What is a .BWF file?
BWF (Broadcast Wave) adds production metadata and timecode to WAV, standard in pro audio.
- Did you know
- Broadcast Wave lets recordings carry timecode so they can be synced in editing.
- BWF was first specified by the European Broadcasting Union as standard EBU Tech 3285, extending Microsoft’s WAV format.
- Its production data lives in an added “bext” (Broadcast Audio Extension) chunk carrying timecode, origin and a SMPTE identifier.
- What Analyser reads
- Identify many more audio formats: lossless/hi-res codecs (Monkey’s Audio, WavPack, TAK, True Audio, DSD/SACD, Musepack), pro containers (Core Audio, RF64/BW64, Wave64, Sun AU, Broadcast Wave with timecode), speech/mobile (Speex, AMR-WB, QCP, 3GA, M4R, GSM), MPEG Layer I/II, instrument banks (SoundFont, SFZ, DLS, RIFF MIDI, GigaStudio), ringtones (RTTTL, iMelody, SAP), tracker modules (MOD, XM, IT, S3M, OctaMED, 669, Oktalyzer), chiptunes (NES NSF, SNES SPC, VGM, Game Boy GBS, AY, YM) and Audacity projects.
- Depth of analysis
- .BWF is an identification-grade format: Analyser recognises it from its bytes and decodes the header metadata it carries, rather than opening it in a full viewer. Formats that do get a full viewer are marked "Full" on the formats page.
- Open a .BWF file
- Drag a .BWF file onto the Analyser home page (or tap to pick one). It is identified entirely in your browser - nothing is uploaded, there is no account, and it works offline once installed.