BWF

Broadcast Wave Format is an extension of the original WAV standard.
It is often suggested as a method of overcoming the limited tagging options of the original WAV standard.
Tags defined by BWF2 are relevant for broadcasters but most of them have have no relevance when used inside a media player.

 

Description

ASCII string (maximum 256 characters) containing a free description of the sequence. To help applications which display only a short description, it is recommended that a resume of the description is contained in the first 64 characters and the last 192 characters are used for details.


Originator
ASCII string (maximum 32 characters) containing the name of the originator/ producer of the audio file.


OriginatorReference
ASCII string (maximum 32 characters) containing an unambiguous reference allocated by the originating organisation.


OriginationDate
10 ASCII characters containing the date of creation of the audio sequence.

 

OriginationTime
8 ASCII characters containing the time of creation of the audio sequence.


TimeReference
These fields shall contain the time-code of the sequence. It is a 64-bit value which contains the first sample count since midnight.


Version
An unsigned binary number giving the version of the BWF.


UMID
64 bytes containing a UMID (Unique Material Identifier) to standard SMPTE 330M.


LoudnessValue
A 16-bit signed integer, equal to round(100x the Integrated Loudness Value of the file in LUFS).


LoudnessRange
A 16-bit signed integer, equal to round(100x the Loudness Range of the file in LU).


MaxTruePeakLevel
A 16-bit signed integer, equal to round(100x the Maximum True Peak Value of the file in dBTP).


MaxMomentaryLoudness
A 16-bit signed integer, equal to round(100x the highest value of the Momentary Loudness Level of the file in LUFS).


MaxShortTermLoudness
A 16-bit signed integer, equal to round(100x the highest value of the Short-term Loudness Level of the file in LUFS).


Reserved
180 bytes reserved for extension.

 

CodingHistory
Unrestricted ASCII characters containing a collection of strings terminated by CR/LF. Each string shall contain a description of a coding process applied to the audio data. Each new coding application shall add a new string with the appropriate information.

References

Specification of the Broadcast Wave Format (BWF) Version 2 - EBU – TECH 3285