[0:01] [Music] [0:12] welcome to another video from explaining [0:14] computers [0:17] this time i'm going to talk about [0:19] digital video [0:20] formats to do this i also need to [0:23] explain [0:23] digital video codecs and containers [0:27] so let's go and get started [0:35] digital video files can have many [0:38] different file extensions [0:40] including mp4 mov and [0:43] mxf however the first thing to [0:46] understand about digital video formats [0:48] is that they're not defined by their [0:50] file type [0:51] this makes digital video formats far [0:54] more complex than for example [0:56] image formats where you can be certain [0:58] that a jpg [0:59] file is an image in the jpeg format [1:04] rather than being defined by a file type [1:06] a digital video format [1:08] is a combination of a video codec and a [1:10] container [1:12] codec stands for coder decoder and [1:15] refers to the algorithm used to [1:17] digitally encode a video [1:20] meanwhile a container is a digital box [1:22] or wrapper [1:23] used to store video streams in related [1:25] content in a single [1:26] file it is therefore digital video [1:29] containers that can be identified by [1:31] their file extension [1:33] and not digital video formats [1:37] today the great many video codecs and [1:39] containers are in use [1:40] with common codecs including h.264 [1:44] also known as avc h.265 [1:47] also known as hevc h.262 [1:50] also known as mpeg-2 part 2 mjpeg [1:54] prores dnxhd and dnxhr [1:59] common containers include mp4 avi [2:03] mov mxf 3gp and 3g2 [2:07] and mts m2ts and ts [2:10] there are many other digital video [2:12] codecs and containers [2:14] but the ones listed are those i'll [2:15] explain in more detail [2:17] later in this video [2:21] as you probably gathered digital video [2:23] is complex [2:24] and can get somewhat confusing so [2:28] to help us get our heads around the [2:29] critical concept the video format being [2:32] a combination of a codec [2:34] and a container let's take a look at one [2:36] of these [2:37] a mini dv tape which was for years a [2:40] common means of storing [2:41] digital video however a minidv [2:45] tape is a container and not a format as [2:48] it can be used to store video [2:49] in three different ways specifically a [2:52] minidv [2:53] tape like this one can store video [2:55] encoded with the standard definition [2:57] consumer dv [2:58] codec with a professional standard [3:00] definition codec called [3:02] dv cam and with a high definition codec [3:05] called hdv this means that it's [3:08] impossible to look at the dv [3:10] tape like this and to know its format [3:13] and precisely the same is true when it [3:15] comes to digital video [3:17] files where the file extension indicates [3:19] the container [3:20] but not the videos codec [3:29] digital video just like a reel of movie [3:31] film [3:32] is made up of a series of still frames [3:35] a codec or coder decoder digitally [3:38] encodes these frames [3:40] with the term codec used to refer to [3:42] both the software or hardware [3:44] that performs the encoding operation as [3:46] well as the algorithm [3:47] it applies because videos contain a [3:51] great deal of information [3:52] most but not all codecs compress a [3:55] video's frames [3:56] to limit file size such compression can [3:59] also [4:00] be achieved in two ways known as [4:02] intra-frame [4:03] and interframe intra-frame compression [4:07] compresses each frame individually in [4:10] contrast [4:11] inter-frame compression stores some [4:13] complete frames as keyframes [4:15] but all frames in between as delta [4:17] frames which only contain [4:18] incremental changes this allows [4:21] interframe compression [4:22] to produce smaller video files however [4:26] intra-frame video is generally of a [4:28] higher quality [4:29] and is easier for a computer to edit as [4:31] every frame is immediately accessible [4:34] so if you are planning to edit your [4:36] video it's best to shoot it using an [4:38] intra-frame codec if possible [4:42] common intra-frame codecs include mjpeg [4:46] prores dnxhd and dnxhr [4:50] as you may guess mjpeg stands for motion [4:53] jpeg [4:54] and stores each video frame or field as [4:57] an individual