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:

Windows OS:

  • BWF Widget allows you to playback BWF/WAV files with a Timecode display window. You can also view & edit the file metadata.

Mac and Windows OS:

  • Wave Agent beta is a BWF librarian utility provided as a free download from Sound Devices.
  • 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).

Mac, Windows, and Linux OS:

  • BWF MetaEdit permits embedding, editing, and exporting of metadata in Broadcast WAVE Format (BWF) files. This tool can also enforce metadata guidelines developed by the Federal Agencies Audio-Visual Working Group, as well as recommendations and specifications from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Microsoft, and IBM.