Video file formats / formats Part 3

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Video file formats / formats Part 3

Incidentally, the existence of some half-finished frame rates is due to technical restrictions in the transition of television transmission from black and white to color.

In fact, for applications other than broadcasting, 30 fps and 60 fps are often used.

On some platforms, the upper limit of the frame rate of the videos that can be sent can be set to 30 fps, but higher frame rates are still progressing, such as the video recording function of smartphones and YouTube that supports 60 fps. Super Hi-Vision, which is being developed as a next-generation streaming standard, has an even higher value of 120 fps.

1-5. Field order (drawing method)
There are two main types of video drawing methods, “progressive” and “interlaced”.

The drawing method is often expressed as a set with the vertical size of the resolution or the frame rate (or the number of fields). For example, 1280 x 720 progressive is “720p”, 1920 x 1080 interlaced is “1080i”, 24fps progressive is expressed as “24p”, 60-field interlaced is expressed as “60i”, and so on.

The video is made up of a collection of many points, and the points are divided into a block of horizontal lines (this is called a scan line) and displayed according to the drawing method. There is a difference in how this scan line is displayed between progressive and interlaced.

Field order
Currently, most of the media like YouTube recommend the progressive format, so it is good to remember that you basically use the progressive format for WEB videos.

Therefore, in progressive, the scan line of an image is twice as large as that of interlaced, so that the moving image becomes clearer. In interlaced, the moving image is less sharp, but the moving image is smoother with less data. .Can be displayed in.

1-6. Bit rate
Bit rate is a unit that is also used in communication lines, etc., but in video, it is a value that indicates how many bits per second are used to represent video data and audio data, and the rate value of bits is ◯ bps., ◯ b / s, or ◯ bit / s.

If the bit rate value is large, the amount of data packed per second will be large, so the video and audio quality will naturally improve. On the other hand, if the bit rate value is small, the video and audio quality will be reduced, but the video capacity will be reduced.

The higher the resolution of the video, the more noticeable the detailed drawing will be, so higher resolution videos will require a higher bit rate.

Also, there are two main types of bit rates: constant bit rate (CBR) and variable bit rate (VBR). Constant bit rate (CBR) refers to a compression method with a constant bit rate and variable bit rate (VBR) refers to a compression method with a variable bit rate.

Since CBR always has a constant bit rate, it has the advantage that it is easy to predict the size of the video in advance, and it has the disadvantage of using many bit rates. On the other hand, VBR adjusts the bit rate according to the scene, so it can improve the image quality by file size, but it has the disadvantage that the file size cannot be predicted. Variable Bit Rate (VBR) is recommended for YouTube.

Also, in the VBR (file compression / encoding) encoding method, “1-pass encoding” is used to encode the content of the file without parsing, and an appropriate bit rate is assigned after analyzing the data before encoding. . There is something called “2 -pass encoding” for encoding. With 2-pass encoding, analysis is done in advance, so encoding takes more time, but can produce high-quality video.

Bit rate

2. Recommended format for each platform
With that in mind, let’s take a look at an overview of the recommended formats for each video platform.
* See official help for the latest and most detailed information.

2-1. Youtube
YouTube supports a wide range of file formats, but the help page has recommended encoding settings, so it’s a good idea to check that out.

Recommended encoding settings for uploaded videos – YouTube Help

2-2. Facebook / Instagram
Facebook also supports a wide range of file formats. AAC of 1080p or less is recommended for video and 128 kbps or more for MP4 audio. Consider the aspect ratio, such as screen occupancy.

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Video file formats / formats Part 2

Video file formats / formats Part 2

Files that are handled on a personal computer have an extension so you can see what kind of data they are.

For notepad it is “.txt”, for Excel it is “.xls” or “.xlsx” and for images it is “.jpg” or “.png”.

Video files have the same extensions, such as “.mp4”, “.mov”, “.avi” and “.mpg”.

