Video

3G2 : Audio/video format developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2); designed for transmitting multimedia files over the Internet; basically an updated version of the .3GP format used by cell phones for saving video files.

3GP : Audio and video container format developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP); designed as a multimedia format for transmitting audio and video files between 3G cell phones and over the Internet; commonly used by mobile phones that support video capture.

AMV : Compressed video format used by Chinese portable media players; typically saved in low resolutions (from 94x64 to 160x120) to fit the screens of the media players; can usually be played on a PC using the software included with the portable media player.

ASF : Media container format developed by Microsoft, primarily for streaming media; specifies the structure of the audio or video stream, but not the encoding method; can be compressed using a variety of video codecs. ASF files often contain Windows Media Audio (.WMA) or Windows Media Video (.WMV) data.

AVI : Video container or wrapper format created by Microsoft; stores video data that may be encoded in a variety of codecs; typically uses less compression than similar formats such as .MPEG and .MOV. AVI files can be played by various video players, but the player must support the codec used to encode the video data; for additional information, view the FileInfo.com Playing AVI Files help article.

DV : Video clip from a digital video (DV) camera; standard format saved to the DV tape used in most consumer digital camcorders; can be imported into many video editing programs.

DVD : Movie data file from a DVD disc, typically stored in the VIDEO_TS folder; contains the majority of data stored on the disc including video, audio, and subtitles; usually formatted as an MPEG-2 system stream and can be opened by various video playback programs.

FLIP VIDEO : The Flip Video is a simple camcorder for digital video created by Pure Digital Technologies, a company bought by Cisco Systems in March of 2009. Variants include the Flip Ultra, the Flip UltraHD, the Flip Video Mino, and the Flip Video MinoHD.

FLV : Flash-compatible video file exported by the Flash Video Exporter plug-in (included with Adobe Flash) or other program with FLV file support; consists of a short header, interleaved audio, video, and metadata packets; audio and video data is stored in a similar format used by standard Flash (.SWF) files. The FLV format is an open format that is also supported by non-Adobe/Macromedia programs; FLV files may be exported from QuickTime Pro or other applications that can export to the QuickTime file format. Macromedia was acquired by Adobe in 2005, so Macromedia Flash Player is now Adobe Flash Player.

M2TS : Video file saved in the high-definition Blu-ray BDAV format; used for saving video data on Blu-ray discs; based on the MPEG-2 transport stream and supports 720p and 1080i formats. BDAV stands for "Blu-ray Disc Audio/Visual," while the M2TS extension refers to "MPEG-2 Transport Stream."

M4V : M4V files are iTunes Video Files. The M4V file format is a standard file format for videos for iPods and PlayStation Portables developed by Apple. Nowadays, Apple’s products like the iPod, iPhone, and iTunes Store, are becoming more and more popular so M4V files are becoming more commonly used. The M4V file format is based on the MPEG-4 AVC video codec, which is a global media standard with the aim to provide optimized video podcasts for the iPod.

MKV : Video container format similar to the .AVI, .ASF, and .MOV formats; supports several types of audio and video codecs; may also include .SRT, .SSA, or USF (Universal Subtitle Format) subtitles and supports VobSub subtitles from DVDs. The Matroska video format has become popular in the anime fan-subbing community (where users create subtitles) since it supports multiple audio and subtitle tracks in the same file. DivX Player supports MKV files on both Mac and Windows systems; MKV files can also be played on Palm, Symbian, and Pocket PC mobile devices using the CorePlayer Mobile software.

MOD : Standard music module format recognized by most audio tracking programs; may be created by FastTracker, StarTrekker, Noise Tracker, or another MOD creation program. MOD files contain note patterns (much like a MIDI file) as well as sound samples used for different instruments; the sound samples are assigned to different tracks within the module and are played back according to the notes in the score.

MOV : Common multimedia format often used for saving movies and other video files; uses a proprietary compression algorithm developed by Apple Computer; compatible with both Macintosh and Windows platforms.

MP4 : Movie or video clip that uses MPEG-4 compression, a standard developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG); commonly used for sharing video files on the Internet. The MPEG-4 video format uses separate compression for audio and video tracks; video is compressed with MPEG-4 video encoding; audio is compressed using AAC compression, the same type of audio compression used in .AAC files. MP4 files are supported by many video programs and various hardware devices, including the Microsoft Zune portable media player.

MPG : Common digital video format standardized by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG); typically incorporates MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 audio and video compression; often used for creating movies that are distributed on the Internet.

