Cybercorder 2000 uses the CODEC's (coder/decoders) that are installed on the Windows operating system. These CODEC's are installed as part of the Windows installation or become available when multimedia software or hardware is installed.

The PCM format is the simplest format, is universally available, and works on virtually all systems. The down side is that since it does not use audio compression, disk space is used up very quickly. The ADPCM and GSM formats work on most systems and provide significant compression. It is a good investment of time to determine which format does the job and also uses the least amount of disk space. Some formats are optimized for speech sound while others are more suitable for music.

The recommended approach in determining the suitable formats is to perform 1 minute manual recordings. The Manual Record window shows the disk storage required by the recording and can be used for comparison. It is also recommended to set the most frequently used format as the default format in the Record Options window. Once the recording is made, listen to it to judge if the audio quality is satisfactory. Some recording formats offer various bit rates. Increasing the bit rate increases sound quality at the cost of disk space, and visa versa.

Note: Some formats will not perform a recording and generate an error message, even though they are listed as available for recording by Windows. In some cases, the format may cause Windows to hang or crash while recording. The Lernout & Hauspie SBC format may cause Cybercorder 2000 (or any wave file player) to hang while playing a recording. The obvious suggestion is to not use these formats. The exception to this is the MPEG Layer 3 (i.e., MP3) format since Cybercorder has the capability to automatically convert a temporary PCM file to this format after the recording is completed. Refer to the Recording MP3 section for more information on MP3. In some cases when an error occurs and Cybercorder 2000 can not perform any further recordings, a restart of Windows may be required to reset the audio system.