What is Digital video formats?
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Still having trouble finding any good explanations of video formats on the web? You can not play video with your network media player as those media files are in a format that your network media player can’t understand?This article will mainly talk something about Digital Media Formats, if you find errors, please contact us through Support e-mail.
First, what are video Formats?
When you save a file, it is encoded so that computer programs can recognize it. Many video formats—including camcorder and DVD files, Quicktime files, Windows videos, and numerous high-definition formats—must be converted to be played by programs other than the software for which they were originally created or saved.
These video formats are also called "codecs," short for "coder – decoder." A codec is a way of encoding audio or video into a stream of bytes.Video formats are confusing because most video files have at least two different types: the container, and the codec(s) used inside that container.
For example, "mpeg-4", describe both a codec and a container, so it's not always clear from context which is being used. You could have a movie encoded with an mpeg-4 codec inside an avi container. The Linux file program is a fast way to find out the container format of a video file.
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Download MTS Video Converter trial versionSecond, what are the most popular digital video file formats?
AVCHD(Advanced Video Codec High Definition).
AVCHD uses MPEG-4 H.264 encoding which is standard for many video formats. Blu-ray players will eventually play this format too and it will become a standard in home theater systems.This is a high end consumer home electronics format developed by Sony and Panasonic for HD home theater systems. It’s not a web format.
AVCHD(MTS/M2TS) is a format for the recording and playback of high definition video. Since it’s new, compatibility is still an issue. Video editing software applications are slowly adding this format to their repertoire, however, AVCHD.mts converter Mac and AVCHD.mts video converter supports import all AVCHD, MTS, M2TS etc digital video to all application and device on Mac and Windows easily.
Audio Video Interleaved (AVI).
AVI is a multimedia container format introduced by Microsoft as part of its Video for Windows technology.AVI contains multiple streams of different type data, including separate video and audio streams and a control track.
- AVI is known for good video quality and commonality.
- AVI creates relatively large compressed files that retain high quality.
- AVI is windows-based, AVI format is virtually universal with all Microsoft products.
- AVI works with applications that capture, edit and playback audio and video, like WMM, Vegas.
Flash Video Format (FLV)
Flash video, which is given the file extention .flv is perhaps the most common format on the web today. The .FLV file extension on videos encoded by Adobe Flash software to play on Adobe Flash Player, also web browser plug-in etc operating systems.
- FLV creates the smallest file sizes after compression.
- Flash was originally a Macromedia product but is now Adobe.
- Flash delivers more video over the Internet than any other file format.
- Many television news operations are also using Flash Video on their websites.
- Flash video also plays on several third-party programs such as MPlayer, VLC media player.
- Flash Video format mainly used in YouTube, Google Video, Reuters, Yahoo! Video and MySpace.
Third, What Are the Difference Between Video Formats?
Video files are in standard or high-definition formats. Not only are they created in different formats, they also played on different devices, application, from TVs , smart phones etc. Most of these file formats, especially real video, quick time and windows media files are all similar in size and better quality. New HD formats are great for home entertainment, but are way too big for the web.
Tips: Converting a file so that it can be played by another program, or by a previously incompatible device, is called "transcoding". Some computermedia server programs can be set to automatically transcode media files that are otherwise incompatible with your network media player.
Finally, Network Media Players’ File Format Capabilities
Your network media player must be able to read a file type before it can show it or play it. Clearly, it is essential that the network media player you choose is capable of reading and playing the files you have stored on your computer and home network.
Note1: If your network media player is unable to play a particular file even though it is capable of playing the format, it may be a copyright-protected file.
Note2: Save your music in iTunes, make sure your network media player can play AAC Audio. iTunes audio files may be listed as m4a or Apple Lossless. Files with the m4p extension are protected AAC files. However, now you can buy music from the iTunes store that is unprotected, so you can play this music on all of your devices freely.
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