MTS : High-definition MPEG Transport Stream video format, commonly called "AVCHD;" used by Sony, Panasonic, and other HD camcorders; based on the MPEG-2 transport stream and supports 720p and 1080i HD video formats. AVCHD stands for "Advanced Video Codec High Definition;" the format was jointly established by both Panasonic and Sony in 2006; MTS files can typically be opened and edited using the software included with Sony and Panasonic HD camcorders.

MTV : Video format used by various Chinese MP4 portable video players; contains a 512-byte file header and a series of images that are displayed during MP3 playback; similar to a .AMV file, but uses slightly different formatting.

RM : Media file format used by RealPlayer; may contain audio or video data or both; can be a downloaded file or a streaming media file, which is played back as it is downloaded. Some RM files can be played using VLC media player, which includes partial support for Real Media files.

RMVB : Real Media video file compressed using a variable bit rate, which is optimized for the content of the video; a newer variation of the standard Real Media (.RM) file format that allows for more efficient compression. RMVB files have become a popular format for Anime and Asian movie titles because they have smaller file sizes and lower bitrates with better quality compared to DivX (.DVX) files.

SWF : Animation created with Adobe Flash; may contain text as well as both vector and raster graphics; also may include interactive actions written in ActionScript; plays in Web browsers that have the Flash plug-in installed. Flash was originally developed by Macromedia, which was acquired by Adobe Systems in 2005. Therefore, Macromedia Flash is now called Adobe Flash. SWF stands for "Small Web Format" and is pronounced "Swiff."

TOD : Video file captured by a JVC Everio video camera, such as the GZ-HD3 and GZ-HD7; saved in a proprietary format that can be viewed using the Cyberlink software included with JVC video cameras. Recent versions of other video-editing programs may also be able to import TOD files (see below); the included Cyberlink PowerDirector application can import TOD files and export them as .MPG files, which are viewable by most video-editing programs. NOTE: Some JVC Everio cameras save video files with a .MOD extension, which is similar to the TOD format.

TP : Video recording captured using Beyond TV digital video recording software; recorded using a compatible TV tuner card and a television source such as analog or digital cable, satellite, or antenna. TP files capture data from a transport stream (TS), which is a communications protocol for transmitting audio and video data; it includes error correction that allows the stream to remain intact even if some data from the transmission is not received. NOTE: TP files that contain hours of high-definition content may be several gigabytes in size.

TRP : High definition video file saved in the MPEG-2 Part 1 transport format; used for multiplexing digital video and audio streams and synchronizing the output; includes features for error correction and is often used in digital video broadcasting (DVB). TRP files often contain H.264 video and AC3 audio data; they can be played with various video playback programs. Video transport themes may also be saved as .TS files.

TS : Video stream format used for storing video on a DVD; compresses video data using standard MEPG-2 (.MPEG) video compression. TS files are often saved as multiple files on a DVD, i.e. "moviename1.ts," "moviename2.ts," "moviename3.ts," etc; they can be played back by various software DVD players and video editing tools.

VOB : Movie data file from a DVD disc, typically stored in the VIDEO_TS folder; contains the majority of data stored on the disc including video, audio, and subtitles; usually formatted as an MPEG-2 system stream and can be opened by various video playback programs.

WMV : Video file based on the Microsoft Advanced Systems Format (ASF) container format and compressed with Windows Media compression; basically an .ASF file that is encoded using the Windows Media Video (WMV) codec; Windows Media audio files are saved with a .WMA extension. NOTE: Microsoft Windows Media Player 9 was the last version of the Windows Media Player developed for Mac OS X; however, Mac users can use Flip4Mac WMV (also known as Microsoft Windows Media Components for QuickTime) to play WMV files.

Audio

AAC : Compressed audio file similar to a .MP3 file, but offers several performance improvements; examples include a higher coding efficiency for both stationary and transient signals, a simpler filterbank, and better handling of frequencies above 16 kHz; maintains quality nearly indistinguishable from the original audio source. AAC is the default encoding used by Apple iTunes software.

AC3 : AC-3, or Dolby Digital audio file format; may contain up to 6 channels of audio, including a subwoofer output (a.k.a. 5.1 surround sound)

AIFF : High-quality audio file, similar to .WAV; based on the Electronic Arts .IFF format but originally developed by Apple Computer; standard CD audio AIFF files are sampled at 44.1KHz, are 16-bit, and have two channels for stereo sound. More commonly seen as .AIF on Windows systems. View the AIFF definition.

