convert m4a to WAV file (containing signed 16-bit PCM samples) in ffmpeg

0
votes

I have a MP4a file which I am looking to convert to WAV file, containing signed 16-bit PCM samples. I have ffmpeg at my disposal, and looking at previous SOF posts, I have tried:

ffmpeg -y  -i input.mp4  -acodec pcm_s16le -f s16le -ac 1 -ar 16000 output.pcm

but, the program I use complains that this converted file has data in unknown format. I was wondering if anyone had any pointers on how to go from m4a to wav with pcm samples.

1
audioffmpegpcm

1 Answers

1
votes
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 output.wav

This command will output WAV file containing signed 16-bit PCM samples. Your command is outputting raw PCM, not WAV.

You can add -c:a pcm_s16le output option if you prefer, but that's the default encoder for WAV so it can be omitted.