If you use iTunes or if you buy and download digital music, you’ll have come across a number of terms and abbreviations that describe digital audio files. This alphabet soup can be quite confusing. What are codecs or audio file formats? What is a bit rate, and what’s a sample rate? What does it mean when music is “high-resolution?”
This article covers what you need to know about digital audio files. I’ll tell you the difference between lossy and lossless files, I’ll explain why bit rates matter (or don’t), and I’ll help you understand the various file formats you may encounter.
Read the rest of the article on Macworld.