jpeg image [4:59] prores is a family of intraframe codecs [5:02] created by [5:03] apple which is widely used in [5:05] professional video acquisition [5:06] and production for different codecs in [5:09] the prores family are named prores 422 [5:12] proxy which has the lowest data rate and [5:14] quality [5:15] up to prores 444xq which has a very high [5:19] data rate [5:20] and produces very large files [5:24] dnxhd stands for digital non-linear [5:27] extensible high definition and is a [5:30] family of intra-frame codecs [5:31] created by avid for professional video [5:33] editing but now also used for [5:35] acquisition [5:37] as you may guess dnxhr is a higher [5:40] resolution [5:41] version of dnxhd supporting 4k video [5:44] and above in common with prores dnxhd [5:48] and dnxhr data rates and file sizes can [5:51] get very large [5:53] indeed [5:56] one of the most popular codecs in use [5:58] today is h.264 [6:00] also known as avc or advanced video [6:03] coding [6:04] h.264 was defined by the motion picture [6:07] experts group [6:08] or mpeg in part 10 of their standard [6:11] mpeg-4 [6:14] most of the time h.264 is an interframe [6:17] codec [6:18] that produces relatively small video [6:20] files by storing keyframes [6:22] and the incremental differences between [6:24] them however [6:25] the specification allows h.264 to be [6:28] used [6:28] as an intra-frame codec and some [6:30] professional video formats take [6:32] advantage of this [6:33] usually describing their codec as iframe [6:36] h264 [6:40] a more recent and increasingly popular [6:42] interframe codec [6:43] is h.265 also known as hevc [6:47] or high efficiency video coding this was [6:50] also defined by the motion picture [6:52] experts group [6:53] in part two of their standard mpeg-h and [6:56] can produce video with the same quality [6:58] as an interframe h.264 codec [7:00] with roughly half the data rate and file [7:02] size [7:04] however h.265 requires more computer [7:07] power to encode and decode with h.264 [7:10] and so is not as easy to edit [7:15] an earlier and still very important [7:17] interframe codec [7:18] is h.262 which was defined by the motion [7:21] picture experts group [7:23] in part two of their mpeg-2 standard [7:26] h.262 is not as efficient as h.264 [7:30] or h.265 so produces much larger video [7:34] files however it is still widely used [7:37] for standard definition digital [7:39] television broadcasts [7:40] and dvds [7:48] as noted earlier a digital video format [7:51] is a combination of a video codec and a [7:54] container [7:55] here a container is a digital box or [7:58] wrapper [7:58] that is used to store a video stream as [8:01] well as one or more accompanying audio [8:03] streams [8:03] and potentially other related content [8:05] such as subtitles [8:07] and metadata digital video containers [8:11] include mp4 avi and [8:14] mov mp4 was defined by the motion [8:18] picture experts group [8:19] in their mpeg-4 part 14 specification [8:23] avi was developed by microsoft and [8:26] stands for audio video into leave [8:28] and mav was created by apple and is [8:30] short for movie [8:32] all three of these containers can store [8:34] video encoded with many different codecs [8:37] with mp4 and mov currently having the [8:40] widest [8:40] range of both professional and consumer [8:43] applications [8:45] more niche containers include mxf 3gp [8:49] and 3g2 as well as mts m2ts [8:53] and ts mxf stands for material exchange [8:58] format [8:58] and is a container used in professional [9:00] video production and distribution [9:03] meanwhile 3gp and 3g2 are containers [9:07] developed by the third generation [9:08] partnership project [9:10] for use on mobile phones finally [9:13] mts m2ts and ts [9:16] were created for the avchd video format [9:19] and blu-ray discs and stand for mpeg [9:22] transport stream [9:23] and peg 2 transport stream and transport [9:26] stream [9:26] respectively [9:33] the codecs and containers we've just [9:35] looked at can be combined [9:37] to create a wide variety of video [9:39] formats some of which [9:40] are mainly used for recording and others [9:42] for the delivery of final video files [9:46] to provide just a few examples when it [9:48] comes to acquisition [9:50] videos recorded in the still relatively [9:52] popular consumer format [9:53] avchd which stands for advanced video [9:57] coding high definition [9:58] use the h.264 codec and either an mts [10:02] or m2ts container the xavc-i [10:06] and xavcl formats used on many sony [10:09] cameras then store h.264 video in an mxf [10:13] container [10:13] while the closely related xavcs format [10:17] uses an h.264 codec and an mp4 container [10:21] many canon cameras shoot in a format [10:23] called xfavc [10:25] which again uses the h.264 codec and an [10:27] mxf container [10:30] often especially in the consumer arena [10:33] video formats are not given a name [10:36] for example most dslrs do not declare a [10:39] format [10:40] but use an h.264 or h.265 codec [10:43] with either an mp4 or mov container [10:47] similarly video captured on cameras and [10:49] recorders that use a prores codec [10:51] is typically described as being in the [10:54] prores format [10:55] and stored in a mod container whilst [10:58] dnxhd [10:59] and dnxhr codec videos are usually [11:02] placed in either an fxf [11:03] or mov file videos shot on smartphones [11:08] also don't have a named format but are [11:10] usually encoded with an h264 or h.265 [11:14] codec [11:15] and stored in a 3gp 3g2 [11:18] or mp4 container on an android device or [11:21] in a mav container [11:22] on an iphone [11:25] when it comes to the delivery of final [11:27] digital video files [11:29] once again we often lack specific format [11:32] names [11:32] although h264 and h.265 codex [11:36] used with mp4 or mov containers are the [11:39] most common [11:40] in the consumer space and if you are [11:43] ever in doubt [11:44] render your final video using the h.264 [11:47] codec [11:48] and an mp4 container as this is always a [11:50] very safe bet [11:52] as well as being the recommended upload [11:54] format for youtube [11:57] the professional delivery of final video [12:00] files [12:00] usually takes place in an mxf container [12:03] using codecs that include prores dnxhd [12:07] and dnxhr this said [12:10] an intra-frame panasonic codec called [12:13] avc [12:13] intra is also very common [12:17] indeed in october 2014 all uk [12:20] broadcasters began using a format called [12:22] as11dp for hd program delivery [12:26] which uses the avc intra codec and an [12:29] mxf container [12:32] finally most cinemas these days project [12:35] from a format [12:36] called digital cinema package or dcp [12:40] this uses an mjpeg codec and an mxf [12:43] container [12:44] so the mjpeg codec is not as rare [12:48] as you may have imagined [12:56] for the best part of a century the most [12:58] stable and widespread motion picture [13:01] format [13:01] was this 35 millimeter film now [13:06] technically we could argue that even the [13:07] role of 35 millimeter film [13:09] is a container and not a format because [13:12] the [13:12] frames on a roll of 35 millimeter film [13:15] can be [13:16] optically stretched to accommodate [13:18] different aspect ratios and [13:20] the vista vision format shot 35 [13:22] millimeter film [13:23] horizontally and not vertically in order [13:25] to get a bigger frame with higher [13:27] resolution but for the most part [13:30] for the best part of about a hundred [13:32] years if you wanted to shoot [13:34] high quality moving images with a good [13:36] archive potential [13:37] you chose the 35 millimeter film format [13:41] today digital video reigns supreme [13:45] online on television and in the cinema [13:48] and as we've seen in this video there [13:50] are a wide range of codecs and [13:52] containers available [13:54] which give us a bewildering array of [13:56] digital video formats [13:59] and deciding which one to shoot in to [14:02] edit in to deliver in [14:03] and to archive in is a very tricky [14:06] decision [14:07] but i hope at least in this video i've [14:08] given you some useful [14:10] information but now [14:13] that's it from me and the role of 35 [14:15] millimeter film [14:17] if you've enjoyed what you've seen here [14:18] please press that like button if you [14:20] haven't subscribed [14:21] please subscribe and i hope to talk to [14:23] you again [14:25] very recent [14:31] [Music] [14:42] you