For example, there are more than 10 types of video keys (= codecs) that correspond to the extension “.mov”. In other words, the extension in the video is just a guide to predict the content and keys.

Although it can be identified that it is a video file by looking at those extensions, the extension and the video file, and the video file and the key (= codec) are not one by one, so the extension is just a guide. . to show your identity Always makes it difficult to handle video files.

The main video files, extensions and codecs are summarized below. If you only know the extension and want to check the codec, you should use a software called codec checker like “MediaInfo” or “Vacuum Wave Lab SuperLite”.

Most of the major video players these days, like Windows Media Player for Windows and QuickTime Player for Mac, have a built-in key (= codec), and most of them can play videos with that software. However, keep in mind that some of them are not supported. You need to get that codec or get a player that includes that codec.

Video file format explanation Main extensions Main codecs
MP4 has a high compression rate and is very convenient, but it is difficult to determine the content because there are many codecs. The recommended format for YouTube is H264 mp4 format. .mp4 .m4v (Video) MPEG1 MPEG2 MPEG4 H.263 H.264 H.265 H.264 / AVC WMP9 (Audio) AAC-LC AC-3 MP3 HE-AAC VQ Apple Lossless
MOV A standard file for working with videos on Mac. It is based on MP4 and can also use the MPEG-4 video codec. .mov .qt (Video) MPEG-4 H.264 Motion JPEG (Audio) AAC MP3
MPEG-2 PS It is used as the recording format for DVD and the like. A standard based on the assumption that bit errors are small, created on the premise of storage media. .mpg .mpeg .mpe .m2p (Video) MPEG-1 MPEG-2 (Audio) MPEG1 Layer-II MPEG2 Layer-II LPCM AC-3
MPEG-2 TS The format used by many digital transmission standards around the world. Used in HDTV and Blu-ray recorders .mpg .mpeg .mp2 .m2p .m2t .mpt .m2ts .mts .ts .vob (Video) MPEG1 MPEG2 MPEG4 H.264 / AVC (Audio) MPEG1 Layer- II MPEG2 Layer-II MPEG4 AAC-LC LPCM AC-3 MP3
AVI Please note that the old format cannot be played if the file is incomplete and there are restrictions such as a maximum capacity limit of 2GB. There are a lot of codecs here too. .avi .divx (Video) MPEG1 MPEG2 MPEG4 Motion JPEG DivX 3-5 XviD (Audio) MPEG1 Layer-III MPEG2 Layer-III PCM AC-3
1-4. Frame rate
The frame rate is a value that indicates how many image frames (frames) are recorded per second, just like character reading, and the frame rate value is ◯ fps or ◯ f / s. I will describe it. In other words, if 30 images (frames) are recorded per second, the value will be 30 fps or 30 f / s.

The higher the frame rate value, the smoother the video will move, and the lower the frame rate value, the more choppy the video will be. In other words, the frame rate can be reformulated as a value that represents the smoothness of the moving image display.

The video on the right reproduces the difference in video depending on the frame rate.

The higher the frame rate, the better. A video with a large frame rate value will have a large number of recorded images, and of course the amount of data will also be large. In addition, there are limits on the human eye, the side of the screen that projects it, and the technical specifications on the middle side, so it is necessary to set it to a suitable value.

Typical frame rates currently used are 24 fps, which is used for filming and animation, 29.97 fps, which is used for television broadcasts in Japan, and recent consumer cameras. There are 59.94 fps conventional, etc. Furthermore, there are also 25fps mainly for Europe.

Video file formats / formats

Video file formats / formats

What you want to know before making a video

Just as images have resolutions and file formats, there are some fixed formats and specifications for videos. Naturally, moving images, moving images, have more elements to define in the specifications, and the mechanism is complicated.
In fact, people in charge of marketing and promotion, advertising agencies, etc., can often feel disgusted by observing the presentation rules of each company.
This time, to dispel the weaknesses of those people, I would like to present a few main points that need to be understood in the video specs and the optimal video specs on major platforms like YouTube and Facebook.

