M4A stands for MPEG-4 Audio, an audio file format from Apple.
Understanding M4A in Detail
M4A files are used to store various audio content, like songs, audiobooks, and podcasts. It's essentially an audio data format saved within an MPEG-4 container. The encoding within can use either:
- ALAC: Apple Lossless Audio Codec (meaning no audio quality is lost during compression).
- AAC: Advanced Audio Coding codec.
Key Characteristics of M4A
- Developed by: Apple
- Purpose: Storing audio data
- Common Uses: Music, audiobooks, podcasts
- Encoding Methods: ALAC (lossless) and AAC.
