Codec Central - Apple's "Video" Codec



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Apple Video Codec

240x180, 15fps, 180KBps
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General Information

Overview
The Apple Video codec was created to deliver fast compression and decompression of video content while maintaining decent picture quality. In the past, there haven't been any good tools to control the Video codec, since it doesn't internally limit its data rate. Media Cleaner Pro 2.0 offers several data rate control options that now make the Video codec useful for various projects. The Video codec's high data rate needs generally make it more suited to CD-ROM or DVD than WWW.

Architectures Supported

QuickTime

Pros, Cons & Tips

Pros

The Video codec compresses video in a fraction of the time that Cinepak does, so it's good for testing edits.
Unlike Cinepak, it doesn't "top out" at higher data rates, and therefore often works better with 4x and higher CD-ROMs or DVD-ROMs.
The Video codec plays well on lower-end machines, so it is a safe codec for the widest range of CPUs.

Cons

Since the Video codec doesn't compress as highly as Cinepak, it often doesn't produce as good image quality at a given data rate.
Like Cinepak, Video is not normally a good choice for Web movies.

Tips

Consider the Video codec when your material has small dimensions, or when a higher data rate is acceptable.

Ideal source material	Video
Supported bit depths	16-bit color
Compression time	Asymmetrical (approx. 7:1)
Temporal compression?	Yes
Special features	Supports Media Cleaner Pro 2.0's advanced data rate limiting
Encoder requirements	Any MacOS or Windows
Decoder requirements	Any MacOS or Windows
Encoder availability	Built into QT
Decoder availability	Built into QT
Manufacturer	Apple

If you have any comments or tips & tricks to share about the Video codec, please contact us at info@terran-int.com.