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Audio and Video Files (General Information)

Audio Files

Archived audio files are provided in MP3 format (there are still a few old Windows Media files that will be converted to MP3 in the future). MP3 was chosen as the standard for compatibility with a variety of operating systems (including Windows, Macintosh, and Linux) and with a variety of media players (such as iTunes, Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, and QuickTime). You can listen to (stream) the audio files or download them to listen to later or copy to a CD or handheld device such as an MP3 player. For live events, such as general conference or other broadcasts, the live streaming is currently done in Windows Media format, although we expect to change that to MP3 in the future. The new standard for voice audio files is 32 kBit/s, 22,050 Hz, mono, and for music audio files the standard is 128 kBits/s, 44.1 kHz, stereo (again, some old files are not yet at these standards). We expect to provide much more content in audio format, including content in other languages.

Video Files

Many Church sites provide video that can be watched (streamed) or downloaded to watch later or copy to a CD or DVD. Additional videos will be listed at videos.lds.org. For events such as general conference, we provide files for entire sessions as well as for individual talks in English, ASL, and Spanish. In other languages, files are available only for the entire sessions.

Our standard for all new video we create for download is to create it in the following formats:

  • Windows Media 8 300K (Broadcast archives include 56K version)
  • Windows Media 10 MBR (Multi-bit Rate), which allows multiple quality levels in the same file)
  • QuickTime h.264 MOV 320×240, which is optimized for QuickTime desktop play and to work on current Apple iPod video devices.
  • MPEG 2 VOB, which can be used to copy to a DVD to be played through DVD players.

We believe these standards provide an acceptable experience for both broadband and dial-up users using both PC and Mac computers.

Not all videos on Church sites currently meet these standards, but all new media we create will meet these standards. Some video may also be provided in Flash or Virtual Reality (circular panoramas), such as videos on the Joseph Smith site.