Content format

Content formats are used in recording and transmission to prepare data for observation or interpretation.

Content formats may be recorded and read by either natural or manufactured tools and mechanisms.

[3] Multiple content formats may be contained within a single section of a storage medium (e.g. track, disk sector, computer file, document, page, column) or transmitted via a single channel (e.g. wire, carrier wave) of a transmission medium.

[4] A primary raw content format may be directly observable (e.g. image, sound, motion, smell, sensation) or physical data which only requires hardware to display it, such as a phonographic needle and diaphragm or a projector lamp and magnifying glass.

The following are examples of some common content formats and content format categories (covering: sensory experience, model, and language used for encoding information):

Graphical representations of electrical data: analog audio content format (red), 4-bit digital pulse code modulated content format (blue).
Chinese calligraphy written in a language content format by Song dynasty (A.D. 1051-1108) poet Mi Fu .
A series of numbers encoded in a Universal Product Code digital numeric content format.