Let's know what are the different video container formats FLV, MKV, AVI, MOV, MP4, WMV, MPG and Video Codec? Why and how to use them and which is useful for us? [Mega Tune]

 

Let's know what are the different video container formats FLV, MKV, AVI, MOV, MP4, WMV, MPG and Video Codec? Why and how to use them and which is useful for us? [Mega Tune]

Dear Techtunes community, I am starting my today's tune by giving my greetings and best wishes to everyone.

We know that there are many video players that support all types of video formats. Like I like Pot Player the most (I did a tune with it before. You can watch it if you want ). When we discuss different video formats, then FLV, MKV, AVI, MOV, MP4, WPV, MPG, these formats are in front of us. Hopefully, which one do you like? Then each person will answer in a different way. But do we really know which is the best format or which format we should prioritize when we rip DVDs or download videos from the internet?

Choosing the best video format is really a difficult task. Because most of us have known for so long that these video formats are nothing more than file extensions. But you can find out after reading my tune that these are not just one file extension. Let's get started then.

The extensions we will discuss are various video codecs and their containers. For example, many times after downloading the movie you will see before the extension DivX or x264 or MPEG-4 or H.264. These are video codecs. Let's find out what is video codec and container?

What is a codec?

The video files that we see in our media player are actually a compressed format. Because it takes a lot of compression to make videos suitable for our media player. Maybe you don't understand, then I am explaining with an example.

The actual file size of all the Blu-ray videos we watch can be up to 30-50 GB. Now if you want to download a video, it will be almost impossible for you. Because your computer space and internet speed and package are not enough for both. I left out the tab or Android. Therefore, in order to make all these videos easy to use, some of them have to be slightly compressed by reducing the video quality. So the codec is a compressed data that will tell you how to play the video file in the media player or use it as you like. Many types of video codecs are installed on our computer by default. Below are some codecs mentioned-

• FFmpeg (this is a codec that combines MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 codecs. It's good to know that MPEG-2 is used to store data on DVD and the MPEG-4 codec is used by Apple in their iTunes Store).
• The DivX codec can work with MPEG-4. Moreover, the DivX codec is used to rip DVD to HD video.
• The XviD codec is an open source project from DivX. Being open source, this codec is more commonly used in pirated movies.
• x264, it compresses videos in H.264 (MPEG-4 AVC) format and this codec is mainly used in HD videos.

We saw that we have different types of codecs for our desired work. Which of these codecs do we use most of the time? Fortunately, all of them are MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) standard, so you can use any you need.

Container key:

So far we have learned about different types of codecs. Now then let’s know about the container. We are all familiar with the term container. Containing something is the job of the container. However, by media container we usually mean the sum of many files. Containers are basically a combination of video codecs and audio codecs (although it also contains subtitles). This container allows us to separate audio files or subtitles from video. And we can arbitrarily separate or combine audio with audio or audio with our video. This allows you to rip videos in a controlled way. But let's learn about different video containers.

• Flash Video Format (.flv)

  
  This is a very popular container format. Flash videos are useful for Flash movies. Almost all browsers support Flash video format. You can download both video progressive and streaming video formats. And it's much more compact.

• AVI Format (.avi)

  This means Audio Video Interleave. Microsoft Corporation was the first to develop it. Although this container mainly uses M-JPEG, or DivX, it still uses almost all types of codecs in addition to these to store its data. As a result, it is easy to separate the codecs. It compresses less data and is a container format popular with Internet users.
  This container format supports almost all types of media players from other operating systems, including Windows and Mac.

• Matroska (which uses the extension MKV)

  It is a high definition video container. It is usually used to watch videos on a wide screen display. It does not support standard video players but runs on almost all good quality players. It is used for high quality video ripping.

• Quicktime Format (.mov)

  Apple was the first to create this container format. It is more commonly used on the Internet. This container can also use text effects with video and audio codecs. It supports both Windows and Mac platforms. You can use Quicktime or Pot Player to play it.

• MP4 Format (.mp4)

  It is one of the most used formats. It can normally contain three-dimensional video content, including audio and video. There is no substitute for low bit rate encoding. This container compresses videos into MPEG-4 codecs and audios into AAC files. It supports almost all types of media players.

• Mpg Format (.mpg)

  This is a common video container format of MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group). It typically compresses audio and video data using the MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 codecs. This format is used to create downloadable files. Apple QuickTime and Microsoft Windows Media Player support it by default.

• Windows Media Video Format (.wmv)

  It is a container format developed by Microsoft Corporation. I don't want to say too much about this because it does not support any operating system other than Windows. No separate software is usually available to run it.

• 3GP File Extension (.3gp)

  It is usually made up of a combination of audio and video codecs. It is made for mobile phones. It is usually designed for data transfer on 3G phones. If we notice, we will see that it is not used mainly except in phones.

Which one will we use?

I have tried to briefly discuss each codec and container. My knowledge on this subject is also very limited. I could not find any Bengali resource on the internet about this. From what you know, you can decide which one is best for you. However, if you want to make or watch videos for wide screen, you must use H.264 and MKV, and if you want to make videos for tablets or small screens, you must use H.264 and MP4.

Last word

If you like the tune or if there is any problem in understanding, don't forget to let me know through the tune. Because any of your feedback will encourage me to revise and tune in better quality. The last thing I want to say is, hopefully, and discourage others from copying and pasting . I am ending here today wishing all the best. See you in the next tune.