What is video encoder and what does a video encoder do? What’s the video codec and the list of video codecs? How to compare and change the video encoder?
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video-encoder.docx
1. Title: Video Encoder and Video Codecs: How to Change Video Encoder?
Keywords: videoencoder,whatisavideoencoder, videoencoderanddecoder, videoencoders,
videocodec,videocodecconverter, videocodecs
Description: What is video encoder and what does a video encoder do? What’s the video codec and
the list of video codecs? How to compare and change the video encoder?
URL: https://videoconvert.minitool.com/video-converter/video-encoder.html
Summary: This article expressed by MiniTool Software mainly elaborates on the meaning/definition,
function, types, comparison, as well as editing of video encoder (video codec). After reading this post,
you will have a better understanding of how various formats of videos come into being.
To learnvideoencoderandaudioencoder,justgettoknow whatis videocodec.
What isa videocodec?A videocodecisa kindof software orhardware that compress and
decompressesdigital video.Inthe contextof videocompression, “codec”isa portmanteauof
encoderand decoder.
What Is A Video Encoder?
A videoencoderreferstoa device,eithersoftware orhardware,that(only) compressesdigital
videos,whereasadevice that(only) decompressesa videoiscalled avideodecoder.
Usually,the compresseddataformatconformstoa standard videocodingformat.The compression
isoftenlossy.Thatis to say,the compressedvideoslacksome informationpresentinthe original
videos.Asaresult,decompressedvideos have lowerquality thanthe source onesforthere is
insufficientinfotoaccuratelyreconstructthe original videos.
2. There are complicatedrelationshipsbetweenthe videoquality,the amountof datausedto
representthe video(bitrate),the complexityof the encodinganddecodingalgorithms,sensitivityto
data lossesanderrors,ease of editing,randomaccess,aswell as an end-to-enddelay(latency).
Tip:Top 5 BestVideoCompressorsof All Time
The Applications of Video Codecs
Videocodecsare appliedin DVDplayers,Internetvideo,videoondemand(VoD),videotelephony,
digital cable (HDMI),digital terrestrial television,aswell asvariousotherapps.Especially, video
codecsare widelyusedinprogramsthatrecordor transfervideos,whichmaynotbe feasible with
the highdata volumesandbandwidthsof uncompressedvideo.
Anyvideofile orstreamcan be encodedwithawide varietyof live videoformats.Some video
encoderH.264 settingsneedtobe setwhenstreamingtoan HTML5 videoplayer.
Common Video Codec Format
Many videocompressionformatscanbe implementedonpersonal computers(PCs)andin
consumerelectronicsdevices.Thus,multiplecodecs are availableinthe same equipment,reducing
the needto selectasingle majorvideocompressionformattoachieve interoperability.
Standardvideocompressionformatscan be appliedtomultiple videoencodersanddecodersfrom
multiple sources.Forexample,videoencodedwithastandardMPEG-4 Part 2 codeclike Xvidcanbe
decodedbyanyotherstandard MPEG-4 Part2 decoderlike DivXProCodecor FFmpegMPEG-4 for
theyall adoptthe same videoformat.
Codec Packs
Since online videodataisencodedbyvariouscodecs,codecpackscome intobeing.Itis a pre-
assembledsetof usuallyusedcodecscombinedwithaninstalleravailable asasoftware package for
PCs.Some popularcodecpacks are the K-Lite codecpack and PerianandCombinedCommunity
codecpack.
How to Change Video Encoder Format?
If you geta videobutyourcurrentmediaplayercan’tplayit forthe videocodecnotsupported by
the player,youneed toconvertthe videoencodertothe supportedtype of yourvideoplayer.Thus,
youneeda videocodec convertersuch as MiniTool VideoConverter,afree videoandaudioformat
convertingprogram.
VC-Free
1. Download,install,andlaunchMiniTool VideoConverteronyourWindowscomputer.
2. By default,youwill enterthe Convertingsubtabunderthe VideoConverttab.There,clickthe big
+ iconinthe centerof the screento add yourvideo.
4. Alt=entervideooutputsettings
4. Switchto the Videotab in the settingswindow and selectavideoformatinthe leftmenu.If you
don’twant toalter otherparametersof yourvideo,justchoose the same formatandclickon the
Create Custom optioninthe bottomright.
