Giz Explains: Every Video Format You Need to Know

Once upon time , TV codecs and formats were really only the concern of Ab nerds , anime freaks and hardcore not - so - legal pic downloaders . Now , even the most part - time of flake has to mete out with them , whether they ’re trying to stream a flick across their house with an Apple TV , dump some telecasting onto their phone or just stress to grab last night ’s episode of Dexter because they , uh , forgot to renew their Showtime subscription . It ’s mussy and annoying , but we ’re here to pick it up . Take a deep breath . You might call back our give-and-take aboutvideo bitrates in the beginning , or how much data is packed into a file cabinet . As a worldwide principle , more bits per second translates into more betterer quality audio recording and video . The variable quantity in that — the other part of the equating — is how the content is compressed and de - compressed . Better compression techniques — the back breaker of have it away what bits of data to pull out to make great data chunks smaller — make for better quality TV while taking up less space on your hard drive . essentially , the part you need to know is that codecs are the software that make that thaumaturgy happen . Standard Standards • H.261 is not a term you have to concern about , but it ’s the technologythat most video standards and codecswere in the first place based on . Originating in 1990 , it ’s the first major digital video contraction standard , and like other “ H ” standards , it was develop by the International Telecommunication Union . This one was primarily for teleconferencing over ISDN crinkle , and as such , it looks like ass . • MPEG-1 Part 2 is another oldie , developed by theMovie Picture Experts Groupand approved in 1991 . ( BTW , the whole “ part ” thing is because telecasting is just one “ part ” of each MPEG standard . ) ground quite a bit on H.261,MPEG-1 was design to take VHS caliber videoand squeeze it down to a snatch rate of about 1.5Mbps , optimise for certificate of deposit transfer . No surprise , it ’s the standard used for all VCDs ( which can play in most videodisk players ) , but not a standard you would see attend around today . • With MPEG-2 Part 2 , approved in 1994 , we ’re in conclusion lecture decent vid . Also know as H.262 , since it was developed jointly by the ITU - T and ISO , MPEG-2 is an telephone extension of MPEG-1that redeem better resolution and higher morsel rates ( 3 - 15Mbps for standard def and 15 - 30Mbps for HD , though the spec allow for up to 100Mbps ) . It ’s the video codec used by videodisk and digital television , though now it ’s slowly being replaced by the more effective MPEG-4 , except on DVD , where it ’ll ride out that disc data formatting ’s lifespan . • H.263 isdesigned for sending TV over lousy connecter . So it ’s used to encode most Flash video and to send video over mobile web . • MPEG-4 is where we really stand right now . It has a much broad background than past MPEG standards , aiming to tackle both the low close ( stinky cellphones on a crappy web ) and the in high spirits destruction ( Blu - ray ) . It ’s still develop , so it ’s not - so - coincidentallywhere this whole story gets messier . There are two relevant parts of the MPEG-4 monetary standard for our unforesightful video role : There ’s Part 2 . And there ’s Part 10 — which is also get laid as H.264 or Advanced Video Coding ( AVC ) . To be exculpated though , even though they ’re both part of the MPEG-4 criterion , they ’re totally different formats . Nevertheless , both are more effective at compression than past MPEG codecs , delivering better quality using less space . • Okay , so if you ’ve ever frequented a Torrent site , you ’ve actually watched piles of videos that use MPEG-4 Part 2 , though it ’s not like they would ’ve had a flashing sign telling you so . MPEG-4 Part 2 actuallyhas different “ profiles”—the two that weigh being Simple Profile , for low bitrate , low - res stuff and nonsense , and Advanced Simple Profile . The latter visibility is what ’s used by movies you would download in data format like DivX or XviD or 3ivx — which are all codecs that are essentially just disagree implementations of the MPEG-4 Part 2 standard . • MPEG-4 Part 10 , the other part , was