1 '\" te
   2 .\" Copyright (c) 2001, Sun Microsystems, Inc. All Rights Reserved
   3 .\" The contents of this file are subject to the terms of the Common Development and Distribution License (the "License").  You may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
   4 .\" You can obtain a copy of the license at usr/src/OPENSOLARIS.LICENSE or http://www.opensolaris.org/os/licensing.  See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.
   5 .\" When distributing Covered Code, include this CDDL HEADER in each file and include the License file at usr/src/OPENSOLARIS.LICENSE.  If applicable, add the following below this CDDL HEADER, with the fields enclosed by brackets "[]" replaced with your own identifying information: Portions Copyright [yyyy] [name of copyright owner]
   6 .TH AUDIOCONVERT 1 "Feb 16, 2001"
   7 .SH NAME
   8 audioconvert \- convert audio file formats
   9 .SH SYNOPSIS
  10 .LP
  11 .nf
  12 \fBaudioconvert\fR [\fB-pF\fR] [\fB-f\fR \fIoutfmt\fR] [\fB-o\fR \fIoutfile\fR]
  13      [ [\fB-i\fR \fIinfmt\fR] [\fIfile\fR]...] ...
  14 .fi
  15 
  16 .SH DESCRIPTION
  17 .sp
  18 .LP
  19 \fBaudioconvert\fR converts audio data between a set of supported audio
  20 encodings and file formats. It can be used to compress and decompress audio
  21 data, to add audio file headers to raw audio data files, and to convert between
  22 standard data encodings, such as -law and linear PCM.
  23 .sp
  24 .LP
  25 If no filenames are present, \fBaudioconvert\fR reads the data from the
  26 standard input stream and writes an audio file to the standard output.
  27 Otherwise, input files are processed in order, concatenated, and written to the
  28 output file.
  29 .sp
  30 .LP
  31 Input files are expected to contain audio file headers that identify the audio
  32 data format.  If the audio data does not contain a recognizable header, the
  33 format must be specified with the \fB-i\fR option, using the \fBrate\fR,
  34 \fBencoding\fR, and \fBchannels\fR keywords to identify the input data format.
  35 .sp
  36 .LP
  37 The output file format is derived by updating the format of the first input
  38 file with the format options in the \fB-f\fR specification. If \fB-p\fR is not
  39 specified, all subsequent input files are converted to this resulting format
  40 and concatenated together. The output file will contain an audio file header,
  41 unless \fBformat\fR=\fIraw\fR is specified in the output format options.
  42 .sp
  43 .LP
  44 Input files may be converted in place by using the \fB-p\fR option. When
  45 \fB-p\fR is in effect, the format of each input file is modified according to
  46 the \fB-f\fR option to determine the output format. The existing files are then
  47 overwritten with the converted data.
  48 .sp
  49 .LP
  50 The \fBfile\fR(1) command decodes and prints the audio data format of Sun audio
  51 files.
  52 .SH OPTIONS
  53 .sp
  54 .LP
  55 The following options are supported:
  56 .sp
  57 .ne 2
  58 .na
  59 \fB\fB-p\fR\fR
  60 .ad
  61 .RS 14n
  62 \fIIn Place\fR: The input files are individually converted to the format
  63 specified by the \fB-f\fR option and rewritten. If a target file is a symbolic
  64 link, the underlying file will be rewritten. The \fB-o\fR option may not be
  65 specified with \fB-p\fR.
  66 .RE
  67 
  68 .sp
  69 .ne 2
  70 .na
  71 \fB\fB-F\fR\fR
  72 .ad
  73 .RS 14n
  74 \fIForce\fR: This option forces \fBaudioconvert\fR to ignore any file header
  75 for input files whose format is specified by the \fB-i\fR option. If \fB-F\fR
  76 is not specified, \fBaudioconvert\fR ignores the \fB-i\fR option for input
  77 files that contain valid audio file headers.
  78 .RE
  79 
  80 .sp
  81 .ne 2
  82 .na
  83 \fB\fB-f\fR \fIoutfmt\fR\fR
  84 .ad
  85 .RS 14n
  86 \fIOutput Format\fR: This option is used to specify the file format and data
  87 encoding of the output file. Defaults for unspecified fields are derived from
  88 the input file format. Valid keywords and values are listed in the next
  89 section.
  90 .RE
  91 
  92 .sp
  93 .ne 2
  94 .na
  95 \fB\fB-o\fR \fIoutfile\fR\fR
  96 .ad
  97 .RS 14n
  98 \fIOutput File\fR: All input files are concatenated, converted to the output
  99 format, and written to the named output file. If \fB-o\fR and \fB-p\fR are not
 100 specified, the concatenated output is written to the standard output. The
 101 \fB-p\fR option may not be specified with \fB-o\fR.
