Looking for an article about video format.

[Sean_ve99]

Hi
I am looking for article about video format, like VCD format, DVD format, DV, …
An article that explain everything about Video format, like what is video format? How many do video format exist? What are different between them and so on...
Can anybody help me to find it?
Thanks

[olyteddy]

<---Start over there, in the 'WHAT IS' sections.

[edDV]

Also,

Google "Video Format"
Wiki "Video Format"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VCD
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DV

Ask specific questions here.

[redwudz]

And this is not a 'Advanced Conversion' question. Moving you.

[Sean_ve99]

Hi
Thanks for your help but still nobody told what video format is and how many do video format exist?
Shahram

[teegee420]

I doubt you'll find one conclusive article that covers everything. Instead of trying to learn about them all, maybe you should concentrate on what it is you want to ultimately accomplish. State your needs and the people here will be glad to guide you in the right direction.

[edDV]

Hi
Thanks for your help but still nobody told what video format is and how many do video format exist?
Shahram

OK. Video format is the way a scanned image is encoded for transmission or storage. Number of video formats is in the hundreds and may be in the thousands.

Your job is to count them and report back with more serious questions.

This will get you some that you might miss otherwise. There will be a test.
http://www.fourcc.org/

[Sean_ve99]

I must write an article about video format, I know something about video format but I am looking for similar article to get some idea and check my information.
At first I want to write an introduction about video format and then describe all video format or at least most important of them.
I know I can find good article about specific video format in part "WHAT IS" but in fact I am looking for general explanation about video formats.
I don’t know if I could say my meaning or not but consider you are in class and you want to explain video formats for some people, before talking about specific video format like VCD or DVD, you should give them an idea about meaning of video format, that is what I want.
Appreciate any help in advance.
Shahram

[edDV]

I must write an article about video format, I know something about video format but I am looking for similar article to get some idea and check my information.
At first I want to write an introduction about video format and then describe all video format or at least most important of them.
I know I can find good article about specific video format in part "WHAT IS" but in fact I am looking for general explanation about video formats.
I don’t know if I could say my meaning or not but consider you are in class and you want to explain video formats for some people, before talking about specific video format like VCD or DVD, you should give them an idea about meaning of video format, that is what I want.
Appreciate any help in advance.
Shahram

Your questions are so broad it is difficult to respond. Any context you can add would help. Are you talking about broadcast to TV? Or computer transmission to a PC? Or VCD, DVD?

You need to be more specific with the question.

VCD is a MPeg1 compression to a recordable CD --- old way and low quality.

DVD is a MPeg2 compression and has been popular for 5 years (medium quality).

High Definition DVD is the new trend and recent solutions are overly expensive, late for introduction, poorly marketed and will likely fail in the Western Markets.

[Sean_ve99]

Yes, it is a little complex
In "what is" section and DVD page I found table about most important video formats, (VCD, SVCD, DVD, HD DVD, AVI, DIVX, MOV, RM, …)
Everybody can find more information about each of them but my question is different when you say AVI is one of video formats, DVD is one of video formats… You still haven’t explained video format, you just described AVI and DVD
Why do you say AVI is video format? DVD is video format? How can you describe this term, "video format"?

[Cornucopia]

Well, if you're gonna write about fundamental information, you gotta start with the basics...

Still pictures & the idea of bitmaps (and the various ways you can "order" the pixels)
Color spaces & systems like RGB, CMYK, YUV.

Then you graduate to "Moving" pictures (and the concept of framerate).
And the difference between progressive (like Film) and interlaced (like most SD-Video).
And talk about the 2 or 3 main international TV systems (NTSC, PAL, & SECAM)

Then you can talk about Digital Video vs. Analog.
And the use of computers in keeping track of a series of still pictures.
Like still picture sequences.
And then the different multimedia (A/V) container formats-
AVI, Quicktime, ASF/WMV, Realmedia (you could even get into OGM and Matroska)
Then it would make sense to talk about codecs (i.e. COMPRESSION), and all the hundreds of formats and subformats.

Since you're in digital land now, and you want to have international interoperability, here is where JPEG (still) and MPEG come in.
So you can talk about MPEG1, MPEG2, and then MPEG4 (and it's subflavors of WMV, SorensonSpark/Flash, DivX, Xvid, etc)

Along the way, you should also talk about the various physical (not just computer organizational) formats of film (8, Super8, 16, 35, etc) and Analog and Digital Tape (VHS, 3/4", 1"C, BetacamSP, DV, D1, D......). And then you can get into Disc formats (LD--and those that lost to it, VCD, SVCD, CVD, DVD, etc).

And if you feel like it, you can talk about the future (starting yesterday) with HD versions of all that (h.264 codecs, JPEG2000, HDV tape, BD & HDDVD discs)...


I could go on, but one needs to start organizing one's thoughts (or they can get away from you--like they just did with me!).


