Convert Audio Files

Any recording you plan to upload as a music-on-hold track or a custom prompt has to be in a format that Cloud Voice accepts. When an existing file doesn’t match those specifications, run it through an audio editor to re-encode it first. This page walks through two ways to do that: a browser-based converter and the WavePad desktop application.

Note

Before you convert anything, check the audio file requirements so you know which output settings to target.

Convert audio files online

If you’d rather not install anything, the G711 File Converter handles the job entirely in your browser.

1. Open g711.org.

2. Click Browse and select the audio file you want to convert.

3. Choose an Output Format.

   

   Note

   Pick any one of the following (all three are accepted, so a single choice is enough): u-law WAV (8Khz, Mono, u-law), a-law WAV (8Khz, Mono, a-law), or Standard Definition WAV (8Khz, Mono, 16-Bit PCM). “u-law” and “a-law” are the two standard telephone audio codecs, and PCM is plain uncompressed audio. “8Khz, Mono” is the sample rate and single-channel format that phone systems expect.

4. Click Submit to convert the file.

Convert audio files via WavePad

WavePad is a desktop editor you install locally. Download it from the WavePad site, then follow these steps.

1. Start WavePad and open the file you want to convert.

2. Go to File > Save File As.

   

3. In the Save as type list, choose Wave(*.wav), MPEG Layer-3(*.mp3), or GSM(*.gsm), then click Save.

   

4. When you save as Wave(*.wav) or MPEG Layer-3(*.mp3), set the encoder options and click OK.

   Note

   Use any one of these encoder configurations (CCITT A-law and CCITT u-law are the same telephone codecs described earlier, just under their formal standards names):

   • PCM Uncompressed, Mono, 8000 Hz, 16 bits Integer
   • CCITT A-law, Mono, 8000 Hz, 8 bits Integer
   • CCITT u-law, Mono, 8000 Hz, 8 bits Integer