Managing Audio and Visual Records
What Formats Should I Use?
Washington State Archives recommends formats that are:
- Open-source
- High quality
- Widely adopted
Files should be either uncompressed or of the highest possible quality.
| Type of File | Recommended | Acceptable | Not Recommended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audio |
WAV (.wav) AIFF (.aif, .aiff) |
FLAC (.flac) MP3 (.mp3) Ogg Vorbis (.ogg) |
.TRM & other propriety formats Advanced Audio Coding (.mp4, .m4a, .aac) MP2 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer II) (.mp2) |
| Video | MP4 (.mp4) | WMV (.wmv) | Flash Video (.flv) & other discontinued formats |
Issues with Proprietary Formats
Use of proprietary audio/video formats can make playback of archival or otherwise older recordings difficult or impossible in the future.
Unless you are able to export the file to a more open format such as WAV, MP4 or WMV, proprietary formats cannot be readily preserved without significant additional resources and software, and are not recommended.
Help with Specific Types of Audio/Visual Records
Advice Sheets
- Can Meeting Recordings Be Deleted After Meeting Minutes Have Been Approved?
- Do Agency Meetings Need to Be Recorded?
- How Long Do Meeting Recordings Need to Be Kept?
Strategies for Managing Analog Audio/Visual Recordings
Analog recordings (audio cassettes, reel-to-reel, videotapes) represent one of many media types made obsolete by advances in technology. Some issues with the continued use of analog recordings are:
- Damage occurring to media as a result of exposure to light, dust, magnetic fields, and/or variations in temperature and humidity.
- Injury to media during playback or during long-term storage, when layers of the tape can stick together, print-through magnetically, or break due to brittle conditions.
- Difficulty in maintaining the equipment necessary to play the analog recordings.
- Duplication of analog recordings results in loss of quality with each generation.
The best strategy for the long-term preservation of analog recordings is to transfer the original or best available copy of the analog recording to a digital format such as WAV (audio) or WMV (video), with either lossless compression or no compression. Conversion to a digital audio format will improve access and ensure protection and preservation of the information. It will also allow for lossless migration of the audio data to other digital formats as technologies change.
If conversion is not an option, tapes have a better chance of protection if stored under the following conditions:
- The temperature where analog recordings are stored should not vary more than 5 degrees from 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
- The relative humidity (RH) in the storage area should not vary more than 5% from 50% RH.
- Analog recordings should be rewound and played regularly to ensure flexibility and general clarity of recording.
Many analog recordings kept in these conditions may last up to 30 years, although they degrade quickly after 20 years.
Last Updated: October 2026