BWF Aware Software Applications
Q: I’ve made a bunch of recordings of interviews in Russia that the producer wants to have translated with time code. Unfortunately no one is familiar with broadcast wave audio files. I have found a program called Audacity, but it doesn’t read the time code. Are you familiar with any other programs on Mac or PC which are stand-alone BWF mono file readers which I can tell my clients about? Translators, obviously don’t have access to Avid systems.
A:
On Mac OS:
- Sebsky Tools will open BWF files and convert them to Quicktime and will view the recorded time code. This is a free application.
On Windows PC:
- Chunk Viewer will allow you to see what is in the header of a BWF file, but will not play it.
- BWF Widget allows you to playback BWF/WAV files with a Timecode display window. You can also view & edit the file metadata.
In both Mac OS and Windows:
- Pro Tools is time code enabled, however, the LE versions will not read timecode unless the DV Toolkit is installed.
- BWAV Reader will playback BWF/WAV files & display metadata (including timecode information).