WAV audio export — Input checklist

Worked example

Before exporting WAV, note the source duration, sample rate and channels, because WAV size is just those numbers multiplied at 16 bits.

The formula is seconds times sample rate times channels times 2 bytes. A 60-second stereo clip at 44.1 kHz gives 60 x 44,100 x 2 x 2 = 10,584,000 bytes, about 10.6 MB; the same minute at 48 kHz is 11.52 MB, and in mono at 44.1 kHz it is 5.29 MB. A 25-minute lecture recorded in stereo would therefore need about 265 MB.

Take a voice actor who recorded an audition as a 3 MB M4A and must deliver WAV because the studio software only imports PCM. The conversion works, but the WAV will be around ten times larger and will not contain more detail than the M4A did. Say so in the delivery note, and ask for a fresh WAV recording when quality is the real requirement.

The mistake here is expecting the export to keep every property of the source. This tool writes 16-bit PCM, so a 24-bit studio recording is reduced to 16 bits, and a source at 96 kHz is not offered as a sample rate option at all. Check what the next editor actually requires before you convert, and keep the original file if it asks for 24-bit.

Check one more thing: free disk space. Several long WAV files fill a laptop quickly, so multiply the minutes by 10.6 MB and compare with what you have left.

60 s × 44100 Hz × 2 channels × 16 bit

10,584,000 PCM bytes before container overhead

A classic WAV file tops out near 4 GB, which is about six and a half hours of 44.1 kHz stereo, so split anything longer.