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   6 .TH AUDIOCONVERT 1 "Feb 8, 2020"
   7 .SH NAME
   8 audioconvert \- convert audio file formats
   9 .SH SYNOPSIS
  10 .nf
  11 \fBaudioconvert\fR [\fB-pF\fR] [\fB-f\fR \fIoutfmt\fR] [\fB-o\fR \fIoutfile\fR]
  12      [ [\fB-i\fR \fIinfmt\fR] [\fIfile\fR]...] ...
  13 .fi
  14 
  15 .SH DESCRIPTION
  16 \fBaudioconvert\fR converts audio data between a set of supported audio
  17 encodings and file formats. It can be used to compress and decompress audio
  18 data, to add audio file headers to raw audio data files, and to convert between
  19 standard data encodings, such as u-law and linear PCM.
  20 .sp
  21 .LP
  22 If no filenames are present, \fBaudioconvert\fR reads the data from the
  23 standard input stream and writes an audio file to the standard output.
  24 Otherwise, input files are processed in order, concatenated, and written to the
  25 output file.
  26 .sp
  27 .LP
  28 Input files are expected to contain audio file headers that identify the audio
  29 data format.  If the audio data does not contain a recognizable header, the
  30 format must be specified with the \fB-i\fR option, using the \fBrate\fR,
  31 \fBencoding\fR, and \fBchannels\fR keywords to identify the input data format.
  32 .sp
  33 .LP
  34 The output file format is derived by updating the format of the first input
  35 file with the format options in the \fB-f\fR specification. If \fB-p\fR is not
  36 specified, all subsequent input files are converted to this resulting format
  37 and concatenated together. The output file will contain an audio file header,
  38 unless \fBformat\fR=\fIraw\fR is specified in the output format options.
  39 .sp
  40 .LP
  41 Input files may be converted in place by using the \fB-p\fR option. When
  42 \fB-p\fR is in effect, the format of each input file is modified according to
  43 the \fB-f\fR option to determine the output format. The existing files are then
  44 overwritten with the converted data.
  45 .sp
  46 .LP
  47 The \fBfile\fR(1) command decodes and prints the audio data format of Sun audio
  48 files.
  49 .SH OPTIONS
  50 The following options are supported:
  51 .sp
  52 .ne 2
  53 .na
  54 \fB\fB-p\fR\fR
  55 .ad
  56 .RS 14n
  57 \fIIn Place\fR: The input files are individually converted to the format
  58 specified by the \fB-f\fR option and rewritten. If a target file is a symbolic
  59 link, the underlying file will be rewritten. The \fB-o\fR option may not be
  60 specified with \fB-p\fR.
  61 .RE
  62 
  63 .sp
  64 .ne 2
  65 .na
  66 \fB\fB-F\fR\fR
  67 .ad
  68 .RS 14n
  69 \fIForce\fR: This option forces \fBaudioconvert\fR to ignore any file header
  70 for input files whose format is specified by the \fB-i\fR option. If \fB-F\fR
  71 is not specified, \fBaudioconvert\fR ignores the \fB-i\fR option for input
  72 files that contain valid audio file headers.
  73 .RE
  74 
  75 .sp
  76 .ne 2
  77 .na
  78 \fB\fB-f\fR \fIoutfmt\fR\fR
  79 .ad
  80 .RS 14n
  81 \fIOutput Format\fR: This option is used to specify the file format and data
  82 encoding of the output file. Defaults for unspecified fields are derived from
  83 the input file format. Valid keywords and values are listed in the next
  84 section.
  85 .RE
  86 
  87 .sp
  88 .ne 2
  89 .na
  90 \fB\fB-o\fR \fIoutfile\fR\fR
  91 .ad
  92 .RS 14n
  93 \fIOutput File\fR: All input files are concatenated, converted to the output
  94 format, and written to the named output file. If \fB-o\fR and \fB-p\fR are not
  95 specified, the concatenated output is written to the standard output. The
  96 \fB-p\fR option may not be specified with \fB-o\fR.
  97 .RE
  98 
  99 .sp
 100 .ne 2
 101 .na
 102 \fB\fB-i\fR \fIinfmt\fR\fR
 103 .ad
 104 .RS 14n
 105 \fIInput Format\fR: This option is used to specify the data encoding of raw
 106 input files. Ordinarily, the input data format is derived from the audio file
 107 header. This option is required when converting audio data that is not preceded
 108 by a valid audio file header. If \fB-i\fR is specified for an input file that
 109 contains an audio file header, the input format string will be ignored, unless
 110 \fB-F\fR is present. The format specification syntax is the same as the
 111 \fB-f\fR output file format.