1. Six Points Defining Video Specifications
Now, I would like to explain the six main points in the video specs.

1-1. Resolution
Like still images, videos have resolution. Image resolution refers to “size” and “pixel density”, but for moving images, resolution refers to “horizontal x vertical pixel count”.

The resolutions of familiar things are 720 x 480 SD image quality for DVD, 1920 x 1080 full HD for Blu-ray and 1440 x 1080 for digital terrestrial broadcast (* The reason why the aspect ratio is different from other will describe later).

Typical resolutions include
Full HD (1920 x 1080) / HD (1280 x 720) / SD (720 x 480) / 4K UHD (3840 x 2160)
.

Video resolution
Cameras like the iPhone X support 4K video recording and major streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video support 4K distribution.

Recently, with the expansion of smartphones and the rise of vertical signage, videos with long vertical resolutions and square videos like Instagram have also appeared.

Some people have said that “Full HD resolution is enough”, but the screen has gotten bigger, the price of 4K TVs has dropped, the drawing power of the smartphone screen has improved, and 4K / 8K has been improved. it has been generalized mainly by the Ministry of the Interior. Issues and Communications: As various efforts are made in this regard, it is expected that further progress will be made on a higher resolution.

1-2. Pixel aspect ratio
The pixel aspect ratio, also called the pixel ratio, represents the ratio of the width to the height of the pixels that make up the video data, and you can set the expansion / contraction ratio of the video during playback. Be careful as it is easy to confuse with the old resolution (aspect ratio of the video itself).

In digital terrestrial broadcasting, due to the compatibility with the conventional SD format and the amount of data, data with a resolution of 1440 x 1080 (4: 3) and a pixel aspect ratio of 4: 3 is distributed and stretched on the side of the TV. When doing so, the appearance is 16: 9, but it’s okay if you think you are basically using square pixels (1: 1) in WEB video.

1-3. File format (container), codec
To understand the file format of a video, you need to understand what is called a “codec.”

Audio and video data are stored in a “video file”.
In addition, data is compressed and encoded (also called encoding) using a “codec” so that it can be processed more efficiently and more easily by personal computer software.

In other words, when a video is played, it cannot be played unless the data is decompressed using the same “codec” as the “codec” used when compressing.

Note that the codec cannot be identified by the file extension alone. When making a request to a production company, be sure to also specify the codec.

To make it easier to understand, we will use “codec” as “key” and “video / audio data” as “treasure box”.

There are two treasure chests in the video archive, each locked with a different key. That is, to open the treasure chest and play the video, the key (= codec) corresponding to each treasure chest is required.

If you lock with “Key A” when generating video data and “Key B” when generating audio data, the video will play normally if you don’t have “Key A” and “Key B” in your hand. You can’t do it and if you only have “Key A”, you won’t be able to play the audio.

What is the best video and movie quality? Part 5

What is the best video and movie quality? Part 5

What is the best video format?

There are many different video file formats that allow you to store compressed video and audio information in a single file. Many people used to call the extension of the video file itself a video format, but in reality this extension is just a container in which videos of various formats can be stored. Some users may have faced such a situation that the downloaded video file with the familiar and familiar AVI extension did not want to be played on the computer, because a suitable codec was not found for playing.

Most of the video files distributed on the Internet are now created using the two most common containers, AVI and MKV. AVI container has been used for a long time and many different programs have been written to edit such video files, but with MKV things were quite different for a long time and users did not know how to cut an mkv file.

To play or create each video format, an appropriate codec must be installed on your computer. The most popular codecs can be counted on one hand, and we will consider some of their features below.

The XviD codec of the MPEG4 standard provides high definition images for dynamic scenes. It is distributed completely free of charge and is widely used by amateur video masters to encode any video.

DivX is still one of the most popular codecs and is compatible with all DVD players. By encoding, you get high-quality video with a high level of data compression, allowing you to get small video files. At the moment, the DivX codec is paid when used for encoding.

