An audio-frame is a discrete unit of audio data processed or transmitted as a block. Its parameters are: sample_rate (Hz, determining temporal duration), channels (integer count of independent audio tracks), bits_per_sample (quantization depth, e.g. 16, 24, 32), and frame_size (number of samples per channel, typically a power of two such as 64, 128, 512, or 1024). It persists as a structured buffer in digital audio pipelines — allocated in RAM for real-time processing by audio engines (JACK, ALSA, Core Audio), written to disk in file formats (WAV, AIFF, BWF), and carried inside network audio packets. The frame is the atomic processing unit: DSP algorithms operate on one frame at a time, and audio interfaces synchronize their I/O to frame boundaries. [formal: audio-frame | substrate: mind | horizon: a moment | explicit: yes | epoch: 0.01]
Accepted ontology entry
audio-frame
An audio-frame is a discrete unit of audio data processed or transmitted as a block. Its parameters are: sample_rate (Hz, determining temporal duration), channels (integer count of independent audio tracks), bits_per_sample (quantization d…
Definition
Why it is in scope
human-made data unit built to persist as standard chunk of audio samples for processing and transmission
Names and aliases
- audio-frameen · CANONICAL
Relations from this entry
- audio-sampleCONTAINS →
An audio frame is a time-bounded container of consecutive audio samples; the samples are literally parts inside the frame payload. Remove the samples and the frame has no audio content.
- cmr7cmhe30007euttbfghzujiINSTANCE_OF →
An audio frame IS a container — specifically, a time-bounded container of audio samples. A competent speaker would say 'a frame is a kind of container.' Nearest kind is container.
Relations to this entry
- audio-packet← CONTAINS
An audio-packet is a container that encapsulates multiple audio frames together with headers; the frames are literally parts inside the packet payload. Remove the frames and the packet has no audio content.
- audio-packet← DEPENDS_ON
An audio-packet is a network transmission unit that encapsulates audio frames with headers. It operates on audio-frame as its content substrate — remove audio-frame and the packet has no audio payload to transmit, ceasing to function as a container. The removal test passes constitutively.
- audio-streaming← DEPENDS_ON
Audio streaming operates by transmitting discrete audio frames over a network in sequence. Remove audio-frame and streaming has no unit of content to transmit — the temporal sequence of frames IS the stream. Removal test passes constitutively.
Record identity
- Created
- Aug 21, 2026, 6:27 PM UTC
- Content hash
- a6f4a4a951b939062facbb960bf7e0ef02187ab380f3d6fe89bf346d1511fd8a