Video file formats are not one size fits all. Different file formats have different purposes. As a photographer or video content creator, understanding these differences is helpful.
Whether you upload videos to YouTube or place them on a large screen, you want to create, showcase, and disseminate videos in the best format and quality. It is essential to be familiar with common video file formats and define codecs and containers.
Common video file formats
When you start creating videos, you will find many common video formats and other less common video formats. The video format will leave you at a loss as to what MP4 is, what is the difference between H.264 and DivX, and so on.
Digital video files consist of two parts: a codec and a container. Most video formats are named after their containers. When you see MP4 AVI or When using a file type like MOV, it cannot accurately tell you what the video file format is - it only tells you the container type.
Choose the video file format that suits you based on three factors: the purpose of video communication, hosting location, and your audience.
Compression, codecs, and containers
One of the challenges faced by videos is that files are often very large. The use of high-resolution cameras and monitors allows the public to access 4K (and 8K is coming soon), resulting in increasingly large files.
There is no unlimited storage space or bandwidth, and file size is a consideration. As a result, each video file has a certain degree of compression in the form of a codec.
Video Codec
The codec is used to compress and then decompress video files. This compression can be lossy or lossless.
Lossy compression can produce smaller files, but may miss some data, leading to a decrease in video quality. This is particularly evident for repeated compression that leads to the accumulation of a large amount of data loss.
On the other hand, lossless compression preserves all data in the original file. This can improve video quality and prevent gradual degradation when saved multiple times. However, the video file you receive will be larger.
Sometimes you have to compromise between the highest quality video format and the smallest file size.
Common video codecs
There are some common video codecs that can meet most of your needs:
H. 264
MPEG-4
DivX's
MPEG-2
HEVC (H.265)
H. 264
Perhaps the most common, especially HD, is H.264. It is one of the more efficient codecs, allowing for smaller file sizes while maintaining high quality, and providing options for lossless or lossy compression. It is related to MP4 containers are compatible and can be played on many different players and streaming services.
MPEG-4
Another very common online streaming codec is the MPEG-4 codec. The newer standards in MPEG-4 (especially MPEG-4 Part 10) are the same as H.264, while the older MPEG-4 Part 2 is slightly different. MPEG-4 has a wide range of compatibility.
DivX's
DivX, like the open-source version XviD, is an older codec designed to maximize video quality, but at the cost of having much larger files. It is usually used in various business environments with less attention paid to file size.
MPEG-2
As the predecessor of MPEG-4, MPEG-2 was the standard codec used for DVDs and early Blu ray discs. It is not commonly used for streaming videos. The professional camera codecs that use MPEG-2 are HDV and XDCAM.
HEVC (H.265)
New video codecs are constantly evolving to keep up with the pace of modern technology. HEVC, also known as H.265, is a type of codec designed to provide more efficient compression for 4K videos and Blu ray. This is a widely used video compression standard in GoPro, used to capture half the size of its video content.
Video container
The video container bundles all elements of the video and stores them in one package. The elements include video and audio streams, subtitles, video metadata, codecs, etc.
Each video container type is compatible with certain video codecs. Your video editing software should only allow you to choose compatible pairing, try planning the codecs and containers you want to use in advance to avoid encountering problems when rendering the final video.
Common video containers
Like video codecs, there are common video containers:
MP4
AVI
MOV
FLV
WMV
MP4
A container may be the one closest to the current universal standard. It can use all versions of MPEG-4 and H.264, and is compatible with many players. Use MP4 container videos can have relatively small file sizes while maintaining high quality. Many of the largest streaming services, including YouTube and Vimeo, prefer it MP4.
AVI
One of the oldest and most widely accepted video file formats is AVI. It can use a large number of codecs to generate various file settings. Although AVI videos can be played on various players, but file sizes are often large, making them less suitable for streaming or downloading. For videos planned to be stored on a computer, this is a great choice.
MOV (Quicktime)
Apple has developed it MOV container, can be used in conjunction with its Quicktime player. Use Mov videos typically have very high quality, but also have a considerable file size. Quicktime videos are not highly compatible with non Quicktime players, but third-party players may read them.
FLV (Flash)
Due to the very small file size, browser plugins and third-party Flash video players are very small, therefore FLV videos are specifically designed for Adobe's Flash players and have been very common for many years. Recently, Flash videos have experienced a significant decline due to the increasing popularity of Flash plugins.
WMV (Windows Media)
Windows Media videos often have the smallest file size, making them a great choice if you need to send them via email or other methods with file size restrictions. However, this is accompanied by a significant trade-off in quality A common use of WMV is to send video previews to customers via email.