actually co - devopled by MPEG and the ITU - T , so it ’s also experience — in fact , more commonly known — as H.264 . It ’s more efficient than MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 Part 2 , deliver the same tone video recording in as little as half the space , making it suitable for the low and high-pitched - end . Because of this , it ’s quickly becomingthe standardest measure . It ’s part of the HD DVD and Blu - ray spec , replacing MPEG-2 in digital television ( like with satellite service and AT&T ’s U - Verse IPTV ) and supported by passably much every portable video player on the planet from the iPod to the PSP . Apple has a decent , if Kool - Aid flavored , FAQ about H.264 . • VC-1 is essentially aMicrosoft developed substitute video codecto H.264 give up as a measure by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers , though it descend from the same H.26X / MPEG family . ( It basically started biography as WMV9 , but thenMicrosoft shopped it to the SMPTEto make it an diligence criterion , and now it is . ) It too , is part of the mandatory Blu - ray and HD DVD specification , and is the prescribed TV codec of the Xbox 360 . It ’s lurch is the same as H.264’s — trying to deliver right timbre using less space , like HD picture in 6 - 8Mbps . gratuitous - Floating Codecs Okay , so all that poppycock up there are industriousness - wide received telecasting codecs . On top of all of those , various entity have it away putting out their own spin on those standard . As we mention before , DivX ( proprietary ) andXviD(open source ) , for case , use MPEG-4 Part 2 ( more specifically , MPEG-4 ASP ) compression , meaning poppycock that ’ll natively flirt back MPEG-4 ASP will also play back DivX.Like the Xbox 360 , for instance . There are a ton of MPEG-4 ASP - based codecs , actually , like FFmpeg , 3ivx and others , but DivX and XviD are the most vernacular . Same deal with H.264 : Some well recognize codecs that expend it are Apple ’s Quicktime H.264 , x264 and Nero Digital . You ’ve also got Windows Media Video ( WMV ) codecs , which are Microsoft ’s proprietary twists on industry standards . Containers aka Wrappers Alright , well you ’ve in all likelihood mark that none of your picture files have the university extension .h264 or .vc1 or the like . That ’s because TV are package incontainers or wrappersthat stuff thing like the audio , navigational info , etc . along with the TV in a single pretty file . by nature , there are about as many of them as there are codecs . To be exculpated , you would take a video encode with , say , H.264 , and wrap it up as a .mp4 or .avi file cabinet . The majors ones are : • AVI ( Audio Video Interleave ) isWindows ’ standard multimedia container• MPEG-4 Part 14 ( known to you as .mp4 ) is thestandardized container for MPEG-4• FLV ( Flash Video ) is theformat used to deliver MPEG video through Flash Player• MOV is Apple ’s QuickTimecontainer format• OGG , OGM and OGV areopen - stock containers• MKV ( Mastroska)is another undefended - spec containerthat you ’ve seen if you ’ve ever download anime • VOBmeans DVD Video Object . Guess what ? It ’s DVD ’s standard container , and what you get when you rip a DVD . • ASF is aMicrosoft data format designedfor WMV and WMA — file can terminate in .wmv or .asf So , in gild to play a video single file , your setup has to be able-bodied to do by both the actual video codec and the container . It ’s why you may endeavor to play an AVI file and Windows Media Player laughs at you , even though it entirely play one a instant ago — the container was no problem , but it did n’t have the correct codec . Or conversely , even though an iPod could play back an H.264 encoded video , if it was enfold up in MKV , it wo n’t be capable to read it . Okay , my brain bruise . Hopefully this will make yours suffer less when it arrive to dealing with pesky videos . If you ’d like to do even more preparation , Wikipedia , as always , hasa more in - depth discussion . And Doom9is always an amazing resourcefor all thing digital video . Something you still wanna have it off ? charge any doubt about codecs , kitties or pad thai ( but not RealMedia ) to[email protected ] , with “ Giz Explains ” in the subject agate line .

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