How to Compress Video “Without Loss of Quality” (Reduce Video Size) Part 2
MPEG-2. There is the MPEG-2 codec (known as x.262) and there is also the MPEG-2 container format. MPEG-2 is used for over-the-air television signals and DVD video. In general, it provides an optimal quality / file size ratio. Supported by almost all players.
Microsoft VC-1. Microsoft VC-1 is used as an alternative to Adobe Flash technology and is used on the Microsoft Silverlight Internet platform. Provides medium compression quality.
MPEG-1. Obsolete video compression codec (replaced by MPEG2). Previously, such a video could be found on CD-ROM. Now it is less and less common, although if you like to watch old videos, you will probably come across it.
WMV. There is a Windows Media video codec and container with the same name. It provides very high quality video compression, with a pretty good picture. Very popular and widespread.
DivX is a video codec, the various versions of which comply with the MPEG-4 part 2, MPEG-4 part 10 (MPEG-4 AVC, H.264) standards.
Xvid (formerly “XviD”) is an MPEG-4 Part 2 video compression library. By the way, the compression methods used in MPEG-4 are proprietary, so it may be illegal to use Xvid in some countries.
About containers
There are now dozens of containers, each with its own pros and cons. The container, in addition to the video compressed with any codec, also contains sound (which is also compressed. Audio, as a rule, takes up a lot of space, so I do not consider audio codecs, their effect on the file size is not significant).
AVI (or Audio Video Interleave) is one of the most popular Microsoft containers. Most of the time, video on a PC is in this format. By the way, many, for some reason, do not recommend compressing modern videos in this format.
MP4. This container format was developed by Motion Pictures Expert Group. Many users call it MPEG-4. Usually video in MP4 files is encoded with the x.264 codec and audio is encoded with the AAC codec. Sometimes you can find other codecs in this container …
VOB and BDAV MPEG-2. It is used to package videos on DVD and Blu-ray discs. Blu-ray discs (.m2ts) can contain videos compressed with the x.264 and VC-1 codecs.
ASF (Advanced Systems Format) – Found in various extensions .asf, .wma, and .wmv. By the way, the .wmv file is most likely compressed with the WMV (Windows Media Video) codec, but the file itself is placed in an ASF container file.
QuickTime. The creation of Apple. The container supports many audio and video codecs. Apple is a supporter of x.264, therefore QuickTime files (formats: .mov, .qt) usually contain video compressed with the x.264 codec.
Flash. By the way, Adobe’s Flash container format is quite popular.
Matroska (.mkv, .mk3d, .mka, .mks) is a very popular and in-demand container today. Free, open source, that’s probably why it went mainstream. Many high-quality videos are distributed in this container.
DiVX. Both codecs and containers are very common. The format also has the same name: “.divx”. By the way, the codec has a “pirate” origin, which allows you to get high-quality videos with strong compression.
For a time, Divx was not recognized by the “big” equipment manufacturers, however, today many already incorporate the DiVX hardware codecs in most equipment (if it were not for the popularity of video files from this format, probably nothing would have happened …).
Which codec and container to choose
If you want maximum video compression, it makes sense to choose the x.264 codec, which provides excellent compression with good quality. However, keep in mind that not all computers (especially newer ones) allow you to view such files. If the video is very high resolution, even modern low-power PCs will not be able to play and display it without lag and crash. By the way, if the video is not compressed by any variation of the x.264 codec (for example, it is in MPEG1, 2 or some other format), it can be compressed without loss of quality into a more “compact” codec. (say, Divx).
If you plan to view the files on DVD players, various devices, etc. – it is recommended to choose the MPEG2 codec and container – it is compatible with almost all equipment;
For various movies, clips, cuts of the finished video, the MP4 container is excellent, as a good compromise between compression ratio and quality.
