The Windows Media Audio (WMA) is developed by Microsoft which is a file format for encoding the digital audio files. It is a proprietary technology that forms a part of the Windows Media framework. The Windows Media Audio consists of four distinct codecs. The original WMA codec known as Windows Media Audio is conceived as a competitor to the popular MP3 and RealAudio codecs. The newer and more advanced codec, Windows Media Audio Pro supports multichannel and a high-resolution audio. A lossless codec, Windows Media Audio Lossless, compresses audio data without a loss of audio fidelity. The Windows Media AudioVoice, targeted at voice content, applies compression using a range of low bit rates. A digital container format called Advanced Systems Format was developed by the Microsoft to store an audio encoded by Windows Media Audio.
