Video codecs


Free Download Mp4Gain
picture

In photography, the choice of the recording codec is quite limited: we usually fluctuate between the JPG format and the Raw format. In video, the choice is slightly wider: MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPG-4, H264, H265, RAW, ProRes, ProRes Raw, Motion jpeg, etc.

So what are these codecs for, what uses are they designed for, and which ones should you choose?

Códecs

CONTAINERS AND CODECS are NOT the same!

Digital videos are contained in files. These files are called “containers”. The extension of these files often makes it possible to determine their type. The most common containers are MP4, MOV, AVI and MXF. The MXF container is generally used in professional camera series from manufacturers such as Sony or Panasonic.

These containers are “boxes” or “folders” that consist of several elements: video track, sound tracks, time code or subtitles. The purpose of the container is to synchronize all the elements it contains.

Therefore, you cannot know the codec of a video from the file extension: for example, an .avi file and a .mov file could use the same codec to encode the video track.

WHAT IS A CODEC?

A codec is a mathematical procedure consisting of algorithms used to encode and decode the image (codec). It helps define how sensor information is stored and the strategy for compressing and decompressing images.

codec

The size of a one minute 4K video file is about 50 GB. Therefore, it is easy to understand the main advantage of using a codec: compression. For the same minute of 4K recording, for example, using the H264 codec reduces the file size by a factor of about 27, or a final size of about 1.8 GB.

The more “codec” a codec is, the more complex the decoding will be and it will require a powerful machine to accomplish this task. At the same time, the higher the compression, the greater the loss of information that can make post-production difficult.

To achieve this optimization, most codecs use spatial compression: each image is compressed independently of the other images; This is known as an “intra” codec. For more compression, more complex codecs add temporary compression: we’re talking LONG GOP (GOP for “Group of Pictures” or “Long Group of Pictures”); Codecs of this type record only one full image per x images (often 12) and retain only what has changed between these images.


Free Download Mp4Gain
picture


Mp4Gain Main Window
picture


Mp4Gain Features
picture


Free Download Mp4Gain
picture

Video codecs and possible failures

Video codecs and possible failures

Numerous queries that you make to us as readers are caused by one of those incompatibilities in something that should be as simple as being able to put a file in a pendrive and that later (for whatever astral reason) it cannot be reproduced due to a failure or due to other. And this, dear reader, is almost always given by the codecs.

So with the intention of explaining and the desire to give you simple solutions, we elaborate this article where you can know what they are, how to detect them, how to convert them easily and by which way it is better to insert it to our precious Smart TV. But, let us start at the beginning.

But what is that about codecs?

The first thing to distinguish is what a codec and what a container. Sometimes they are confused and it is essential to define them to identify them and get to the point when we are presented with any incompatibility in any file that we want to reproduce.

Surely you sound files with formats as famous as .mpg, .avi, .mov, .divx, .mkv … Well, all these are containers of content both in the form of audio and video tracks so that later when playing them play all at once, in tune and with sufficient quality. That’s where the codec comes in.

A codec is simply a program that creates a particular file with encryption. Hence its name … to encode and decode these files in a language or code that improves image and sound quality or reduces the file size for a better transfer over the network of networks.

So to sum up, one issue is the type of file format or extension that we have in front of us and a very different one, how it has been encoded, in what language, that our TV will then be able to interpret and reproduce correctly.

And it is that before a problem of reproduction of file the first thing that we have to know is with what type of codec it has been codified. To do this in a very simple way we can find out with a simple video player on our PC.

How to know the compatibility of Smart TV

Knowing what codec or container our “smart” television can play is critical to know what type of video file to download and that it doesn’t trouble us later when playing it with the smart TV model we have at home. But this information is not always at hand as we expect. There are brands that do not include this information in detail on their website or in the manual.