The H.264 codec has become very popular in recent years due to its higher compression efficiency. When encoding, a very high degree of image compression is obtained with no loss of quality. It has proven itself very well when it comes to encoding HD quality videos.

The MPEG2 codec is used to create DVD video discs and digital television.

What is the best video and movie quality? Part 4

What is the best video and movie quality? Part 4

Best quality video formats. Video resolution:
Mobile is a video created for mobile devices; Typically, the resolution is between 320 × 240 and 640 × 480 pixels.

Standard Definition (SD): video standard

What is the best video format?

It is no secret that recently there have been very popular sites that distribute free files of movies, music, books, programs and much more. But how not to get confused with all the variety of distributions offered? What video format should you choose? Let’s deal with this. So:

What is the best video format?
One of the most common and good video formats is the avi format. It is small in size and does not lose much in image quality. But there is also an alternative to this format, which combines both an acceptable size and a high image resolution. These are files in mkv format.

And finally, I would like to point out that the highest video quality you can see on a computer is BluRay video. Versions of such files are generally scanned from BD discs. This format is so realistic and deep that it competes with analog tape in the cinema.

Surely, many have heard a term like “codecs”. This is a program that converts diverse information into digital. The essence of the program is that the codecs form a conditional folder for storing data, thanks to this process, the information becomes more convenient for storage. At the same time, the folder structure does not change, only the data transfer method changes.

Today, the most common codecs for saving videos are:

If you want to create your own video or movie presentation, you must decide which video codec to use. Let’s take a closer look at each of them.

XviD. A codec that supports the popular MPEG4 standard. If your movie’s plot contains a lot of movement, choose this particular codec. Dynamic scenes will be clear.

DivX. This codec is perhaps the most popular. If you convert folders with this codec, the video quality will be of the highest definition. Also, the video can be played on any DVD player due to the small size of the saved files.
H.264. This codec will require a separate installation on your computer. But it is difficult to dispute the effectiveness of his work. The quality is still excellent despite the higher compression ratio of the folders.
MPEG4. The most popular video standard. It is widely used in digital television. The standard allows high-speed transmission of any amount of information. This codec is also used to record DVD discs.
These are the characteristics of different types of codecs. Now you must decide what you want to create. For example, let’s say you decided to create a video presentation. To understand which video format to choose in this case, you need to answer the question: where will you broadcast your presentation? If you are going to publish the created video on some special video portal, then a codec like H.264 will suffice, because it allows you to maintain high quality, while significantly compressing the data.

What is the best video and movie quality? Part 3

What is the best video and movie quality? Part 3

To encode video, the best video formats MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264 or AVC (video compression standards (codecs) designed to achieve a high degree of video compression while maintaining high quality are currently used ).

Transmission of the HDTV video signal over a short distance (from the user’s tuner (receiver) to the monitor (TV)) is carried out in its original form (uncompressed) via HDMI and DVI-D digital cables. The use of digital interfaces (cables) completely avoids video compression and conversion and preserves the best possible image.

Digital video quality is a measure of signal-to-noise ratio. What is the best video and movie quality, and which can be downloaded from the Internet? Well, first of all, it must be said that the main requirement of Internet formats is compactness. It is clear that the DVD or HDTV format will not work. But almost any video recorded with a mobile phone or digital camera meets the requirements of the Internet. And the question arises, what is the most optimal and best video quality with maximum compression for the convenience of downloading from the Internet, and what are the designations of movie formats?

Better quality HDTV movies are confused by many Internet users with the HDTV-Rip video extraction method. HDTV-Rip is a video copy of a high definition video (movies) streaming source: HDTV. This can be done using a variety of codecs and compression methods. As a result, HDTV-Rip movies may not be of the highest HD quality. Rip video streams from an HDTV channel may come with the channel logo. Also, do not confuse HD video with HDTV high definition video.