AMR : Compressed audio format developed by Ericsson; used by many 3G cell phones for voice recordings such as MMS messages; incorporates the Algebraic Code Excited Linear Prediction (ACELP) algorithm, which is designed to efficiently compress human speech audio.

FLAC : Open-source audio format that uses lossless audio compression, meaning it does not remove any of the original audio data; compresses audio files with no loss in quality. NOTE: A FLAC Fingerprint file, which contains the filename and checksum information for a FLAC file, may be generated along with the FLAC file; this file is typically named "ffp.txt" and can be created using the following command: "metaflac --show-md5sum flac_file_names > ffp.txt". For additional information about the FLAC format visit the FLAC website.

M4A : Audio file compressed with the Apple Lossless Encoder (ALE); uses the Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC), which provides lossless compression; saved in the MPEG-4 container format. M4A files are similar to .MP4 video files, but do not contain a video track; MPEG-4 audio files that include copyright protection, such as those sold through the iTunes Store, typically have an .M4P extension.

MKA : Audio container format that supports several types of audio compression algorithms; related to the .MKV video format, but only contains audio data. MKA audio files can also be played on Palm, Symbian, and Pocket PC mobile devices using the CorePlayer Mobile software.

MP2 : Audio format that uses MPEG-1 Layer II compression to reduce the file size; mainly replaced by the ubiquitous .MP3 format, but is still used for digital radio and digital television broadcasts. The standard MPEG II audio format supports 32, 44.1, and 48 kHz sampling rates and bitrates from 32 to 320 kbps/sec. NOTE: The MP2 format does not refer to an MPEG-2 video file, which usually has a .MPG extension.

MP3 : Compressed audio format developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group; uses "Layer 3" audio compression; commonly used to store music files and audiobooks on a hard drive; may provide near-CD quality sound (stereo, 16-bit) in a file roughly 1/10 the size of a .WAV or .AIF file. The quality of an MP3 file depends largely on the bit rate used for compression; common bit rates are 128, 160, 192, and 256 kbps; higher bit rates result in higher quality files that also require more disk space. MP3 files are supported by most portable music players, such as the Apple iPod and Microsoft Zune; they can also be played on the Amazon Kindle; Symbian OS mobile phones can play MP3 files using the UltraMP3 program. View the MP3 definition.

RA : Audio file created by RealPlayer; may contain audio data or may reference a streaming audio file online; uses a proprietary Real compression algorithm; common format for playing audio clips within a Web browser.

WAV : Standard digital audio file format for storing waveform data; allows audio recordings to be saved with different sampling rates and bitrates; often used to save CD-quality audio. WAV (WAVE) files are similar to .AIF files, but they use a more complex format and are more common on Windows-based systems.

WMA : Audio file compressed with Windows Media compression; proprietary format developed by Microsoft, similar to the .MP3 format; can be converted to other more standardized formats; often used for playing music from the Web; Windows Media video files use a .WMV extension. Microsoft's Zune portable music player and the Disney Mix Stick MP3 Player can play WMA files; they cannot be played on an iPod. NOTE: Microsoft Windows Media Player 9 was the last version of the Windows Media Player developed for Mac OS X; however, Mac users can use Flip4Mac WMV (also known as Microsoft Windows Media Components for QuickTime) to play WMA files.

Image

BMP : Uncompressed raster image made up of a rectangular grid of pixels; each pixel is a different color (or level of gray for grayscale images), which together form an image; zooming in on a bitmap image will make it appear blocky since the size of each pixel increases. View the BMP definition.

JPG : Compressed image format standardized by the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG); commonly used for storing digital photos since the format supports up to 24-bit color; therefore, most digital cameras save images as JPG files by default. JPEG is also a common format for publishing Web graphics since the JPEG compression algorithm significantly reduces the file size of images; however, the lossy compression used by JPEG may noticeably reduce the image quality if high amounts of compression are used. For more information about JPG files, view the JPEG definition.

PNG : Image format that uses indexed colors and lossless compression (like a .GIF file), but without copyright limitations; cannot be animated like a GIF image, though the related .MNG format can. PNG images may also include an 8-bit transparency channel, which allows the colors in the image to fade from opaque to transparent; GIF images only support fully opaque or fully transparent pixels; PNG images are now supported by most Web browsers. Mac OS X 10.4 and later saves screenshots as PNG files.

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