XO Wave: File Formats

Import

XO Wave can Import AIFF (.aiff or .aif) and WAV (.wav) files. In addition, it currently has partial support for Apple's AIFC files (typically mis-labeled as AIFFs).

In addition, XO Wave can import raw (header-less) CDDA data files (.cdda, .cdr, or .cda, 16-bit big-endian stereo interleaved). This very limited format is deprecated in favor of AIFF and WAV.

On Mac OS X, XO Wave can import most files that can be read by QuickTime -- this includes MP3, AAC, and others, including Ogg Vorbis with a suitable plug-in. Finally, movies and other files with audio tracks which QuickTime can read, can be imported.

Export

XO Wave can Burn Red Book-compliant CDs on Mac OS X, or on Linux via cdrecord (which may be packaged as part of cdrtools).

XO Wave's Export command exports sessions into AIFF or WAV format, or raw CD audio format. With XO Wave Pro, you can also export to a wide variety of QuickTime formats, including QuickTime Movies, AAC (.m4a), and iPod video. With the LAME plug-ins, XO Wave can export to high-quality MP3 files. Additionally, XO Wave can feed its audio output stream to Audio Hijack Pro for further processing.

Video Synchronization

XO Wave Pro and Free can read and synchronize to any video format that QuickTime can read. With the right tools, XO Wave can even synchronize with (demuxed) MPEG-2 video. XO Wave Pro users can also Export to QuickTime Movie as video with synchronized audio.

XO Wave Open does not have access to QuickTime, so it uses JMF (the Java Media Framework) to synchronize to video. JMF is more limited than QuickTime, but it's suitable for many projects, as long as you stick to supported formats. A complete list of supported formats is available from Sun Microsystems.

Internal Data formats

XO Wave uses session files files, with an .xo extension, to store session information. To avoid bloating the session file, audio samples and other data is stored in separate files. To help keep session files and their assets organized, XO Wave uses project folders. XO Wave's File:New command first creates a folder with the name and location you specify. Inside this folder, it creates a session file with the same name and an .xo extension. Additionally, XO Wave creates four empty folders named AudioFiles, Import, Settings, and Versions. As you work on the session, XO Wave stores assets in these folders.

Normally, a project folder contains exactly one session file, and you can ignore the assets -- just treat the folder as a single object, and let XO Wave handle the details for you. If you are trying out variations of a project, you might want to save multiple session files in the same folder, so they can reuse each others' assets. If you decide to do this, be careful, as it becomes easy to delete an asset which the current session doesn't need, but another session does. To avoid this issue, you can ignore the internals of project folders and stick with the 1-session-per-folder rule.

Versions

Save Version creates a backup of the session file (myfile.xo) in the session's Versions folder. These files are intended to be left in the Versions folder, but should continue to work even if they're moved elsewhere. These versions are a quick way to make backups (with Command-Option-S on the Mac, or Control-Alt-S on Linux). The command can help to quickly back up the current state of the session, and is particularly useful before experimenting with changes that may need to be backed out.

Because it doesn't copy the assets, Save Version is no substitute for a full backup of the whole session folder, which includes copies of all the assets. Note that multiple Undo can generally get back to the saved version state, but Save Version provides a bit more safety and may be quicker than undoing a long series of actions. Also, Save Versions works even after quitting XO Wave, or opening another project; Undo does not. Since deleting or renaming audio files will invalidate any saved versions, if any such versions exist, XO Wave will a) require confirmation before executing actions which invalidate them, and b) delete any such when they become invalid. See also: Versions.

Working files

XO Wave's session files (which use the .xo extension) use a proprietary format. These files do not include audio samples.

XO Wave keeps imported audio samples in .aiff files, while corresponding .ovrv files contain a visual representation of the audio waveform, used to zoom in and out on audio waveforms in real time. Note that XO Wave preserves the original extension, so projects might have a combination of file1.aiff and file2.aif. files

In addition, XO Wave creates temporary files with the .xowk extension.