What is the best video and movie quality? Part 2

What is the best video and movie quality? Part 2

What is the difference between 1080i and 1080p?

Each of these video formats uses a different way to convert a series of still images into movies. In interlaced scanning (“i” symbol), a still image or “frame” is reproduced by scanning 2 sets of alternating lines or “fields” (half frames). With progressive scan (“p” symbol), a frame is created in a single pass (sweep). That is, if the image scanning in both video formats (“i” and “p”) is performed at the same speed, then an equal number of runs per second occurs, then the advantage of progressive scan (“p”) becomes obvious (image quality is better) as the entire image (frame) is scanned and not half of the image (field). This progressive (“p”) scan generates fewer dots and lines, but doubles the speed.

Bottom line: 1080i and 1080p video formats look best in different conditions. The 1080i video format is designed to reproduce fine image details with little movement or in frames and still images. This video format is much better suited for “spatial resolution”. The 1080i video format works fine as long as there is no frame movement. When objects begin to move, the path of movement between alternating fields (half frames) begins to change. This is called “motion artifacts,” that is, visible image noise or video distortion that resembles an uneven pattern. 1080i video quality is considered outdated.

1080p video quality takes priority in motion. It does not introduce visible distortions in the image, regardless of the speed of moving objects, so it has the best “temporal resolution”. However, still images will not look very clear when the image is frozen, because there are far fewer dots and lines in 1080p video compared to 1080i.

Long-distance transmission of HDTV video signal (satellite TV – S2, cable TV) is generally done using compression methods to reduce bandwidth requirements for data transmission (from 1.485 Gbps to 8-25 Mbps ), while the video quality is still good.

What is the best video and movie quality?

What is the best video and movie quality?

What video formats are there?

Video (video – watch, watch) is the transformation of an image by a recording device into a sequence of electrical signals recorded in storage (storage).

In addition, video is a great variety of technologies for recording, processing, transferring, storing and reproducing visual or audiovisual material (cinema, films, video recordings, music, video, etc.). Video differs from film and cinematography only in that it uses any medium other than film for its reproduction and recording, although the modern development of digital technologies in filming and digital cinema projectors eventually blurs the line between the video, movies and cinema. The video format determines the structure of the video file, how the file will be stored on the storage medium (CD, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, flash memory cards, hard drives or communication channels).

The best highest quality video today is HDTV (High Definition Television in English): high definition television, high definition television. HD is a high definition video format, a modern format with a high definition of the image.

The most popular HD video formats are:
1) 720p – 1280 × 720 pixels (dots), progressive scan (progressive scan, all lines of each frame are displayed sequentially), 16: 9 aspect ratio, frequency – 24, 25, 30, 50 or 60 frames per second ;

2) 1080i – 1920 × 1080 pixels, interlaced (each frame is divided into two half frames, consisting of lines selected with a line separating, 2 times the frame rate compared to progressive), 16: 9 aspect ratio , frequency – 50 or 60 fields per second;

3) 1080p – 1920 × 1080 pixels, progressive scan, aspect ratio 16: 9, frequency – 24, 25 or 30 frames per second.

Comparison of all video formats (2020)

MP4, MOV or AVI?

Every video fan at some point comes across the question: which video format is best for me?

Usually there is no general answer.

But don’t worry in this updated 2020 definitive guide, we’ve listed all the common formats as well as all the pros and cons of them.

After this post, you will know exactly which video format is right for you, what you can use each format for, and what advantages and disadvantages each is associated with.

To ensure you a pleasant reading flow, we have listed all the points in this article as a link below. If you are particularly interested in a topic, just click on the link and you will find the correct paragraph.

1. WMV

2. MJPEG

3. MPEG I and MPEG II

4. MPEG IV

5. MPEG VII

6. MKV

7. AVI

8. MOV

9. MP4

10. FLV

11. RM

12. OGG

13. MTS

But before going through each video format, a brief introduction to understand the individual formats.

