What is a Codec?




Codec stands for Coder-Decoder (some say Compressor-Decompressor) and is used to describe anything which turns data into another form for storage or transmission, then changes it back for use.
In traditional broadcasting, a codec is a physical device which turns analog video and audio data into digital form to be sent out over the air. It is also capable of turning received digital information back into an analog format.
In computers, a codec is used as a way of compressing video, images and audio to a more manageable size. The majority use a lossy(Not all the data can be recovered from the file when decompressed) method of compression, but some are lossless. Lossless codecs, such as MSU or Huffyuv, reproduce the original video exactly, with no subsequent loss if the video is re-encoded. The more common lossy codecs lose varying degrees of information, but can save substantial amounts of space.


A lossy codec may be transformative, predictive, or a combination of both. The transformative type cuts up the original image(s) or sound and quantizes it into a more efficient space, then encodes it. A predictive codec compares a chunk of known data to adjacent data and eliminates excess information to save size. There are many types of codec available, each attempting to strike an ideal balance between the loss of information and file size. Other factors, such as openness and the processor power needed to decode, are also important when considering which one to use.
The Ogg Theora and Ogg Vorbis codecs are a pair of video and audio codecs, respectively. They have high-quality and good compression, and are entirely free of patent restrictions, making them popular amongst many developers. RealVideo is a video codec designed specifically for streaming use online. While many codecs can be streamed, RealVideo and its sister codec RealAudio are particularly optimized for the PNA and Real Time Streaming protocols. There are literally hundreds of codecs used online, and everyone has their own favorites for specific applications. Many programs, such as Windows Media Player, have features integrated to automatically search for and download the necessary codec to play a movie or audio file, eliminating the need for a user to actively find them. A number of bundles are also available for download, installing the most common audio and video codecs all at once.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How do Scanners work?

Image
So it's 11:45 p.m. and you're laying alone on your dust ridden bed watching fancy television series (GoT, maybe) and suddenly your phone lines up with a message from a friend who reminds you of a deadline to submit a copy of a very important document, to the administration, that is sitting in your closet dust covered. So you're going to take a picture of it with your phone but you realize your crappy built-in phone camera and the poor lighting from the dingy bare bulb hanging from the ceiling just aren't helping. So decisively you dash to your PC and use your flatbed scanner and as you sit there listening to the whirling of the scanning mechanism and pondering how your life got to this point you find yourself asking how the heck do these things work anyway. Great question, your typical scanner uses something called a charge-coupled device or CCD to determine what's on the page. The main idea here being that the CCD can convert light into an electrical cha...
Read more

What is a proxy server?

Image
A proxy server is a computer that sits between a client and a server to intercept requests. There are several uses of a proxy server, but the most common is to speed network traffic by caching pages or files that are requested often. By doing so, the server can deliver the request quickly, only polling the server when required. In this way, it not only speeds up network traffic, but also relieves server load. Major Internet hubs and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) employ dozens of proxy servers. Filtering or censorship is another use for a proxy server. A company that provides Internet connectivity to its employees might configure such a server to block requests for certain websites. It can also filter content based on configurable criteria to help enforce acceptable use policies. If a proxy server does not require a Web browser to be configured to use the proxy, it’s called a transparent proxy. Otherwise, the Web browser must point to the proxy in order to ...
Read more

What is the Difference Between Gasoline, Diesel Fuel, and Fuel Oil?

Image
Gasoline(Petrol), diesel fuel and fuel oil are all petroleum products. Petroleum is a mixture found in the earth, composed of crude oil and natural gas. While the products that are derived from petroleum power the modern world, raw petroleum is of little use until it is refined. It is the refining process that converts crude oil into gasoline, fuel oil, and diesel fuel. Crude oil is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons that are chained together in different lengths. These chains have different characteristics and properties and form the basis for the individual products created out of raw petroleum. To be able to convert these hydrocarbon chains into gasoline, diesel fuel, fuel oil and other petroleum products, they have to be separated from other chains. Crude oil is separated into these different chains through distillation. During distillation, crude oil is heated in a distillation column. Collection trays are placed at differing heights in the col...
Read more