5. Alt=customize videooutputformat
5. In the nextpopup,findthe Encoderoptionunderthe Videosectionandpickup a compatible
videocodecfromthe drop-downmenu.
6. Alt=change videoencoder
6. click the Create buttonto create your customizedvideoformatandselectitwhenyouare
redirectedbacktothe videotab.
7. Finally,clickthe Convertbuttoninthe mainwindow tostart the process.
Wait until itcompletes.Then,youcanplaythe videowithyourmediaplayer.
History of Video Encoding
In the past, a videowassavedasan analogsignal onmagnetictape.Whenthe compact disc(CD)
was developedandusedasa digital alternative foranalogaudio,peoplefinditpossible todirectly
store and delivervideoindigitalform.
To record andconveyraw video,youneedalarge amountof storage space and bandwidth.To
improve thatsituation,engineersandmathematicianshave foundmanywaysinvolvingthe
compressionof digital videodata.
H.261 was the firstpractical videocodingstandard.Itwas developedbyanumberof companies
includingHitachi,PictureTel,NipponTelegraphandTelephoneCorporation(NTT),BT,Toshiba,as
well asmanyothers.The most popularvideocodingstandardsare the MovingPicture ExpertsGroup
(MPEG) standards.
7. In 1991, MPEG-1 was developedbythe group.Itwas designedtocompressVideoHome System
(VHS) qualityvideo.In1994, MPEG-1 was succeededbyMPEG-2/H.262. The successorwas
developedbythose companies:Sony,Thomson,Mitsubishi Electric,etc.MPGE-2 became the
standardvideoformatforDVD and SD digital television(TV).
https://videoconvert.minitool.com/video-converter/vhs-to-dvd.html
In 1999, MPET-4/H.263 came intobeing,whichwasamajor leapforwardforvideocompression
technology.Also,alotof firmshadcontributedtothe developmentof MPEG-4includingMitsubishi
Electric,Hitachi,andPanasonic.
However,the mostwidelyusedvideocodingformatnowadaysisMPET-4AVC(H.264), whichwas
developedin2003 bythese organizations:Panasonic,GoodKaishaIPBridge,LGElectronic,andso
on.H.264 isthe mainvideoencodingstandardforBlu-rayDiscs.Itisalsowidelyacceptedbyweb
applicationsincludingAdobe FlashPlayerand MicrosoftSilverlight;streamingnetworkserviceslike
YouTube,Vimeo,iTunesStore,andNetflix;aswell asmanyhigh-definitiontelevision(HDTV)
broadcastsoverterrestrial andsatelliteTV.
In 2013, AVC(AdvancedVideoCoding) hadbeensucceededbyHigh-EfficiencyVideoCoding(HEVC),
alsoknownas H.265 or MPEG-H Part 2. It is heavilypatentedbySamsungElectronics,General
ElectricCompany(GE),NTT, andJVC Kenwood.However,the adoptionof HEVChasbeenhampered
by itscomplex licensingstructure.Inturn,HEVCwas succeededbyVersatile VideoCoding(VVC).
In addition,there are free VP8,VP9,and AOMediaVideo1(AV1) videocodingformatsadoptedby
YouTube,all of whichwere developedwithinvolvementfromGoogle.
Since the featuresandapplicationsof eachvideocodingformat are different,there isnobestvideo
encoderformatforall,but goodvideoencoderformats;or,just the bestvideoencoderformatfora
certaintype of situation.
https://videoconvert.minitool.com/video-converter/free-hevc-h265-video-converter.html
List of Video Codecs
A videocodingformat,alsocalledvideocompressionformat,isacontentrepresentationformatfor
storage or transmissionof digital videossuchasina data file orbitstream.Typically,itmakesuse of
a standardizedvideocompressionalgorithm, mostcommonlybasedondiscrete cosine transform
(DCT) codingand motioncompensation.
VideoCodecvs. VideoFormat
A specifichardware orsoftware implementationcapableof compressionordecompressionto/from
a specificvideocodingformatiscalledavideocodec. Forinstance,FFmpegathe mostcommon
videocodecformany videoformatslike H.264,CorePNG,andVP9.
Firstof all,the videocompressionformatscanbe sortedinto3 categories,non-compression,lossless
compression,andlossycompression.
# Non-Compression Video Codec Formats
RGB
YUV: Intel IYUV
10-bit uncompressedvideo
Composite digitalsignal
AvidDNxUncompressed