Anyway, why are there so many formats?

The choice of video formats is great because many companies want to implement their own file format. Video formats are actually file containers with different content, initially only image and sound, which can be saved separately. Containers can contain more information such as captions, menu structures, time codes, or comments for further processing.

Sound and picture can be compressed inside the container with a wide variety of codecs. A codec uses algorithms to convert data packets, digital audio or video files in such a way that they save space. Depending on the codec that can be viewed, the quality of a video may differ in image and sound quality.

You have to know that:
1. The video format answers the following question: how digital video data is technically recorded.

2. There are formats that keep the data compressed (= reduced, lossy) or uncompressed.

3. The type of compression is determined by the so-called codecs.

4. By far the most popular types are: MP4, WebM, and OGG.

5. Video formats like MP4 can contain additional information like images, texts.

6. It is possible to copy (= transcode) from one video format to another.

1. WMV

Although WMV files take up very little disk space, they are not really widely used. Despite the fact that Microsoft planned and pushed it with great expectations.
Of course, the fact that they take up very little space makes them sacrifice in quality. The WMV player by essence is Windows Media Player, which although it is available for many platforms, is still a brake that you basically need to have the Microsoft media player to be able to reproduce it.

Advantages: very high compression possible

Disadvantage: very little used

2. MJPEG

Motion JPEG (MJPEG) is a video codec in which each individual image is compressed separately as a JPEG image. Unlike MPEG-compressed videos, MJPEG-compressed videos have a quality that is independent of image movement. This standard is often used in older digital cameras. Due to the individual compression of all individual images, with this format it is possible to cut a frame from a video clip accurately without the need to recode it, which is generally only possible with MPEG keyframes.

Advantages: high compression, high quality, web standard, very flexible

Disadvantage: computationally intensive

3. MPEG 1 and 2 (Moving Image Expert Group) * .mpg

Video format developed by a group of experts with standardized compression methods. The advantages of MPEG movies are comparatively small files with good image quality, but low resolution. In practice, MPEG-II movies are far superior to MPEG-I movies in terms of resolution and image quality.

Advantage: widespread use, can be played on almost any device

Disadvantage: outdated, no HD, correspondingly poorer video quality

4. MPEG 4 (Moving Image Experts Group) * .mp4

Video format developed by a group of experts with standardized compression methods.

Originally, the aim of MPEG-4 was to support systems with low resources or narrow bandwidths (mobile phones, videophones, …) with a relatively small loss of quality. Since H.263, an ITU standard for video compression and decoding, had already met these requirements successfully, it was integrated into MPEG-4 as part 2 without major changes.

MPEG-4 movies are even more compressed and do not have a noticeable loss of quality: very small files with very good resolution. In practice, MPEG-4 places somewhat higher demands on the performance of the computer, since highly compressed data must first be “decompressed” again when played back.

Advantages: high compression, high quality, web standard, very flexible

Disadvantage: computationally intensive

5. MPEG 7

MPEG-7 is an ISO standard (ISO / IEC 15938) that was adopted in 2002 and was defined by the Moving Picture Experts Group, or MPEG for short. MPEG-7 is not a real compression standard, but it is used to describe multimedia data with the help of meta information and is stored in the form of one or more XML documents. It can be added to the time code, for example, to mark certain events or, for example, to synchronize the lyrics with a song.

Advantages: good content organization

Disadvantages: many complex XML schemas

6. MKV

One could suppose that it is based on a concept that we could qualify as similar to other containers such as MP4 and AVI, the Matroska Video (MKV) format is open source, which makes it different to a good extent .. MKV has the ability to be a container of a number, we would say that there are unlimited video and audio channels in addition to multilingual subtitles in a file, which is why it could be said that today it occupies a predominant place on the Internet when it comes to competing with other formats.

Advantages: good video quality, very good compression compression.

Disadvantage: certain playback limitations, depending on the device.

