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What are the most popular audio formats?

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What are the most popular audio formats?

There are dozens of audio files that we can use to convert a song, but the really useful ones can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

When we think of an audio file, most of us immediately think of MP3. Without a doubt, it’s one of the most popular audio formats, but it’s not the only one. Let’s see what are the most popular audio formats and what are the differences in use. And we have to choose that according to our needs.

There are different categories of audio files. First we defined the formats as uncompressed. The word itself defines this section of the file. In this case, the recorded sound waves are actually converted into a digital format without further processing. What does it all mean? In files that are very difficult to save and take up a lot of space. In order to simplify the storage of audio files and to reduce the load, formats with lossy data compression were created. These sacrifice some quality in favor of the small storage space required.

To fix this error, which represents the loss of quality in favor of file size, compressed audio formats were created without loss of data. Obviously, they’re not small files like lossy compression, but they’re still smaller than uncompressed. However, it must be said that these types of formats are only widespread in certain cases.

PCM

PCM is the most common and widely used audio format on CDs and DVDs that we have at home. It is the faithful conversion of analog audio into a digital file. It is no coincidence that it is an uncompressed audio format. Remember that analog sounds exist as waveforms. In order to convert a sound wave into digital bits, the sound must be sampled and recorded at certain intervals.

WAV

WAV stands for Waveform Audio File Format (previously it was also called Audio for Windows, now it is no longer). It is a standard developed by Microsoft and IBM in 1991. WAV files can contain compressed and uncompressed audio formats. In most cases, however, they are used for uncompressed people. Although it was developed for Windows, it can also be safely opened on a Mac.

MP3

This is without a doubt the most popular audio format. It was released in 1993 and over the years its success has increased thanks to the combination with the pieces of music. Why are they used so often? Quite simply, these are lossy compressed files, and the generated files are so small that users can create a music library without taking up too much space. And the quality? It is much lower than other formats, but the human ear doesn’t always manage to notice the difference significantly. MP3 is also a universal file. It can be found on smartphones, computers, smart TVs, tablets and many other electronic devices.

WMA

WMA stands for Windows Media Audio. It was first published in 1999 and has gone through several developments since then, always keeping the same name. As you can easily guess, it is an audio format created by Microsoft. It was developed to replace MP3s. Unfortunately, there are very few platforms that support this, so the MP3 mastery has never been compromised.

OGG

OGG is not a real compression audio format. We can define it as a multi-purpose multimedia container. It can contain all types of audio formats, but is often used to contain Vorbis files. It is one of the best performing files to reduce size without losing quality.

FLAC

FLAC stands for Free Codec Lossless Audio. It is a lossless, compressed format that was created in 2001. A FLAC file can be compressed to 60% of its original size without minimal loss of sound quality. It is also an open source format. Because of this, it is compatible with most programs and devices. It is the best quality alternative to MP3.

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What types of formats exist in digital video?

Who has not ever wondered what H264 means or what is an Mp4, Mkv or Avi file. These are some of the questions that we all ask ourselves when we are talking about digital video in some of the applications that we see online to find out which format or format has more quality or how I can convert a file to another file.

What in my measure can contribute is to shed light on the distinctions that exist when we talk about video formats within the different types that are applied to digital video and that there are three important parts to distinguish between them on the Internet or on a DVD:

The video and its codec (As the video has so much weight, it must always be encoded and subsequently decoded). They are simply mathematical algorithms to compress and decompress the video file.
Audio and its different formats or containers.
The file that contains the audio and the video. The container
Let’s go to see which are the most popular and try to explain them:

Digital Video Formats

MPEG: Moving Pictures Expert Group (Mpeg1, Mpeg2, Mp4 or Mpeg4)
AVI: It is the standard format but the one with the most weight. (Xvid or Divx)
WINDOWS MEDIA: Format developed by Microsoft. (. Mp4 or .asf)
MOV: Format developed by Apple. Quicktime required to read it. Low weight.Ideal for Web (.m4v or .mov)
FLV: Adobe Flash format. Use Sorensen Spark codec. (.flv)
Digital Audio Formats

Mp3 or MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3: Tablet with imperceptible signal loss for humans. (1Mb / Min)
Aiff: Audio Interchange File Format. It has no compression and uses PCM modulation so they are very heavy (10 Mb / Min.)
AAC: Advanced Audio Coding. Mpeg-2 compression. Indicated for surround or surround sounds
Windows Media Audio: The worst quality of all the previous ones, is the Windows format.
Digital Video and Audio Container Formats

.mp4
.mov
.avi
.mkv
.flv
.swf
.m4v

The truth is that it is a whole world and more when the big companies live thinking only about leading their own markets and not from the point of view of the user whom they have had abandoned for years. Obviously these are not all there are but I have wanted to include the best known.