 112 .sp
 113 Multiple input formats may be specified. An input format describes all input
 114 files following that specification, until a new input format is specified.
 115 .RE
 116 
 117 .sp
 118 .ne 2
 119 .na
 120 \fB\fIfile\fR\fR
 121 .ad
 122 .RS 14n
 123 \fIFile Specification\fR: The named audio files are concatenated, converted to
 124 the output format, and written out. If no file name is present, or if the
 125 special file name `\(mi' is specified, audio data is read from the standard
 126 input.
 127 .RE
 128 
 129 .sp
 130 .ne 2
 131 .na
 132 \fB\fB-?\fR\fR
 133 .ad
 134 .RS 14n
 135 \fIHelp\fR: Prints a command line usage message.
 136 .RE
 137 
 138 .SS "Format Specification"
 139 The syntax for the input and output format specification is:
 140 .sp
 141 .LP
 142 \fIkeyword\fR=\fIvalue\fR[,\fIkeyword\fR=\fIvalue\fR \|.\|.\|.\|]
 143 .sp
 144 .LP
 145 with no intervening whitespace. Unambiguous values may be used without the
 146 preceding \fIkeyword\fR=.
 147 .sp
 148 .ne 2
 149 .na
 150 \fB\fBrate\fR\fR
 151 .ad
 152 .RS 12n
 153 The audio sampling rate is specified in samples per second. If a number is
 154 followed by the letter \fBk\fR, it is multiplied by 1000 (for example, 44.1k =
 155 44100). Standard of the commonly used sample rates are: 8k, 16k, 32k, 44.1k,
 156 and 48k.
 157 .RE
 158 
 159 .sp
 160 .ne 2
 161 .na
 162 \fB\fBchannels\fR\fR
 163 .ad
 164 .RS 12n
 165 The number of interleaved channels is specified as an integer. The words
 166 \fBmono\fR and \fBstereo\fR may also be used to specify one and two channel
 167 data, respectively.
 168 .RE
 169 
 170 .sp
 171 .ne 2
 172 .na
 173 \fB\fBencoding\fR\fR
 174 .ad
 175 .RS 12n
 176 This option specifies the digital audio data representation. Encodings
 177 determine precision implicitly (\fBulaw\fR implies 8-bit precision) or
 178 explicitly as part of the name (for example, \fBlinear16\fR). Valid encoding
 179 values are:
 180 .sp
 181 .ne 2
 182 .na
 183 \fB\fBulaw\fR\fR
 184 .ad
 185 .RS 13n
 186 \fBCCITT G.711\fR u-law encoding. This is an 8-bit format primarily used for
 187 telephone quality speech.
 188 .RE
 189 
 190 .sp
 191 .ne 2
 192 .na
 193 \fB\fBalaw\fR\fR
 194 .ad
 195 .RS 13n
 196 \fBCCITT G.711\fR A-law encoding. This is an 8-bit format primarily used for
 197 telephone quality speech in Europe.
 198 .RE
 199 
 200 .sp
 201 .ne 2
 202 .na
 203 \fB\fBlinear8\fR,\fR
 204 .ad
 205 .br
 206 .na
 207 \fB\fBlinear16\fR,\fR
 208 .ad
 209 .br
 210 .na
 211 \fB\fBlinear32\fR\fR
 212 .ad
 213 .RS 13n
 214 Linear Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) encoding. The name identifies the number of
 215 bits of precision. \fBlinear16\fR is typically used for high quality audio
 216 data.
 217 .RE
 218 
 219 .sp
 220 .ne 2
 221 .na
 222 \fB\fBpcm\fR\fR
 223 .ad
 224 .RS 13n
 225 Same as \fBlinear16\fR.
 226 .RE
 227 
 228 .sp
 229 .ne 2
 230 .na
 231 \fB\fBg721\fR\fR
 232 .ad
 233 .RS 13n
 234 \fBCCITT G.721\fR compression format. This encoding uses Adaptive Delta Pulse
 235 Code Modulation (ADPCM) with 4-bit precision. It is primarily used for
 236 compressing u-law voice data (achieving a 2:1 compression ratio).