7. AVI

AVI takes its name from “Audio Video Interleave”. AVI is one of the most widely used formats and can be played almost everywhere.
It has been widely known for many years since Microsoft gave it a lot of strength and it has been one of its base formats..

Advantage: wide distribution

Disadvantage: inflexible

8. MOV

This format was developed by Apple and achieved a lot of acceptance. I used QuickTime Player from the beginning. An advantage of MOV is that it is possible to use many different CODECS for either compressing audio files or video files. It is compatible with practically all platforms (Mac and Windows, iOS, iPhone and iPad.)

Advantage: It has earned a place that puts it as a standard format for professionally produced work

Disadvantage: Not all devices are capable of playing it

9. MP4

It can be said that it comes from or is based, in some way, on QuickTime, MP4 has earned the most important place when it comes to being the ideal format to be shared on networks. MP4 has almost no loss and has a great quality surpassing many of its competitors. MP4 is compatible with most computers and phones.

Advantages: video compression without noticeable loss of quality

Web standard

Versatile in use

Cons: not suitable for streaming

10. FLV

FLV or Flash Video format is mainly used for streaming video files online through Adobe Flash Player. FLV video files retain good quality even after being compressed, so users can upload videos online faster. Now its almost dead since Flash does not work in most web browsers.

Advantages: high compression.

Disadvantage: almost dead.

11. RM (Real Average) * .rm

A collective term for the file formats of the software maker RealNetworks, in particular the Real-Audio audio format and the Real-Video video format. It is used primarily in streaming applications. Real files are lossy, but the quality of real video files is still comparatively good, especially with high compression.

Files compressed with RealVideo are lossy. The quality of RealVideo files is generally comparatively good with high compression, older versions are poor with low compression compared to MPEG for example. However, the quality of the newer versions is comparable to MPEG-4 video codecs like Xvid or DivX as well as Windows Media Video 9. RealVideo usually occurs in the RealMedia container and then has its file extension .rv, .ram, .rm, or .rmvb.

Pros: RTP support

Disadvantages: compressed real video movies are lossy

12.Ogg .ogg

Ogg is a container file format for multimedia files, so it can hold audio, video, and text data at the same time. Ogg was designed with the goal of offering a free and unrestricted software patent alternative to proprietary formats for efficient storage and streaming of multimedia content. The ability to transmit is the decisive design feature: everything that is packaged in an Ogg container can be transmitted without additional adjustments. This distinguishes Ogg from formats that are only capable of streaming in certain ways (like Matroska) or not capable of live streaming (like MP4). Ogg streams can be grouped and chained without having to adjust the individual stream.

Ogg Theora is not very common in the video field. However, it is enjoying increasing popularity in the open source scene. For HD videos, the Matroska format, which is also free, is gaining more and more ground outside of the open source scene, so it remains to be seen what role Ogg Theora will play in the future.

Advantage:

– Diversity of platforms

– open source code

– Easy to handle

5.1 surround information: playback without pauses

Disadvantage:

– High bit rate ranges

13. MTS

MTS is a video format for HD video from camcorders from manufacturers such as Panasonic and Sony. This format produces a high-quality video that is larger than the same video in any other format. The format is only compatible with some devices. If you want to play an MTS file on an Android or iOS device, for example, it is almost impossible. Only Blu-ray players, the Sony PlayStation 3, and a handful of other devices support the MTS format. To use MTS videos on other devices, you need to convert MTS to MP4. Of course, MTS files can also be converted to other popular formats like AVI, MKV, and WMV.

Advantages: high quality

Cons: inflexible

Well now that we have reviewed all the formats, the following question arises:

What is the best video format?

The different video formats have very different capabilities, some allow you to have many different tracks, some with subtitles and several audio tracks simultaneously. Obviously each format is only capable of being processed by some specific codecs. So, if we see that some can contain many tracks and that each one uses a different codec, we will understand that the resulting size will be very different, as well as the quality and resolution. That is, each format will offer very different results.

