What is a AIFC file?
Compressed variant of AIF with smaller file sizes
Similar to the .AIF file format, the .AIFC file format was developed by Apple in 1988 and is based on the IFF (Interchange file format). However, the .AIFC is the compressed variant of the .AIF file format for users who are a bit more sensitive about file size. The AIFC format is used by media players and gaming consoles.
AIFC files contains CD-quality audio; similar to a .WAV file, but uses audio compression to reduce file size. So they are more similar to MP3 files and may use ULAW, ALAW, or G722 compression. You can also see AIFC files also referred to as AIFF-C files.
Common uses for AIFC files
- Gaming audio
- Media players
- Compressed CD-quality audio
- Gaming consoles
- Legacy media applications
- Professional audio software
Who works with AIFC files?
Sound designers and macOS-based audio engineers encounter AIFC in Apple and legacy professional audio workflows, and game and media-player developers have shipped audio in the format on consoles and playback software. Audio archivists also work with AIFC when digitizing legacy Mac-era projects, where its µ-law and A-law codecs often carry recorded speech.
AIFC vs AIFF: which should you use?
AIFF stores uncompressed PCM audio, while AIFC extends the same IFF-based structure to support compression codecs such as µ-law, A-law, and G.722. Choose AIFF when you need bit-for-bit fidelity for editing or archiving; choose AIFC when you want AIFF compatibility with smaller files. Most software that reads AIFF also reads AIFC, though older tools may not support every codec.
Convert AIFF to text