What is a Codec? - 10 Facts
With the following facts, what is a Codec to understand. The subsequent example shows you the differences between the Format, the Encoder and the Decoder, and suggests how to improve quality and efficiency depend on the Codec.
- A Codec is a composite of Encoder and Decoder.
- Aim of Codecs is to reduce the amount of data for Transmission or storage.
- Codecs are used for Audio-, Video -, and image data as well as text compression and encryptions.
- In the audio area, there are Codecs designed specifically for speech or music. Video, and graphics Codecs that are specifically for Comic/Cartoon and real picture/movie.
- Lossy data reduction uses mostly psycho-physical Tricks, to encode exactly the parts of the picture and sound is inaccurate, which can be perceived by humans anyway hardly or little.
- Known Audio Codecs are FLAC and MP3, with FLAC Format and the Codec claims to be. MP3 is a Codec for Audio Format, MPEG I or MPEG II.
- The Decoder side, the MP3 is standardized by Fraunhofer, and to get a license. The Encoder , however, is not free of charge. Therefore, the use of many of the free LAME Encoder.
- Especially in telephony find the voice codecs G. 722.2 and Full Rate (FR) application.
- Known Video Codecs are H. 265 for UHD-TV, DivX and XviD , in MPEG-4 Part 2Format and H. 264 of QuickTime.
- Often several encoded formats such as MP3 and JPG in a Container-file merged - for example, in AVI, MKV, MP4 and FLV.
A simple Codec-example
An example of the principle of a codec is clear. A cut-off Codec a posted Text to abbreviated Text, and generates a posted Text:
- Format: digital font format could be encoded in a set, such as all the letters and characters you use binary.
- The type of encoding set in a specification - for example, the rule that each character is made up of 8 bits. To do this, write a table of which bit sequence is mapped to which letters or characters.
- Codec: Now you could create a shortcut codec to the advertised Text in the font format in the abbreviated Text in the font format.
- Your Codec needs to define what words such as abbreviated to be - for example, by a set of rules through a huge list of abbreviations, or a combination.
- Encoder: An Encoder can now convict on the basis of the rules and of the directory indicated Text in the abbreviation format.
- Decoder: A Decoder can do with it, then again, a posted Text.
- The efficiency of the data reduction depends significantly of your Codec.
- You have just creates a directory with three abbreviations, the majority of the texts are not noticeably shorter. The compression is low.
- Your abbreviation list is huge, must be the device that the Text and/or decoding is to have a large memory and a high reading speed.
- If you set up a clever set of rules to encode optimal way, your Codec is small and the terminal has little processing or reading of the work.
- A word can be abbreviated in several Ways, that is fine. A good Encoder would use the most efficient shortcut.
- An abbreviation can have several meanings, you have lost information. This makes your Codec is probably useless.
- Would, however, only abbreviated the words are ambiguous, of which you know that you skipped it, you would have invented a lossy psycho-physical encoding. These are not uses that you perceive each of the optical presence of the word visually.
- This idea is not very drawn to the hair. Because, as this example shows, we read is not necessarily just what is written.
A Cut-Off Codec
Many media players like VLC have the Codecs built-in. Others, such as the Windows Media Player to use in the operating system, installed Codecs with InstalledCodec to see. A comprehensive Audio and Video Codec package, for example, the K-Lite Codec Pack. What Codecs in your files have been used, you will learn through the free Tool Media Info. Media content in other formats and Codecs can convert it using XMedia Recode.
