Audio Noise Reference
A compact reference for creators: supported formats and limits, plus the diagnostic line between steady background noise (which a background-noise pass can reduce) and transients or reflections (which need a different workflow). Use it to decide which tool to reach for before you process a recording.
Supported formats and limits
| Input | Formats | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Audio | MP3, WAV, M4A, AAC, FLAC, OGG, OPUS | MP3 |
| Video | MP4, MOV, MKV, WebM, AVI | MP4 |
One file per run, up to 500 MB and 15 minutes by default. Full list: mp3 wav m4a aac flac ogg opus mp4 mov mkv webm avi
What a background-noise pass can and cannot do
| Sound | What you hear | Fit | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steady hiss | Fine, continuous wash that never stops during pauses. | Reducible | Best case for a background-noise pass. |
| Electrical hum | Low tonal drone, often 50/60 Hz from power or lighting. | Reducible | A steady tone, so a noise model handles it well. |
| Fan / HVAC | Broad, constant bed from cooling or ventilation. | Reducible | Good fit while it stays continuous. |
| Room tone | Low ambient air of the space, present even when quiet. | Reducible | The ideal kind of noise to reduce; it is the bed. |
| White noise | Uniform broadband wash from computer cooling or electronics. | Reducible | Steady and broad — a good candidate. |
| Microphone background noise | Desk vibration, typing, or chair squeaks near the mic. | Partly | The steady part reduces; the burst-like part does not. |
| Echo | A recognizable delayed repeat of a word or phrase. | Not this workflow | A room reflection, not a noise bed. |
| Reverb | Blended decay that smears syllables together. | Not this workflow | A room reflection; needs an acoustic or de-reverb path. |
| Wind bursts | Sudden gusts that change shape moment by moment. | Not reliably | Transient; a noise profile cannot track it. |
| Clipping | Harsh distortion where peaks were cut off. | Not this workflow | Damage already in the signal. |
| Overlapping speech | Two voices or more at once. | Not this workflow | A mix and editing problem. |
| Dropouts | Missing time or words in the recording. | Not this workflow | Information was never captured. |
Use this reference before you process
If the dominant sound is steady hiss, hum, fan noise, or room tone, a background-noise pass is the right workflow. The six-step how-to guide walks through the whole process. If the dominant problem is echo or reverb, start with the echo versus reverb diagnostic before you touch any tool. Compare browser vs desktop software when choosing a workflow, or remove background noise from audio directly with one file.