Scott

[Sean_ve99]

Umm, really I didn’t got my answer but some information was very useful, thanks

[jagabo]

Start with something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0750678224/sr=1-1/qid=1154306829/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-003...e=UTF8&s=books

[edDV]

Umm, really I didn’t got my answer but some information was very useful, thanks

I answered your question above

"Video format is the way a sequence of scanned images is encoded for transmission or storage."

What else did you want to know? How does that not work for you? What is the context of your question?

BTW, AVI is only a container not a video format per se. An AVI can wrap many tens of formats such as DV, Divx, MJPEG, RLE, Huffyuv, Xvid, Cinepak, Indeo and on and on. All have AVI extension.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVI
http://www.jmcgowan.com/avicodecs.html

The burden is on you to better ask your question.

[Sean_ve99]

Hi edDV
Thanks for your explanation especially about AVI, but sometimes some terms are vague for me like "video format"
In WHAT IS section (DVD page) has been writing that VCD is video format and MPEG1 is video compression, MOV quick time is video format and cinepak is video compression … but I saw somewhere that says MPEG1 is video format, really which one is video format? VCD or MPEG1?
And you said Cinepak, Indeo are video formats, but my question is whether cinepak is video format or video compression?
Here I can't understand the real meaning of video format. I know VCD is MPEG1 compression but finally which one is video format?
What does "video compression" mean? What differences are between them?
In the other hand in Wikipedia is said PAL, NTSE AND SECAM are video format.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video
But I have heard these are TV systems not video format.
Because of that I still didn’t understand of real meaning of video format, can be VCD, MPEG1, CINEPAK, PAL, NTSC all video format?

[edDV]

I'll try this. Others may have a more technical distinction.

"Video Format" is a global term that includes a structure and encoding mechanism for storage or transmission of video+audio. Video formats may still have flavors like NTSC 60Hz vs PAL or SECAM 50Hz but all else follows the format specifcation.

Popular historical analog format examples

2"Quadruplex tape
1" Type C tape
Betacam tape
Betamax tape
VHS tape
Laserdisc.
NTSC broadcast (RF)
PAL broadcast (RF)
SECAM broadcast (RF)

Format does not necessarilly mean compatible. It is a top level organization.

Popular Digital Video format examples:

VCD (optical media)
CVD (optical media)
SVCD (optical media)
DVD (optical media)
BD DVD (optical media)
HD DVD (optical media)
SDI (serial data)
Digital VHS (DVHS) tape
DV, DVCAM, DVCPro tape or file
DVCPro50 tape or file
DVCProHD tape or file
HDV tape or file
Digital Betacam tape
HDCAM tape
HDCAM SR tape

and on and on ... I will skip computer formats for now like AVI (example: Divx or Huffyuv are codecs that can be used in an AVI wrapper)

Within each of these "formats" different "codecs" can be used for compression. All of this is regulated by the format specification. Some are locked to a single compression scheme like DVD (various MPeg only) but the flavors are multiple
https://www.videohelp.com/dvd

Each format has a specification that includes details like video standard or compression codec or frame size/frame rate.

Why are you asking? What are you trying to accomplish?

[Sean_ve99]

Thanks for fast reply, you said why I am asking? Because English isn’t my main language and sometimes I don’t notice the real meaning of some terms, so I ask to understand the meaning of them.
There is a question about AVI in my mind and I hope you help me to find right answer.
It is said AVI is Audio Video interleaved and as you said AVI is only a container not a video format per se. An AVI can wrap many tens of formats such as DV, Divx, MJPEG, RLE, Huffyuv, Xvid, Cinepak, Indeo and on and on.
So can we say that MPEG is kind of AVI because we have Audio and Video together?
Can we say MOV is a kind of AVI?
Thanks

[edDV]

...
In WHAT IS section (DVD page) has been writing that VCD is video format and MPEG1 is video compression, MOV quick time is video format and cinepak is video compression … but I saw somewhere that says MPEG1 is video format, really which one is video format? VCD or MPEG1?
And you said Cinepak, Indeo are video formats, but my question is whether cinepak is video format or video compression?
Here I can't understand the real meaning of video format. I know VCD is MPEG1 compression but finally which one is video format?

It gets complicated. I think of a format as something that stands alone and can be transported from one place to another. Formats are created for a purpose by standards committees to allow managed movement of raw data. The format defines an envelope with addressing that contains the data. The envelope may be a magnetic tape, optical media, data transmission or a file standard. The format standard defines ways the data can be compressed and decompressed.

[edDV]

Thanks for fast reply, you said why I am asking? Because English isn’t my main language and sometimes I don’t notice the real meaning of some terms, so I ask to understand the meaning of them.
There is a question about AVI in my mind and I hope you help me to find right answer.
It is said AVI is Audio Video interleaved and as you said AVI is only a container not a video format per se. An AVI can wrap many tens of formats such as DV, Divx, MJPEG, RLE, Huffyuv, Xvid, Cinepak, Indeo and on and on.
So can we say that MPEG is kind of AVI because we have Audio and Video together?
Can we say MOV is a kind of AVI?
Thanks

MOV (quicktime) is a container and can contain various compression specifications. In this way it is similar to AVI. MPeg can be created as a self contained format or as a compression standard within a container (like HDV). Like I said it gets complicated and you need to dig into the specifications.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPEG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quicktime

[Sean_ve99]

Please give me direct answer, do you think MPEG is video format or not?
And can we say MPEG is kind of AVI, because Audio and Video is together in MPEG file.

