WMA - Windows Media

Windows Media Audio (WMA) is an audio data compression technology developed by Microsoft. The name can be used to refer to its audio file format or its audio codecs. It is a proprietary technology that forms part of the Windows Media framework. WMA consists of four distinct codecs. The original WMA codec, known simply as WMA, was conceived as a competitor to the popular MP3 and RealAudio codecs. WMA Pro, a newer and more advanced codec, supports multichannel and high resolution audio. A lossless codec, WMA Lossless, compresses audio data without loss of audio fidelity (the regular WMA format is not lossless). And WMA Voice, targeted at voice content, applies compression using a range of low bit rates.

wma 5.1 Audio Setup

 Windows Media Audio Lossless (WMA Lossless) is a lossless audio codec that competes with ATRAC Advanced Lossless, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, Apple Lossless, Shorten, Monkey's Audio, FLAC, and WavPack (the last two have the advantage of being open source software and available for nearly any operating system). Designed for archival purposes, it compresses audio signals without loss of quality from the original using VBR. When decompressed, the audio signal is an exact replica of the original. The first version of the codec, WMA 9 Lossless, and its revisions support up to 96 kHz, 24-bit audio for up to 6 discrete channels (5.1 channel surround) with dynamic range compression control. The typical compression ratio for music varies between 1.7:1 and 3:1.

Hardware support for the codec is available on the Cowon A3 , Cowon S9, Bang & Olufsen Serenata, Sony Walkman NWZ-A and NWZ-S series, Zune 4, 8, 80 30, Zune 120 (with firmware version 2.2 or later) and the new Zune HD, Xbox 360, Windows Mobile-powered devices with Windows Media Player 10 Mobile Toshiba Gigabeat S and V models, Toshiba T-400, the Meizu M3, and Best Buy's Insignia NS-DV, Pilot, and Sport music players. Contrary to some claims, the Archos make of media devices do not support WMA Lossless, nor does the SONOS system. Like WMA Standard, WMA Lossless is being used by a few online stores to distribute music online. Similar to WMA Pro, the WMA Lossless decoder can perform downmixing when capable audio hardware is not present.

Tamil Movie Songs in wma format (Stereo, 96 Kb/s, 44.1 KHz, 16 bit) playable in all handheld devices with features Fidelity, 3D surround, Dynamic Boost and Hyper Bass (no need to use Equalizer)