Video comes in several different formats, each one has its different uses, for example, certain devices, (apple, windows, android, mobile, TV, CD, Gaming platforms and so on).
Here are some examples of
common formats: MPG, MP4, MOV, AVI, WMV, FLV, SWF, 3GP, ASF, C-DNG.
The definition of lossy: Lossy is a form of file compression in which unneccasary data is lost and consequently quality is lost as well, an example of this would be an audio file, (MP3,WMV), if the file was lossy then the high and low end frequency would be cut to make the file smaller, this would result in a watery sound and a loss in dynamic range, if there was an image, (JPEG,GIF,PNG) and the format was lossy then you would be able to see pixilation and blurriness.
The Definition of lossless: lossless is the complete opposite to lossy, the file is raw, so nothing is deleted, so the file is the original size that it was shot/recorded on.
Video
MPEG/MPG: MPEG is the abbreviation for the company, 'moving pictures experts group', and this is a compressed format, although it is compressed it still maintains a majority of the original quality. This is a popular format for videos on the internet.
MP4: MP4 is a format that allows the storage of moving image, audio, graphics such as subtitles and images, this format can also be used over the internet.
MOV: is a format developed by apple and is used across apple platforms such as macs, iPhone, iPad and apple TV, it is also compatible with windows, to use this format the program quicktime is required. This format can hold video,audio and graphics.
AVI: AVI is Microsoft's format and can hold audio and video, the quality is quite near to RAW but it consumes a lot of disc space.
WMV: short for windows media video, this format was originally made as a competitor for the real video format, the current version WMV 9 is beginning to become a popular format for blu-ray discs and is comparable to H.264.
FLV: FLV is a video format designed for the internet that runs using the program Adobe Flash Player. this format is a common choice for video streaming such as youtube and google video.
SWF: SWF is a file extension for a shockwave flash file, it was created by macromedia but is now owned by Adobe. SWF stands for small web file, it can hold audio and video swell as vector based animations.
3GP: 3GP is a compressed format of MP4 and is designed for better streaming on mobile phones.
ASF: ASF stands for advanced streaming format, this is designed by Microsoft and its purpose is to stream multimedia files containing video, sound, graphics and animation, it doesn't rely on any operating system so it is a universal format.
C-dng: c-dng stands for cinematic digital negative. It is a raw format created by Adobe, it is used for cinematic footage, (4k), it is a lossless format.
Examples of formats
Another example of formatting is Netflix. Netlifx hosts TV programs and Films that were probably shot and compressed in several different formats. Netflix originally encoded in the format WMV3 and WMA (which is a lossy format), but has recently changed to Microsoft silverlight technology alongside a VC-1 advanced profile encoding with play ready DRM. Netflix also has the option of streaming in HD as well.
Youtube has a fairly similar system to Netflix, apart from the fact that it encoded footage in an FLV format, youtube is slightly different to Netflix because footage can be uploaded from several different devices, ranging from 4k raw footage to footage from a mobile device. FLV runs off of the adobe flash player, this is a very diverse format and is lossy, the reason this is a diverse format is because youtube can now host 4K footage, there are some aspects of the footage that are lost, for example after analysing a 4k clip the footage can appear fairly grainy but other than that the quality holds. Below is an example of a 4K clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYP4wKD-6J8
Games are commonly in the format ISO, the game trailers are normally in a .MOV format as they're rendered, the audio from the trailers are commonly in a WMA format. an example of this is the new E3 assassins creed trailer, this is an example of how much game trailers have developed over the years, they're almost like short films, the 3D animation and sheer detail in them makes them cinematic and visually flawless. The game trailers would be lossless as they're rendered so there is nothing to compress.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzCEdSKMkdU
Mobile devices are becoming the dominant market for video watching, the iPhone streams footage in a .MOV format, this is a format exclusively for apple devices, it is a lossy format and can host audio and graphics as well, this is a very diverse format as it can accommodate any apple device. Streaming programs such as Netflix and youtube are also available on tablets and phones now and is becoming the more common form of viewing.
Short films can range in their format, for example if a film was shot in 4k raw then it would be in a C-DNG format which is lossless, but if it was shot in standard 1080p it could be encoded in .MOV, .MPEG or .FLV if it was being uploaded to youtube or another video streaming source.
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