Video codec.
If you work in post-production, then chances are you’ll have come across a video codec before. But what is a video codec — and what are they used for? In this guide, we’ll talk you through everything you need to know about video codecs — including what they are, what they’re used for, and their advantages and disadvantages.
What is a video codec?
A video codec is a piece of software that compresses and decompresses video data. A video codec has two main components, an encoder and a decoder, that work together to make the file size more manageable.
- Encoder. The encoder takes the uncompressed video and converts it to a compressed format.
- Decoder. The decoder decompresses the file and prepares it for viewing.
There are multiple types of video codecs used to play different types of video. Some video codecs create efficient files that are high quality but take up more storage space. Other video codecs create small and efficient files, but lack quality.
What are video codecs used for?
You can’t see video codec, they’re invisible to the end user. But they’re necessary for two main reasons:
Compress files.
Video codecs compress video files and then decompress them for viewing. Essentially this means you can encode videos for storage or streaming, then decode them when they’re ready for upload or viewing.
Enable efficient transfer.
A video codec’s main role is data transformation and encapsulation for transmission across a network. They use an algorithm to convert video data into a bite sequence for easy transmission.
Advantages and disadvantages of video codecs.
So, now you know what a video codec is. But before you decide to use one for your next project, what are the pros and cons?
Advantages.
- Take up less space. Uncompressed video files can take up a significant amount of storage space. Fortunately, video codecs can shrink large video files, so that they can be easily stored.
- Easily distributed. Video codecs can compress large amounts of video data so that you can easily distribute and share them online.
Disadvantages.
- Information may be lost. Video codecs use an algorithm to determine the best way to shrink the size of a video. Most of the time this includes lossy compression, which reduces the file size by discarding the less important data, but this means you could lose some of the information.
- Compatibility issues. If your media player or device does not support the video codec used within a video file, then it won’t be able to play the video. To avoid any compatibility issues, make sure you choose a video codec that is widely supported, like the H.264, also known as the AVC codec.
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