 237 .RE
 238 
 239 .sp
 240 .ne 2
 241 .na
 242 \fB\fBg723\fR\fR
 243 .ad
 244 .RS 13n
 245 \fBCCITT G.723\fR compression format. This encoding uses Adaptive Delta Pulse
 246 Code Modulation (ADPCM) with 3-bit precision. It is primarily used for
 247 compressing u-law voice data (achieving an 8:3 compression ratio). The audio
 248 quality is similar to \fBG.721,\fR but may result in lower quality when used
 249 for non-speech data.
 250 .RE
 251 
 252 The following encoding values are also accepted as shorthand to set the sample
 253 rate, channels, and encoding:
 254 .sp
 255 .ne 2
 256 .na
 257 \fB\fBvoice\fR\fR
 258 .ad
 259 .RS 9n
 260 Equivalent to \fBencoding=ulaw,rate=8k,channels=mono\fR.
 261 .RE
 262 
 263 .sp
 264 .ne 2
 265 .na
 266 \fB\fBcd\fR\fR
 267 .ad
 268 .RS 9n
 269 Equivalent to \fBencoding=linear16,rate=44.1k,channels=stereo\fR.
 270 .RE
 271 
 272 .sp
 273 .ne 2
 274 .na
 275 \fB\fBdat\fR\fR
 276 .ad
 277 .RS 9n
 278 Equivalent to \fBencoding=linear16,rate=48k,channels=stereo\fR.
 279 .RE
 280 
 281 .RE
 282 
 283 .sp
 284 .ne 2
 285 .na
 286 \fB\fBformat\fR\fR
 287 .ad
 288 .RS 12n
 289 This option specifies the audio file format. Valid formats are:
 290 .sp
 291 .ne 2
 292 .na
 293 \fB\fBsun\fR\fR
 294 .ad
 295 .RS 7n
 296 Sun compatible file format (the default).
 297 .RE
 298 
 299 .sp
 300 .ne 2
 301 .na
 302 \fB\fBraw\fR\fR
 303 .ad
 304 .RS 7n
 305 Use this format when reading or writing raw audio data (with no audio header),
 306 or in conjunction with an  \fBoffset\fR to import a foreign audio file format.
 307 .RE
 308 
 309 .RE
 310 
 311 .sp
 312 .ne 2
 313 .na
 314 \fB\fBoffset\fR\fR
 315 .ad
 316 .RS 12n
 317 (\fB-i\fR \fIonly\fR) Specifies a byte offset to locate the start of the audio
 318 data. This option may be used to import audio data that contains an
 319 unrecognized file header.
 320 .RE
 321 
 322 .SH USAGE
 323 See \fBlargefile\fR(5) for the description of the behavior of
 324 \fBaudioconvert\fR when encountering files greater than or equal to 2 Gbyte
 325 (2^31 bytes).
 326 .SH EXAMPLES
 327 \fBExample 1 \fRRecording and compressing voice data before storing it
 328 .sp
 329 .LP
 330 Record voice data and compress it before storing it to a file:
 331 
 332 .sp
 333 .in +2
 334 .nf
 335 example% \fBaudiorecord | audioconvert -f g721 > mydata.au\fR
 336 .fi
 337 .in -2
 338 .sp
 339 
 340 .LP
 341 \fBExample 2 \fRConcatenating two audio files
 342 .sp
 343 .LP
 344 Concatenate two Sun format audio files, regardless of their data format, and
 345 output an 8-bit ulaw, 16 kHz, mono file:
 346 
 347 .sp
 348 .in +2
 349 .nf
 350 example% \fBaudioconvert -f ulaw,rate=16k,mono -o outfile.au infile1 infile2\fR
 351 .fi
 352 .in -2
 353 .sp
 354 
 355 .LP
 356 \fBExample 3 \fRConverting a directory to Sun format
 357 .sp
 358 .LP
 359 Convert a directory containing raw voice data files, in place, to Sun format
 360 (adds a file header to each file):
 361 
 362 .sp
 363 .in +2
 364 .nf
 365 example% \fBaudioconvert -p -i voice -f sun *.au\fR
 366 .fi
 367 .in -2
 368 .sp
 369 
 370 .SH SEE ALSO
 371 \fBaudioplay\fR(1), \fBaudiorecord\fR(1), \fBfile\fR(1),
 372 \fBlargefile\fR(5)
 373 .SH NOTES
 374 The algorithm used for converting multi-channel data to mono is implemented by
 375 simply summing the channels together. If the input data is perfectly in phase
 376 (as would be the case if a mono file is converted to stereo and back to mono),
 377 the resulting data may contain some distortion.