CHAPTER 7 Using Video Codecs

You’ve probably noticed that there are roughly six ba zillion video codecs out there. While the rest of this book offers specifics on how to use each of those individually, there are many aspects of video codecs and compression we can investigate in general terms. Be aware that many of these technologies use different terms to describe the same feature, and sometimes call different features by the same name.

For this chapter, I’m speaking of a codec as a particular encoder implementation of a particular bitstream (dubbed an “encodec” in a memorable typo on Doom9). So, Main Concept H.264 and x264 are different codecs that both make H.264 bitstreams. So even when you know the bitstream you need to make, there are still ...

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