2.1 Video Formats, Codecs, and Compression

Video formats, codecs, and compression are crucial for managing digital video files. They determine how video data is stored, processed, and transmitted. Understanding these concepts helps you choose the right format for your project and workflow.

Compression techniques like lossy and lossless affect file size and quality. Bitrate impacts video quality and file size. Raw video offers maximum quality but requires more storage and processing power. These factors influence your editing and delivery options.

Video Container Formats and Codecs

Container Formats and Codecs

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• Container formats package video and audio data together along with metadata into a single file
• Common container formats include MP4, MOV, AVI, and MKV each with their own features and compatibility
• Codecs are algorithms used to compress and decompress video and audio data reducing file size and enabling efficient storage and transmission
• Video codecs handle the compression and decompression of video data within a container format (H.264, HEVC)
• Audio codecs perform the same function for audio data within a container (AAC, MP3)

Popular Video Codecs

• H.264/AVC (Advanced Video Coding) is a widely-used lossy compression standard that provides excellent video quality at relatively low bitrates
  • Developed by the ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group and the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group
  • Offers better compression efficiency compared to older codecs like MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 Part 2
  • Commonly used for online video streaming (YouTube), Blu-ray discs, and broadcast television
• ProRes is a family of intermediate codecs developed by Apple for post-production workflows
  • Designed to maintain high image quality while offering reasonable file sizes and performance
  • Commonly used in professional video editing software (Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro)
  • ProRes 422 and ProRes 4444 are popular variants with different levels of compression and color depth
• DNxHD (Digital Nonlinear Extensible High Definition) is an intermediate codec developed by Avid for post-production
  • Similar to ProRes in terms of maintaining image quality and performance in editing workflows
  • Commonly used in Avid Media Composer and other professional video editing software
• HEVC/H.265 (High Efficiency Video Coding) is a newer lossy compression standard that offers improved compression efficiency over H.264
  • Developed by the Joint Collaborative Team on Video Coding (JCT-VC)
  • Capable of reducing file sizes by up to 50% compared to H.264 while maintaining similar visual quality
  • Gaining adoption for 4K and HDR video content delivery (streaming services, broadcast)

Video Compression Techniques

Lossless and Lossy Compression

• Lossless compression reduces file size without discarding any data, allowing the original data to be perfectly reconstructed
  • Achieves smaller file sizes by removing redundancy and applying efficient encoding techniques
  • Examples of lossless video codecs include FFV1, HuffYUV, and Animation Codec
  • Lossless compression is rarely used for final video delivery due to larger file sizes compared to lossy compression
• Lossy compression achieves smaller file sizes by discarding some data that is considered less perceptible to the human eye
  • Removes spatial (within a frame) and temporal (between frames) redundancy using techniques like chroma subsampling, quantization, and motion compensation
  • Most common video codecs (H.264, HEVC) use lossy compression to achieve practical file sizes for storage and transmission
  • The amount of data discarded can be adjusted based on the desired balance between file size and visual quality

Bitrate and Video Quality

• Bitrate is the amount of data used to encode video or audio per unit of time, typically measured in bits per second (bps) or megabits per second (Mbps)
  • Higher bitrates generally result in better video quality but larger file sizes
  • Lower bitrates produce smaller files but may introduce visible compression artifacts and reduced detail
• Constant Bitrate (CBR) encoding maintains a fixed bitrate throughout the video, allocating the same amount of data to each frame regardless of complexity
• Variable Bitrate (VBR) encoding adjusts the bitrate dynamically based on the complexity of each frame, allocating more data to complex scenes and less to simple ones
  • VBR can achieve better overall quality compared to CBR at the same average bitrate by efficiently distributing the available data

Uncompressed Video Format

Raw Video and Its Applications

• Raw video refers to uncompressed video data captured directly from a camera's image sensor without any processing or compression applied
  • Contains the maximum amount of image data and quality available from the camera sensor
  • Requires significant storage space and processing power to work with due to large file sizes
• Raw video formats are specific to each camera manufacturer and model (ARRI RAW, RED RAW, Sony RAW)
  • These proprietary formats often include metadata about the camera settings and image characteristics
• Shooting in raw allows for greater flexibility and control in post-production, as the full range of image data is available for color grading, exposure adjustments, and other modifications
  • Provides the highest quality source material for professional video production and filmmaking
• Raw video is typically used in high-end production workflows where maximum image quality and flexibility are prioritized over file size and ease of use
  • Feature films, commercials, and other projects with extensive visual effects and color grading often utilize raw video
• Working with raw video requires powerful hardware and specialized software capable of processing and rendering the large amounts of uncompressed data
  • Professional editing and color grading applications (DaVinci Resolve, Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro) support various raw formats