But if we are talking about a file or files that any dvd may have or downloaded from the Internet in any format or container such as Mp4, mkv, avi with greater or lesser quality, it must be remembered that what is important is the amount of information that they contain, is say the Mbs this video is exported to.

It is as if we have a 16 ton truck and we put a box of oranges inside it when it can carry 1000 boxes of oranges. what we are going to see is oranges but with a very low quality.

I hope I have shed some light on this world of digital video and how the next time you face such a file you will be able to understand what each of the things attached to it means. I have to admit that it is not easy, but with that global vision and knowing what each one means, you feel better when facing it.

Video formats: What you need to know

Currently there is a wide variety of video formats available to store multimedia content in a file and play it on our devices. Depending on this format (and other multiple factors) the video will basically have a different video quality and a more or less small file size.

However, if you are not very up to date on these issues, you may get lost since we enter concepts such as formats, codecs, containers or among related terminology such as AVI, MP3, MP4, DIVX, XVID, OGG, MKV, OGG , FLV, MPG, VP9, HEVC, AAC, H.264, AVC and a long etcetera.

Outline of a container format

To begin, we must be clear about the difference between these two concepts that are often very confused: the container format and the video codec. The first of them is really the file format, the one that surrounds everything (audio, video, etc …), while the second is the format directly related to the video part.

But let’s look at a description of each concept to make it even clearer:

Container format: A video file usually has a certain container format, such as AVI, MP4 or MKV, for example. As its name suggests, a file in this format contains several elements inside it (generally and at least, video and audio). However, it is possible that it only includes one of them, or for example multiple audio channels (to have several languages from the same file). Some container formats also allow you to include other elements such as images or integrated subtitles, without the need for external files.

Video codec: It is often confused with the video format, but it is not really the same, since it is related to the content video and not the container format. It is not a mandatory element, since if a codec is not specified, the video is RAW (uncompressed) content, taking up a lot of space (for example, 200MB about 10sec). For that reason, a codec is generally chosen to compress the video. Depending on the choice of the codec, better or worse quality will be achieved, and in turn, larger or smaller size.

Video specification: Each video codec is usually based on a specific video specification (H.262, H.263, H.264 …), which is nothing more than a set of rules that define how it should behave. This can serve as an orientation to know if one codec is more or less recent than another.

Audio codec: In the same way that happens with video, we have possible audio channels included in the file. They are also usually compressed with a certain codec to save space: MP3, OGG Vorbis, WMA …

Types of video formats and codecs

AVI format

This format is one of the best known and most widely used as a container mainly to store series, movies and other similar videos. The .avi was released in 1992 and was undoubtedly the quintessential video export file since it was fully compatible for Windows, Apple, Linux, Unix etc.

It is currently one of the most standard formats used with S.O Windows. But not everything can be good, and if we talk about disadvantages we will say that the memory it uses to store audio and video information is large. In other words, the compression of an .avi file is quite heavy.

Another disadvantage would be the reproduction, since it is an old format it has been updated with codecs making old players no longer be able to read these updated formats and vice versa.

MPG format

A video format with worldwide compatibility, whose compression of audio and video with little loss of quality makes it possible to easily download these files from a website. The MPG file in turn is divided into MPG-1, MPG-2, MPG-3, and MPG-4, each of these with a different quality and that I explain below:

MPG-1: Quality compared to the obsolete VHS format of yesteryear, 352 × 240 resolution

MPG-2: Endowed with a slightly higher quality that can be compared with that of analog television. Its resolution is 720 × 486. This format was responsible for the success of the DVD Video

MPG-3: It was an attempt or proposal to give high resolution television quality or what is the same, for HDTV, but it was discarded giving priority to the MPG-2, later the MPG-3 will become the known audio file called MP3

MPG-4: Based on the Quicktime format and identical to the .MOV format improves the compression efficiency of the MPG-2 used by default on Apple machines. MPG-4 and MP4 is exactly the same, let’s say it is the official extension for these records. If we talk about high definition, we are definitely talking about MP4

WMV format

Microsoft Windows owns this format. To play this video file we have the Windows Media Player, or its equivalent, the great VLC player. A curiosity of this format is that it offers support for digital rights management, preventing users from copying the information, an interesting feature for online digital audio and video sellers.

