I’m recording about 4h of audio to a standard 16-bit PCM Microsoft WAV named file, but even without the Split mode on, the output file gets split at the 2GB boundary (that’s at about 3:20h in one file), the remaining 40 minutes is recorded to another file. But then I can append the 40 minutes clip at the end of my 3:20h file and still save it in 16bit PCM Wave format giving me a 2.36GB file, which is OK.
So, why is there a 2GB size limit during recording to WAV if I can work with larger WAV files later on?
The format itself was designed maybe 20 years ago, and does not allow more than 2 GB. In fact, 4 GB in theory, but 2 GB in reliable practise.
This is why you should use the RF64 option, or .w64
Correct me if I err, Philippe, but I believe the 2GB file size limit was dictated under earlier Windows 95 systems, and only recently with Windows XP and above, has the digital “word” size been expanded beyond 16-bits. I didn’t check the math, but I believe it had to do with the overall memory allocations available to the 16-bit FAT file storage system under the earlier Windows’ OS’s; their newer NTSF system is still dependent on what the OS can “manage”, but things are now pretty much standard for 32-bit file “words”, and many newer systems can handle 64-bits.
Thanks for the clarification, Philippe! You’re much closer to the “bits” than I for such things! And certainly a superstar when it comes to audio software creation!
Right. I fact, the only place where I encountered the 2GB WAV file size limit is while recording to a named file. Later on, I could save edited audio to larger WAV files (i.e. 2.36GB) with no problem. That’s the inconsistency I meant (2GB limit while recording to WAV audio files, no 2G - supposedly 4GB - limit while saving to WAV file from Audio Files Workspace). I haven’t checked that for audio montages, but I believe it’s exactly what you say.
Actually, the file size limit while recording is not a big problem, as WaveLab smoothly continues recording to the next named file. I merge the two files easily and I’m done