However, there is no clear answer to the question of what is the best video format. However, you could say that a particular format is the best and a good all-rounder.

MP4: a good all-rounder

The MP4 format is always right. All common browsers and operating systems support it. It also combines HD image quality with a small file size. This allows the user to save the video to hard drive or cloud, share it with others, play it on common mobile devices, or upload it to a video platform.

Video formats for mobile and web devices
Videos intended for a mobile device should take up little space. The MP4 format, which is compatible with iOS and Android, is ideal here. MOV format is also possible for Apple devices.

When asked which video format is best for a video on a website, the user needs to consider what formats the browser supports. Again, MP4 is the best option due to its high compatibility. The Google WebM video format works flawlessly, at least on Microsoft and Android devices.

Technical factors in video formats

In each video file format, each factor performs a function: each video has a frame rate and a color depth, a format, and a soundtrack. Depending on these four factors, the video takes on a certain aspect and size. For example, the higher the resolution of the film format and the higher the frame rate, the more information should be included. Therefore, such a file will also take up more space on your hard drive. By compressing the file, its size can be reduced, but this generally comes at the expense of quality.

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Different video formats not only determine the quality and size of the file, but also determine which devices can play it. That is why video formats are generally chosen based on the media that will be used to play the video file.

Common video formats on different platforms

The most widely used video platform on the net is obviously YouTube. However, the social network Facebook also has wide coverage. On both websites you can upload multiple videos and share them with a large audience. Therefore, common video formats must be actively supported on both platforms. The same is true if you want to upload the different video formats to the platforms. Among other things, both providers accept the following video formats:

MOV
MP4
AVI
WMF
FLV
WebM

However, the time it takes for the platform to make the video and convert it depends on both the file size and the chosen video format, so you should choose the appropriate video format. This also applies to embedding video formats on your website.

The different video formats: advantages and disadvantages
Basically, we need to distinguish containers (container formats) from codecs. When we talk about video formats, we generally mean the container format, which contains video, audio, and metadata. The container ensures that all the information within a file can be retrieved. Instead, the so-called codec is used to encode the video, which mainly refers to the type and strength of compression. The most popular codecs are H.264, H.265, VP8 and VP9. To encode a video, you need a video editing program.

The MP4 file format

The MP4 file format has long been one of the most popular video formats on the web. Thanks to good compression coupled with good video file quality, excellent compromises can be achieved. The codecs used for MP4 are mainly H.264 or H.265.

Advantage

The format offers a good compromise between image quality and compression and is particularly compelling due to the simple ability to bundle multiple audio tracks and additional elements into a single format.

Disadvantages

MP4 files are often heavily compressed using standard codecs, making processing and creation difficult.

The AVI file format

The abbreviation AVI stands for Audio Video Interleave and means that in this format the video and audio tracks are directly linked to each other. The format is widespread, but technically obsolete.

Advantage

This format is mainly characterized by a very high level of acceptance. There is hardly any player and hardly any browser that does not support AVI files.

Disadvantages

The technical limitations of the file format and, above all, the lack of ability to use multiple audio tracks mean that fewer and fewer users are using the AVI file format.

The MKV file format

The MKV format is currently one of the most popular video formats on the net. It is a powerful container format that can integrate not only video files but also audio tracks, menus, and many other functions.

Advantage

The MKV format is particularly compelling due to the high quality of video files and the wide range of functions in which the format can be used. The format can only be used with the appropriate codec, but it is freely available on the net.

Disadvantages

The disadvantages of the format are mainly the low compression properties, so it is not possible to create very compact files.

The MOV file format

This video format was developed by Apple and is designed primarily for use with Quicktime. However, the format is no longer up to date and is therefore rarely used for network applications.

Advantage

The advantages of the format are mainly the ease of use in the Apple environment and the very high compression, which allows to obtain small files.

Disadvantages

Due to the very high compression of video files, a consequent loss of images and information occurs.