The Core Audio Format is a container for storing audio, developed by
Apple Inc. It is compatible with
Mac OS X 10.4 and higher;
Mac OS X 10.3
Mac OS X Panther (version 10.3) is the fourth major release of macOS, Apple's desktop and server operating system. It followed Mac OS X Jaguar and preceded Mac OS X Tiger. It was released on October 24, 2003.
System requirements
Panther's s ...
needs
QuickTime
QuickTime is an extensible multimedia framework developed by Apple Inc., capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity. Created in 1991, the latest Mac version, QuickTime X, is avai ...
7 to be installed.
Core Audio Format is designed to overcome limitations of older digital audio formats, including
AIFF and
WAV. Just like the QuickTime
.mov container, a .caf container can contain many different audio formats, metadata tracks, and much more data. Like the
RF64, it is not limited to a 4
GB file size and a single .caf file can theoretically save hundreds of years of recorded audio due to its use of 64-bit file offsets.
GarageBand
GarageBand is a line of digital audio workstations developed by Apple Inc. for macOS, iPadOS, and iOS devices that allows users to create music or podcasts. GarageBand is developed by Apple for macOS, and was once part of the iLife software s ...
,
Soundtrack Pro, and
Logic Studio use the .caf format for their loop and sound effects library, particularly for surround-sound audio compressed with the
Apple Lossless (ALAC) codec.
References
External links
Apple Core Audio Format Specification 1.0
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Apple Inc. software
Audio file formats
Digital container formats