 102 .RE
 103 
 104 .sp
 105 .ne 2
 106 .na
 107 \fB\fB-i\fR \fIinfmt\fR\fR
 108 .ad
 109 .RS 14n
 110 \fIInput Format\fR: This option is used to specify the data encoding of raw
 111 input files. Ordinarily, the input data format is derived from the audio file
 112 header. This option is required when converting audio data that is not preceded
 113 by a valid audio file header. If \fB-i\fR is specified for an input file that
 114 contains an audio file header, the input format string will be ignored, unless
 115 \fB-F\fR is present. The format specification syntax is the same as the
 116 \fB-f\fR output file format.
 117 .sp
 118 Multiple input formats may be specified. An input format describes all input
 119 files following that specification, until a new input format is specified.
 120 .RE
 121 
 122 .sp
 123 .ne 2
 124 .na
 125 \fB\fIfile\fR\fR
 126 .ad
 127 .RS 14n
 128 \fIFile Specification\fR: The named audio files are concatenated, converted to
 129 the output format, and written out. If no file name is present, or if the
 130 special file name `\(mi' is specified, audio data is read from the standard
 131 input.
 132 .RE
 133 
 134 .sp
 135 .ne 2
 136 .na
 137 \fB\fB-?\fR\fR
 138 .ad
 139 .RS 14n
 140 \fIHelp\fR: Prints a command line usage message.
 141 .RE
 142 
 143 .SS "Format Specification"
 144 .sp
 145 .LP
 146 The syntax for the input and output format specification is:
 147 .sp
 148 .LP
 149 \fIkeyword\fR=\fIvalue\fR[,\fIkeyword\fR=\fIvalue\fR \|.\|.\|.\|]
 150 .sp
 151 .LP
 152 with no intervening whitespace. Unambiguous values may be used without the
 153 preceding \fIkeyword\fR=.
 154 .sp
 155 .ne 2
 156 .na
 157 \fB\fBrate\fR\fR
 158 .ad
 159 .RS 12n
 160 The audio sampling rate is specified in samples per second. If a number is
 161 followed by the letter \fBk\fR, it is multiplied by 1000 (for example, 44.1k =
 162 44100). Standard of the commonly used sample rates are: 8k, 16k, 32k, 44.1k,
 163 and 48k.
 164 .RE
 165 
 166 .sp
 167 .ne 2
 168 .na
 169 \fB\fBchannels\fR\fR
 170 .ad
 171 .RS 12n
 172 The number of interleaved channels is specified as an integer. The words
 173 \fBmono\fR and \fBstereo\fR may also be used to specify one and two channel
 174 data, respectively.
 175 .RE
 176 
 177 .sp
 178 .ne 2
 179 .na
 180 \fB\fBencoding\fR\fR
 181 .ad
 182 .RS 12n
 183 This option specifies the digital audio data representation. Encodings
 184 determine precision implicitly (\fBulaw\fR implies 8-bit precision) or
 185 explicitly as part of the name (for example, \fBlinear16\fR). Valid encoding
 186 values are:
 187 .sp
 188 .ne 2
 189 .na
 190 \fB\fBulaw\fR\fR
 191 .ad
 192 .RS 13n
 193 \fBCCITT G.711\fR -law encoding. This is an 8-bit format primarily used for
 194 telephone quality speech.
 195 .RE
 196 
 197 .sp
 198 .ne 2
 199 .na
 200 \fB\fBalaw\fR\fR
 201 .ad
 202 .RS 13n
 203 \fBCCITT G.711\fR A-law encoding. This is an 8-bit format primarily used for
 204 telephone quality speech in Europe.
 205 .RE
 206 
 207 .sp
 208 .ne 2
 209 .na
 210 \fB\fBlinear8\fR,\fR
 211 .ad
 212 .br
 213 .na
 214 \fB\fBlinear16\fR,\fR
 215 .ad
 216 .br
 217 .na
 218 \fB\fBlinear32\fR\fR
 219 .ad
 220 .RS 13n
 221 Linear Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) encoding. The name identifies the number of
 222 bits of precision. \fBlinear16\fR is typically used for high quality audio
 223 data.
 224 .RE
 225 
 226 .sp
 227 .ne 2
 228 .na
 229 \fB\fBpcm\fR\fR
 230 .ad
 231 .RS 13n
 232 Same as \fBlinear16\fR.
 233 .RE
 234 
 235 .sp
 236 .ne 2
 237 .na
 238 \fB\fBg721\fR\fR
 239 .ad
 240 .RS 13n
 241 \fBCCITT G.721\fR compression format. This encoding uses Adaptive Delta Pulse
 242 Code Modulation (ADPCM) with 4-bit precision. It is primarily used for
 243 compressing -law voice data (achieving a 2:1 compression ratio).
 244 .RE
 245 
 246 .sp
 247 .ne 2
 248 .na
 249 \fB\fBg723\fR\fR
 250 .ad
 251 .RS 13n
 252 \fBCCITT G.723\fR compression format. This encoding uses Adaptive Delta Pulse
 253 Code Modulation (ADPCM) with 3-bit precision. It is primarily used for
 254 compressing -law voice data (achieving an 8:3 compression ratio). The audio
 255 quality is similar to \fBG.721,\fR but may result in lower quality when used
 256 for non-speech data.