These files are compressed exclusively with Microsoft codecs. with resolutions higher than 300,000 pixels, making it an ideal format for Blu-ray and HD DVD discs.

MOV format

If you don’t have a Mac in your possession, you may have come across this file on some occasions. But due to the difficult reproduction of it you have discarded it, now the thing has changed.

This standard developed by Apple allows the transmission and reproduction of high-quality visual content on the Internet in both Apple and Windows operating systems. Quicktime comes with its built-in player and since version 7 it has become a player that recognizes most current video files.

H.264 format

One of the most current formats today among video editing. Created in 2003, it has evolved, producing high video quality while keeping its bit rate low, achieving a simple structure design and a flexible format for mass use. H.264 is a codec that needs a container format in order to store that video.

It is the ideal candidate to use as a YouTube format or any tool for internet transmission.

MKV format (Matroska)

MKV format is a format used mainly for movies, series, and 3D content. This format is used because it allows you to store a lot of data in the same file. For example, include audio tracks in multiple languages.

It plays mainly on computers, but also on other devices such as televisions that have a USB connection. It works in a very similar way to MP4 and usually uses the H.264 codec.

DIVX format

It is characterized by being the first video codec that was used in the first movies in DVD Video format to be able to reduce the size and burn that content to a CD.

Divx is a compression format that allows to give images of quality similar to DVD but requiring less storage capacity. In order to view videos with divx, it is necessary to install decoders or codecs that almost always work with plugins or executables that already contain these codecs.

The DIVx format does not act on the audio compression affecting only the video.

XVID

When the Divx stopped being so popular it gave way to the XviD surpassing it for its better quality, becoming more famous because it was supported by many DVD players.

All about the different Video formats: Xvid, Divx, mp4, h264, Flv

Currently we find countless video formats. Depending on the quality you are looking for, the video will be exported one way or another. In this post I help you differentiate and understand each of the formats and codecs so that I can apply it to your editing projects.

You can find various formats intended for both web pages and videos on Youtube or Vimeo, as well as to project in cinema quality or to view them on your mobile device or Tablet.

camera_2If there were no different video formats, we would be very limited when it came to doing any type of video production, since they would occupy countless megabytes, and they would all have extreme quality, which would make it difficult to carry out projects for an exclusive job. By the way, if you are looking for websites to download copyright free videos for your projects, here I leave you the best free video pages in HD and 4K

It is not the same to export a quality video for YouTube or any online platform than to export them for a mobile device or a film shoot. Each one has essential characteristics that make everything optimized to get the most out of your production.

Many times the problem with all these options and formats is compatibility. Each device records in a different format and we can have problems when playing them, so it is very interesting to know what options there are and how to manage them to avoid headaches.

The first of all is to differentiate between these important concepts:

Definition of container format and video codec

To clarify concepts it is important to define what a container format is with what a video codec is, totally different things. The container format is the file format, the drawer that encompasses all the material (video, audio, etc.) while the video codec is the format that is related to the part of the video and is not absolutely essential.

Container format: Every video file has a format inside, which can be AVI, MPG, H264, MOV, WMV etc. This one has several elements inside, among them the video and the audio generally. But they could also contain embedded subtitles, even multiple audio files with different languages.

Video codecs: Video codecs are the files that are inside the container format, therefore you have to know how to differentiate these two concepts. If there are no codecs there would be no problem since these are files that help compression. Depending on the choice of the codec you can have worse or better quality.

Main video formats: AVI.MPEG, WMV, MOV, ETC

MPEG, different codecs for each use

It is based on the QuickTime format, which we will talk about later. In addition to video and audio it also allows storing subtitles or still images. Another of its advantages is that with MPEG you can stream. It is the standard format for digital video compression and depending on the type of codec it will be ideal for one use or for another.

If your goal is to burn your video to CD, MPEG-1 will be the codec you have to use. On the other hand, if you want a quality product on DVD, choose MPEG-2. When you want to create an audio file, your codec is the famous MP3. And finally, probably the most used by users, MP4 for the web.

