safe to delete SFK/PCA files? -ACID Product Family

Subject:safe to delete SFK/PCA files? Posted by: winky Date:9/7/2003 2:33:06 AM Alright -- from what I understand, it's safe to delete PCA and SFK files but NOT the the ones with the little A's on them (Acid project files). Is this right? What are the PCA and SFK files anyway? ***ONE MORE THING: when I render, I can choose to do it in WAVE 64 or PERFECT CLARITY AUDIO. Anyone know the difference? -- Acid seems able to read both.
Subject:RE: safe to delete SFK/PCA files? Reply by: Chienworks Date:9/7/2003 6:12:00 AM .sfk files contain the picture of the waveform that you see on the timeline. It is safe to delete these. However, if you use the same sound file again the .sfk file will be recreated. Not a big deal. Keeping the .sfk files will speed up using ACID if you frequently reuse the same loops. They're tiny and don't take up a lot of disk space. Deleting them will unclutter your drive but they'll have to be recreated if they are needed again. .pca files are Perfect Clarity Audio files. They contain sound/music/loops/etc. If you have those on your drive it's probably because you put them there and wanted them. You probably shouldn't delete them until you've listened to them and decided if they're something you want to keep or not. .wav is a standard uncompressed Windows audio file. This is a relatively generic type that almost all software can open and play. This is a good choice for high quality output or when burning to a CD. .w64 is SonicFoundry's version of .wav which allows files larger than 2GB. You should only use this if your files are going to be huge. 2GB is about an hour and 48 minutes at CD quality (44,100KHz, 16 bit stereo). I would think that you would rarely ever need .w64 when rendering from ACID. .pca is SonicFoundry's lossless compressed audio format. It will produce files about 1/2 the size of .wav with no loss of quality. However, it is proprietary to SonicFoundry and the files can't be opened or played in any other software. Use this format only for your own personal archiving. Don't use it if you'll be sharing files with anyone who doesn't have SonicFoundry software.
Subject:RE: safe to delete SFK/PCA files? Reply by: jtuffen Date:9/8/2003 9:07:34 AM Just out of interest, does anyone use any 'lossless compression' on audio files? I have used PCA for a few projects when backing things up (making a backup fit onto a single CDr) but, as was mentioned, this needs unpacking by a SoFo app before using files in a non-sofo app. I used 'Monkeys Audio' for a while, but that had the disadvantage that nothing else read those files!! john..
Subject:RE: safe to delete SFK/PCA files? Reply by: Jacose Date:9/8/2003 10:10:24 AM I used 'Monkeys Audio' for a while, but that had the disadvantage that nothing else read those files!! actually, winamp can ;) lol, not that that matters :(
Subject:RE: safe to delete SFK/PCA files? Reply by: jtuffen Date:9/9/2003 11:54:17 AM Yeah, but not the latest version :( john..

Subject:safe to delete SFK/PCA files?

Posted by: winky

Date:9/7/2003 2:33:06 AM

Alright -- from what I understand, it's safe to delete PCA and SFK files but NOT the the ones with the little A's on them (Acid project files).

Is this right? What are the PCA and SFK files anyway?

***ONE MORE THING: when I render, I can choose to do it in WAVE 64 or PERFECT CLARITY AUDIO. Anyone know the difference? -- Acid seems able to read both.

Subject:RE: safe to delete SFK/PCA files?

Reply by: Chienworks

Date:9/7/2003 6:12:00 AM

.sfk files contain the picture of the waveform that you see on the timeline. It is safe to delete these. However, if you use the same sound file again the .sfk file will be recreated. Not a big deal. Keeping the .sfk files will speed up using ACID if you frequently reuse the same loops. They're tiny and don't take up a lot of disk space. Deleting them will unclutter your drive but they'll have to be recreated if they are needed again.

.pca files are Perfect Clarity Audio files. They contain sound/music/loops/etc. If you have those on your drive it's probably because you put them there and wanted them. You probably shouldn't delete them until you've listened to them and decided if they're something you want to keep or not.

.wav is a standard uncompressed Windows audio file. This is a relatively generic type that almost all software can open and play. This is a good choice for high quality output or when burning to a CD. .w64 is SonicFoundry's version of .wav which allows files larger than 2GB. You should only use this if your files are going to be huge. 2GB is about an hour and 48 minutes at CD quality (44,100KHz, 16 bit stereo). I would think that you would rarely ever need .w64 when rendering from ACID.

.pca is SonicFoundry's lossless compressed audio format. It will produce files about 1/2 the size of .wav with no loss of quality. However, it is proprietary to SonicFoundry and the files can't be opened or played in any other software. Use this format only for your own personal archiving. Don't use it if you'll be sharing files with anyone who doesn't have SonicFoundry software.

Subject:RE: safe to delete SFK/PCA files?

Reply by: jtuffen

Date:9/8/2003 9:07:34 AM

Just out of interest, does anyone use any 'lossless compression' on audio files? I have used PCA for a few projects when backing things up (making a backup fit onto a single CDr) but, as was mentioned, this needs unpacking by a SoFo app before using files in a non-sofo app.

I used 'Monkeys Audio' for a while, but that had the disadvantage that *nothing* else read those files!!

john..

Subject:RE: safe to delete SFK/PCA files?

Reply by: Jacose

Date:9/8/2003 10:10:24 AM

I used 'Monkeys Audio' for a while, but that had the disadvantage that *nothing* else read those files!!

actually, winamp can ;)

lol, not that that matters :(

Subject:RE: safe to delete SFK/PCA files?

Reply by: jtuffen

Date:9/9/2003 11:54:17 AM

Yeah, but not the latest version :(

john..