Laserdisc (MCA and Philips) Television Electronic Disc (Teldec and Telefunken) VHD (JVC) Digital encoding formats A video codec is software or hardware that compresses and decompresses digital video. In the context of video compression, codec is a portmanteau of encoder and decoder, while a device that only compresses is typically called an encoder, and one that only decompresses is a decoder. The compressed data format usually conforms to a standard video coding format. The compression is typically lossy, meaning that the compressed video lacks some information present in the original video. A consequence of this is that decompressed video has lower quality than the original, uncompressed video because there is insufficient information to accurately reconstruct the original video. CCIR 601 (ITU-T) H.261 (ITU-T) H.263 (ITU-T) H.264/MPEG-4 AVC (ITU-T + ISO) H.265 M-JPEG (ISO) MPEG-1 (ISO) MPEG-2 (ITU-T + ISO) MPEG-4 (ISO) Ogg-Theora VP8-WebM VC-1 (SMPTE) See also General Index of video-related articles Sound recording and reproduction Video editing Videography Video format 360-degree video Cable television Color television Telecine Timecode Volumetric video Video usage Closed-circuit television Fulldome video Interactive video Video art Video feedback Video sender Video synthesizer Videotelephony Video screen recording software Bandicam CamStudio Camtasia CloudApp Fraps References External links Programmer's Guide to Video Systems: in-depth technical info on 480i, 576i, 1080i, 720p, etc. Format Descriptions for Moving Images Video Digital television High-definition television Display technology Television terminology History of television Media formats