Container format
Definition
A file format (MP4, MKV, MOV, AVI, MXF) that multiplexes video, audio, and metadata tracks into a single file with a defined byte structure. The container handles synchronisation and seeking; it does not define how the media is compressed.
Related terms
- Codec
- A coder/decoder algorithm that compresses and decompresses media data. H.264/AVC and H.265/HEVC are the dominant video codecs; AAC and MP3 are dominant...
- GOP (Group of Pictures)
- The repeating sequence of I, P, and B frames in an inter-frame compressed video. GOP size (the distance between I-frames) is an...
- I-frame
- An intra-coded frame: a self-contained image compressed without reference to any other frame, like a JPEG. I-frames are the only random-access entry...
- Perceptual coding
- Lossy compression that exploits psychoacoustic or psychovisual masking to discard information the human senses are least sensitive to. MP3, AAC, and AC-3...
- Rewrapping
- Moving a compressed bitstream from one container to another without decoding it. Forensically equivalent to the original encoded stream; no new generation...
Explained in
- Video and Audio File Structures: Containers, Codecs, and CompressionA file format (MP4, MKV, MOV, AVI, MXF) that multiplexes video, audio, and metadata tracks into a single file with a defined byte structure. The container hand...