subject: Avi Codec For Encoding/decoding [print this page] The word codec is obtained from two words Encode/Decode and a codec is just any software which is used for encoding and decoding. In the area of video there are various criterion which exist for video with the most well-known being the Moving Picture Experts Group standard which is more commonly dubbed MPEG. The MPEG criterion that are most common are MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 and they define the video and audio criterion for Video CDs or VCD, DVD video and Blu-Ray and HD video respectively.
Though there are various implementations and corporations that market software or hardware for encoding video, once they are using a particular standard they must always stick to the stipulations of the standard. An example of two various corporations that apply a specific standard would be Microsoft and Apple who market high definition video encoding software packages that export to WMV for Microsoft and MOV for Apple.
Having seen instances of the different criterion and the different kinds that might be available you are one step closer to selecting an AVI codec for your encoding or decoding requirements. But then there is something else you need to know which is that AVI itself is not a codec but a container format. A container format is simply as the name says a container, and in video a container includes audio and video together in a single file that is played back by a player that you may install or comes pre-installed on your computer. You will also find that AVI is one of the most popular formats for video and is supported by various devices including portable devices and some handheld devices like cellular phones.
Some individuals may have seen a scenario where they tried to play a video file but could only hear audio but saw no video. This happens because the player they are using can open the container format but does not have the codec installed to decode the video stream included in the container however, the audio stream is still playable.
A well-known codec online is DivX which at the moment follows the MPEG4 standard and is backward compatible allowing for playback of MPEG standards made prior to MPEG4. If a video is encoded with DivX video and MP3 audio but DivX is not installed on the computer then the scenario described above where there would be audio but no video might happen. In order to address this situation one may download the free DivX codec and install it to play their video.
Having now brushed on codecs and container formats we see that AVI is a container and may have both a video stream and an audio stream enclosed in it. Based on your requirements after seeing what the ability of the various free and paid codecs are, you may then create your own AVI file by simply telling your encoding software to use a particular codec for audio and video and then export the completed product to the preferred AVI format.
