The uncompressed and unformatted string of bytes (for 8-bit sampling) or words (for 16-bit sampling), representing the values of consecutive signal samples, is usually referred to as the raw PCM audio file. When augmented with a header, containing basic information about the recording (sampling rate, sampling resolution, number of channels, number of samples) RAW files become WAV files (WAV stands for a standard Windows format called WAVE). DART XP Pro allows you to convert RAW audio files into WAV files and vice versa.
input file : *.raw
output file : *.wav (default)
processing mode : global
In order to change a raw PCM soundfile into a wave file, choose the RAW to WAV command from the File menu. A dialog will appear allowing you to select recording details such as the sampling rate, sampling resolution and number of channels. If you import a raw soundfile from an unknown source you may need to experiment with record settings in order to find the appropriate ones - to audition results press the Preview button.
input file : source soundfile (*.wav )
output file : *.raw (default)
processing mode : global
Conversion of WAV soundfiles into RAW files is much easier and amounts to removing the file header.
The WAV to RAW option, available from the File menu, is used for this purpose.
If the files you want to convert from one format to another are very large (think of one hour of recording, for example) the processing times may be excessive, and in fact unnecessarily, long. You should be aware that all the system is doing after adding the header to the input file (RAW to WAV) or depriving it of the header (WAV to RAW), is copying its content to the output file. If you are ready to sacrifice the first 44 bytes of your original raw file (the loss is comparable to loosing a single hair - provided you are not completely bald ...), check the Fast format conversion box in the Preferences dialog available from the Options menu. Working in the fast conversion mode, DART XP Pro will do the job almost immediately. When performing the RAW to WAV conversion the system will simply change the extension of the selected RAW file to WAV and replace its first 44 bytes with a wave header. Similarly, if the WAV to RAW conversion is requested DART XP Pro will change the file extension to RAW and set the bytes comprising a header to zero (otherwise you would hear a loud click at the beginning of the soundfile when playing it back).
NOTICE
The system does not support raw PCM files. For this reason if you perform the fast WAV to RAW conversion, the original wave file will vanish from the screen. If the converted soundfile is registered it will be also removed from the corresponding audio tree.