If you are thinking of including a video in your Editafácil publication, we definitely recommend the mp4 format

AVI, quality but heavy

AVI is a digital video storage standard created by Microsoft in 1992. With the AVI format, videos of high quality but too heavy are obtained, therefore its use for the Internet is not recommended.

There are different compression codecs for AVI, but DivX and XviD offer the best compression-quality ratio.

AVI is ideal for storing original videos directly from the camera encoded in DV, it also allows including multiple audio streams, that is, including soundtracks in different languages.

MOV, the Apple format

MOV has been developed by Apple and has its own codec that is updated regularly. In addition to the MOV extension it can appear with the QT (QuickTime) extension

It has a very good quality-to-weight ratio, which makes it an ideal format for the web. Like the MPEG format, AVI also supports streaming.

Digital video format

WMV, Windows Media Video

It is a set of compression codecs that, as its name suggests, belongs to Windows and although it can be viewed by different players, nothing is better than Windows Media Player. It can even be a problem for users who do not use the Bill Gates operating system.

The result file is usually packaged in a multimedia container such as AVI, if it is only video in WMV and if it is only audio in WMA.

Occasionally, WMV format videos include features derived from the use of DRM (digital rights management) that prevents the viewing of the videos, but that can be easily removed with utilities such as SIdda or drm2wmv.

Windows Media Video: WMV

Here we leave you our small summary of digital video formats, and although not all of them are, yes they are all of them. Do you use any of these formats? Would you recommend another?

What audio and video formats exist?

When we talk about the quality of videos or audio, many doubts arise in people’s minds, as there are many terms that are very confusing for the user. For example, people talk about kbs, people talk about bitrate, the sample rate and many other terms that are not clear in people’s mentality are mentioned.

But in the end the question is always the same, what is it that is truly decisive to have a better video quality or better audio quality? The answer can be simple if we summarize it: because the difference in quality will depend on the amount of information that is stored, because the more we will have more detail.

When we talk about video formats within the different types that are applied to digital video and that there are three important parts to distinguish in them on the Internet or on a DVD:

The video and its codec (When the video is so heavy, it must always be encoded and subsequently decoded). They are simply mathematical algorithms to compress and decompress the video file.
The audio and its different formats or containers.
The file that contains the audio and video. The container
Let’s see which are the most popular and try to explain them:

Digital Video Formats

MPEG: Moving Pictures Expert Group (Mpeg1, Mpeg2, Mp4 or Mpeg4)
AVI: It is the standard format but the one with the most weight. (Xvid or Divx)
WINDOWS MEDIA: Format developed by Microsoft. (. Mp4 or .asf)
MOV: Format developed by Apple. Quicktime needed to read it. Low weight.Ideal for Web (.m4v or .mov)
FLV: Adobe Flash format. Use Sorensen Spark codec. (.flv)
Digital Audio Formats

Mp3 or MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3: Tablet with imperceptible signal loss for humans. (1Mb / Min)
Aiff: Audio Interchange File Format. It has no compression and uses PCM modulation so they are very heavy (10 Mb / Min.)
AAC: Advanced Audio Coding. Mpeg-2 compression. Suitable for surround or surround sounds
Windows Media Audio: The worst quality of all the above, is the Windows format.
Formats of Digital Audio and Video Containers

.mp4
.mov
.avi
.mkv
.flv
.swf
.m4v
The truth is that it is a world and more when the big companies live thinking only of leading their own markets and not from the point of view of the user they have had abandoned for years. Obviously these are not all there are but if I wanted to include the best known.

But if we are talking about a file or files that any DVD or download from the Internet can have in any format or container type Mp4, mkv, avi with greater quality, we must remember that the important thing is the amount of information that they carry inside, it is say the Mbs to which this video is exported.

It is as if we have a 16-ton truck and we put a box of oranges inside when it can carry 1000 boxes of oranges. What we are going to see is oranges but with a very low quality.

I hope I have shed some light on this world of digital video and how the next time you face a file of this type you will be able to understand what each of the things that are attached to it means. I must admit that it is not easy but that with that global vision and knowing what each one means you feel better when facing him.

And you know some kind of format that you are using and do you think it is missing here? This is a live article to be developed among all and thus clarify all more.