But fear not! “Lossy” codecs are good actually, because they are capable of delivering both high-quality video and reasonable data rates the objective of a good delivery codec is to provide the best quality deliverable possible so that viewers will never miss any data “lost” in the compression process. But let’s keep in mind uncompressed audio and video files are huge, making them challenging to store and transport.įor purposes of video streaming, you’ll virtually always be using lossy codecs because they lower the data rate, so we won’t cover lossless codecs much here. A camera, for instance, may shoot with a lossless codec. Codec technology is essential and involved every step of the way in creating, editing, and delivering digital video.Īs a broad note, there are two essential types of video codec: “lossless” and “lossy” –based on how exactly original captured image data is reproduced after decompression. However, a codec is distinct in that it must be able to do BOTH compression and decompression. The concept may sound familiar from some of our other posts about streaming media, compression, and comparing software vs. Video codecs are essential to the process of video streaming no codecs, no streaming media, as they say. At the most basic level, a video codec applies an algorithm that compresses video files into a “container format.” When the video files are transported (particularly across the internet) the codec decompresses them so they’re suitable for viewing. Additionally, codecs are used to optimize files for playback. So, a video codec is a hardware or software that compresses and decompresses digital video, to make file sizes smaller and storage and distribution of the videos easier. Let’s start at the beginning: “Codec” is a portmanteau word combining “encoder” and “decoder” (or possibly “compressor-decompressor”).
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