 257 .RE
 258 
 259 The following encoding values are also accepted as shorthand to set the sample
 260 rate, channels, and encoding:
 261 .sp
 262 .ne 2
 263 .na
 264 \fB\fBvoice\fR\fR
 265 .ad
 266 .RS 9n
 267 Equivalent to \fBencoding=ulaw,rate=8k,channels=mono\fR.
 268 .RE
 269 
 270 .sp
 271 .ne 2
 272 .na
 273 \fB\fBcd\fR\fR
 274 .ad
 275 .RS 9n
 276 Equivalent to \fBencoding=linear16,rate=44.1k,channels=stereo\fR.
 277 .RE
 278 
 279 .sp
 280 .ne 2
 281 .na
 282 \fB\fBdat\fR\fR
 283 .ad
 284 .RS 9n
 285 Equivalent to \fBencoding=linear16,rate=48k,channels=stereo\fR.
 286 .RE
 287 
 288 .RE
 289 
 290 .sp
 291 .ne 2
 292 .na
 293 \fB\fBformat\fR\fR
 294 .ad
 295 .RS 12n
 296 This option specifies the audio file format. Valid formats are:
 297 .sp
 298 .ne 2
 299 .na
 300 \fB\fBsun\fR\fR
 301 .ad
 302 .RS 7n
 303 Sun compatible file format (the default).
 304 .RE
 305 
 306 .sp
 307 .ne 2
 308 .na
 309 \fB\fBraw\fR\fR
 310 .ad
 311 .RS 7n
 312 Use this format when reading or writing raw audio data (with no audio header),
 313 or in conjunction with an  \fBoffset\fR to import a foreign audio file format.
 314 .RE
 315 
 316 .RE
 317 
 318 .sp
 319 .ne 2
 320 .na
 321 \fB\fBoffset\fR\fR
 322 .ad
 323 .RS 12n
 324 (\fB-i\fR \fIonly\fR) Specifies a byte offset to locate the start of the audio
 325 data. This option may be used to import audio data that contains an
 326 unrecognized file header.
 327 .RE
 328 
 329 .SH USAGE
 330 .sp
 331 .LP
 332 See \fBlargefile\fR(5) for the description of the behavior of
 333 \fBaudioconvert\fR when encountering files greater than or equal to 2 Gbyte (
 334 2^31 bytes).
 335 .SH EXAMPLES
 336 .LP
 337 \fBExample 1 \fRRecording and compressing voice data before storing it
 338 .sp
 339 .LP
 340 Record voice data and compress it before storing it to a file:
 341 
 342 .sp
 343 .in +2
 344 .nf
 345 example% \fBaudiorecord | audioconvert -f g721 > mydata.au\fR
 346 .fi
 347 .in -2
 348 .sp
 349 
 350 .LP
 351 \fBExample 2 \fRConcatenating two audio files
 352 .sp
 353 .LP
 354 Concatenate two Sun format audio files, regardless of their data format, and
 355 output an 8-bit ulaw, 16 kHz, mono file:
 356 
 357 .sp
 358 .in +2
 359 .nf
 360 example% \fBaudioconvert -f ulaw,rate=16k,mono -o outfile.au infile1 infile2\fR
 361 .fi
 362 .in -2
 363 .sp
 364 
 365 .LP
 366 \fBExample 3 \fRConverting a directory to Sun format
 367 .sp
 368 .LP
 369 Convert a directory containing raw voice data files, in place, to Sun format
 370 (adds a file header to each file):
 371 
 372 .sp
 373 .in +2
 374 .nf
 375 example% \fBaudioconvert -p -i voice -f sun *.au\fR
 376 .fi
 377 .in -2
 378 .sp
 379 
 380 .SH ATTRIBUTES
 381 .sp
 382 .LP
 383 See \fBattributes\fR(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
 384 .sp
 385 
 386 .sp
 387 .TS
 388 box;
 389 c | c
 390 l | l .
 391 ATTRIBUTE TYPE  ATTRIBUTE VALUE
 392 _
 393 Architecture    SPARC, x86
 394 _
 395 Interface Stability     Evolving
 396 .TE
 397 
 398 .SH SEE ALSO
 399 .sp
 400 .LP
 401 \fBaudioplay\fR(1), \fBaudiorecord\fR(1), \fBfile\fR(1), \fBattributes\fR(5),
 402 \fBlargefile\fR(5)
 403 .SH NOTES
 404 .sp
 405 .LP
 406 The algorithm used for converting multi-channel data to mono is implemented by
 407 simply summing the channels together. If the input data is perfectly in phase
 408 (as would be the case if a mono file is converted to stereo and back to mono),
 409 the resulting data may contain some distortion.