I want to edit audio files in Audacity. I don’t know what the sample rate and bit depth is for these files. How can I determine the sample rate and bit depth of audio files on my Windows 10 computer?
I have tried everything I can think of to answer this question. Several of my internet searches say that Windows properties has this information but I don’t see it (only has kbps).
Can Audacity tell me the sample rate and bit depth of an audio file I import? Is 3rd party software necessary to obtain this information?
No it can’t. Audacity does not work directly on the audio file, it copies the audio into the current project, so Audacity will only give you information about the “project” and not about the file(s) that you imported into it.
Several of my internet searches say that Windows properties has this information but I don’t see it (only has kbps).
FYI - If you have MP3s or other compressed files, most lossy compression formats don’t have a “bit depth” because they are not storing individual sample values and they are not using integers.
This is only true for empty Audacity projects. If the project is not empty, then the Project Rate is not changed. However, the sample rate will still be shown in the track information panel on the left end of the track.
The webpage https://mediaarea.net/MediaInfoOnline is an online version of MediaInfo. It has the advantage that it does not require installing anything. Like the MediaInfo app, it provides detailed information about the file, including the file type, kbps, audio bit-rate, sample format …
I tried the Media Info link and it worked beautifully. I finally know what type of audio files I have to work with. Thank you so much for this information.