED
is also returned when the sample size is not defined for this audio format.- Returns:
- the number of bits in each sample, or
AudioSystem.NOT_SPECIFIED
- See Also:
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getChannels
public int getChannels()Obtains the number of channels. When thisAudioFormat
is used for queries (e.g.AudioSystem.isConversionSupported
) or capabilities (e.g.DataLine.Info.getFormats
), a return value ofAudioSystem.NOT_SPECIFIED
means that any (positive) number of channels is acceptable.- Returns:
- The number of channels (1 for mono, 2 for stereo, etc.), or
AudioSystem.NOT_SPECIFIED
- See Also:
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getFrameSize
public int getFrameSize()Obtains the frame size in bytes. When thisAudioFormat
is used for queries (e.g.AudioSystem.isConversionSupported
) or capabilities (e.g.DataLine.Info.getFormats
), a frame size ofAudioSystem.NOT_SPECIFIED
means that any frame size is acceptable.AudioSystem.NOT_SPECIFIED
is also returned when the frame size is not defined for this audio format.- Returns:
- the number of bytes per frame, or
AudioSystem.NOT_SPECIFIED
- See Also:
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getFrameRate
public float getFrameRate()Obtains the frame rate in frames per second. When thisAudioFormat
is used for queries (e.g.AudioSystem.isConversionSupported
) or capabilities (e.g.DataLine.Info.getFormats
), a frame rate ofAudioSystem.NOT_SPECIFIED
means that any frame rate is acceptable.AudioSystem.NOT_SPECIFIED
is also returned when the frame rate is not defined for this audio format.- Returns:
- the number of frames per second, or
AudioSystem.NOT_SPECIFIED
- See Also:
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isBigEndian
public boolean isBigEndian()Indicates whether the audio data is stored in big-endian or little-endian byte order. If the sample size is not more than one byte, the return value is irrelevant.- Returns:
true
if the data is stored in big-endian byte order,false
if little-endian
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properties
Obtain an unmodifiable map of properties. The concept of properties is further explained in theclass description
.- Returns:
- a
Map<String, Object>
object containing all properties. If no properties are recognized, an empty map is returned. - Since:
- 1.5
- See Also:
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getProperty
Obtain the property value specified by the key. The concept of properties is further explained in theclass description
.If the specified property is not defined for a particular file format, this method returns
null
.- Parameters:
key
- the key of the desired property- Returns:
- the value of the property with the specified key, or
null
if the property does not exist - Since:
- 1.5
- See Also:
-
matches
Indicates whether this format matches the one specified. To match, two formats must have the same encoding, and consistent values of the number of channels, sample rate, sample size, frame rate, and frame size. The values of the property are consistent if they are equal or the specified format has the property valueAudioSystem.NOT_SPECIFIED
. The byte order (big-endian or little-endian) must be the same if the sample size is greater than one byte.- Parameters:
format
- format to test for match- Returns:
true
if this format matches the one specified,false
otherwise
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toString
-