Which statement describes WAV file limitations?

Which statement describes WAV file limitations?

• A. They are ideal for streaming music on mobile networks.
• B. They support lossy compression to minimize size.
• C. They have large file sizes and limited cross-platform support.
• D. They are designed for extremely long-term archival only.

Answer: (C)

WAV files store audio as uncompressed samples, so there’s no data reduction after recording. That leads to very large file sizes because every moment of sound is kept in full quality. Because of this, WAV isn’t great for streaming over mobile networks, where bandwidth matters. For distribution across different devices, WAV is widely supported on desktops but isn’t as practical on mobile web and apps compared with compressed formats like MP3 or AAC, which balance quality and size. So the described limitation—big file sizes and less convenient cross-platform streaming—fits WAV well. The format isn’t lossy by default, so it doesn’t minimize size through compression, and it isn’t designed only for long-term archival; it’s a general-purpose, uncompressed format.

WAV files store audio as uncompressed samples, so there’s no data reduction after recording. That leads to very large file sizes because every moment of sound is kept in full quality. Because of this, WAV isn’t great for streaming over mobile networks, where bandwidth matters. For distribution across different devices, WAV is widely supported on desktops but isn’t as practical on mobile web and apps compared with compressed formats like MP3 or AAC, which balance quality and size. So the described limitation—big file sizes and less convenient cross-platform streaming—fits WAV well. The format isn’t lossy by default, so it doesn’t minimize size through compression, and it isn’t designed only for long-term archival; it’s a general-purpose, uncompressed format.