[bobkart]

Looks like this guy's article is getting written right here in this Post.

[jagabo]

Please give me direct answer, do you think MPEG is video format or not?

It depends on what you mean by format.

And can we say MPEG is kind of AVI, because Audio and Video is together in MPEG file.

No. AVI is a container. The specification tells you how to package your video and audio data within a file so that other programs will understand how to deal with it. MPEG is mostly a definition of video and audio compression techniques. It's possible to contain MPEG video and audio in an AVI file.

The term format is very broad and nebulous. Asking for an explanation of video formats is like asking for an explanation of video "specifications". Formats are what are defined by specifications.

[bobkart]

He apparently has an assignment to write an article on "Video Formats". Which he seems to have no knowledge of. So he originally asked for links to similar articles, and I could see how finding such an article would help him "write" one. The problem is, if someone really wants to write an article about Video Formats (or anything for that matter) they need some understanding of the subject matter, and be willing to research whatever it is they don't know.

(Or they could just find a Video Forum and ask a bunch of general questions and hope someone comes to their rescue.)

My advice to this person is to READ everything they can find about the subject matter. Plenty has been written about it in this case. Internet searches should reveal plenty of relevant explanation and discussion. Asking people here to basically write their article by answering their extremely general questions seems inappropriate, especially if they are to receive credit for a result which they did not actually write themself.

[Nelson37]

You have been given a proper definition. A "video format" is a way of presenting or storing video. A kinetoscope, 8mm projector, IMAX theater, DVD player, VHS, all use different video formats. There are hundreds of basic types and hundreds of possible variations within these. You do the math.

To define ALL POSSIBLE video formats would simply take too long and cover too many pages.

It is as if you wanted a definition of "automobile" and then wanted a listing of every make and model of automobile ever produced anywhere in the world at any time. The list is simply too long and I do not think this information exists in any one place, anywhere. Note that defining "automobile" becomes very difficult if you need definitions for "round" (tires) and "combustion", as in external or internal.

If you do not understand AVI, then Google it and read a few dozen pages. If you do not understand MPG, then Google it and read a few dozen more pages.

It's like you are looking for an article about "air" and want explanations of all possible different types of air. It just simply is not a reasonable request.

Why not focus on different video formats used in devices which people might have, this reduces it to a finite number and is something you could achieve without your presentation requiring several days or hundreds of pages.

[jameshgross]

Shahram,

I had the same questions that you have.

I enrolled in several Video Classes at the local university.

I also recommend the following books:

"Digital Video Compression", Symes, McGrawHill, 2004, ISBN 0-07-142487-3
"Video Compression Demystified", Symes, McGrawHill, 2001, ISBN 0-07-136324-6

These two books explain the rather complex subject of Video Formats rather well including a good backgrond in the mathmatics of the various formats.

Video Formats are a rather complex subject and a complete explaination is way outside the
the scope of these forms (unless there is a form deicated to the theory).

Do what I did, take some classes and hit the books.

[jagabo]

AVI File format reference:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/archive/default.asp?url=/archive/en-us/directx9_c/directx/ht...ereference.asp

OpenDML extensions to AVI file format:
http://www.the-labs.com/Video/odmlff2-avidef.pdf

[edDV]

Thanks for fast reply, you said why I am asking? Because English isn’t my main language and sometimes I don’t notice the real meaning of some terms, so I ask to understand the meaning of them.
There is a question about AVI in my mind and I hope you help me to find right answer.
It is said AVI is Audio Video interleaved and as you said AVI is only a container not a video format per se. An AVI can wrap many tens of formats such as DV, Divx, MJPEG, RLE, Huffyuv, Xvid, Cinepak, Indeo and on and on.
So can we say that MPEG is kind of AVI because we have Audio and Video together?
Can we say MOV is a kind of AVI?
Thanks

Here is another definition from Wikipedia
"More formally, the video format describes the sequence and structure of frames that create the moving video image."

Mpeg is not an AVI any more than it is a MOV, FLC or VHS tape. MPeg is a different format or a different way to "describe the sequence and structure of frames that create the moving video image". But it is possible to wrap MPeg in a AVI file as is done for DV, divx and xvid. AVI is a file format that can contain many types of data.

You are looking for simple explanations. It takes more understanding. For example, you could have a ship that carries an airplane inside but that doesn't mean you can call the ship an airplane or visa versa.

[Sean_ve99]

Everybody
Thanks so much for your help, it was really great.

[Cornucopia]

We all look forward to your insightful article.

Scott