Video Formats - Part 1

Many folks are confused with the different video formats available.  So in order to remove some of the confusion this post and the next we will try to explain the differences between some of the video formats you will encounter.

When creating video content, there are several types of video formats. What you intend for the finished product may affect your decision on the type of format. It is a good idea to understand how each format is different; then you will be able to make an informed decision about which video format is the right one for your project.

AVI

Audio Video Interleave is best known by its acronym AVI. AVI files contain audio and video data in a "container" which allows synchronous audio-with-video playback. AVI files, similar to the DVD video format, supports multiple streaming audio and video, although those features are seldom used.

WMV

Windows Media Video (WMV) is a compressed video format for several proprietary codecs developed by Microsoft. The original video format, known as WMV, was initially designed for Internet streaming applications, as a competitor to RealVideo. The other formats, such as WMV Screen and WMV Image, cater for specialized content. Through standardization from the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), WMV 9 has gained adoption for physical-delivery formats such as HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc.

FLV

Flash Video (FLV) is a file format that delivers video over the Internet. Adobe Systems defined two different video file formats to be supported in Adobe Flash Player: FLV and F4V. Based on the ISO base media file format, the F4V is supported starting with Flash Player 9. This format quickly became the choice format for embedded video on the web.

A video format is a meta-file format whose specification describes how data and meta-data are stored (not coded). A container file can be identified and opened by a program, but that program might not be able to decode the contained data. One possible cause is that the opening program lacks the required decoding algorithm, or the meta-data not providing enough information.

Next post we will share more formats with you.

Perry Lawrence has been in video production for over 20 years and has produced, shot, and/or edited videos for companies like Merck, Maxwell House, Nickelodeon, P&G, Ogilvy & Mather, IBM, and many others. Perry is also the "Go To" video expert for the top names in internet marketing such as Yanik Silver, Carrie Wilkerson, Barry Dunlop, Ryan Lee, Dean Hunt, and many others. Perry has taken the steps used by professionals and distilled them down to an easy to use formula that guarantees better videos, each and every time. As a proud member of the Video Marketing Association and "Mr Video," Perry has quickly become the definitive resource for helping business owners and marketers strategically leverage the power of video. For more information visit: http://askmrvideo.com