FORMATS & CODECS

In this section we will explain some of the most common formats and codecs supported by WATCHOUT.

It is important to know the difference between a file format and a codec.

  • A file format is a data container with a specific suffix.
  • A codec specifies how the data within the file can be encoded or decoded.

PNG

PNG is an image file format.

JPEG

JPEG is an image file format.

  • JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group.
  • Uses lossy compression.
  • Does not support storing information about transparency.
  • Widely used.
  • File suffix: .jpg

PSD

PSD is an native file format used in Adobe Photoshop.

  • Stands for Photoshop Document.
  • Uses lossless compression.
  • Supports storing information about transparency in an alpha channel.
  • Supports storing multiple layers of graphics in a single file.
  • File suffix: .psd

GIF

GIF is an image file format.

  • Stands for Graphics Interchange Format.
  • Only uses 8-bits per pixel.
  • A single GIF file can contain multiple images which together can be played back as a very basic video.
  • File suffix: .gif

TGA

TGA is an image file format introduced in 1989 by a company called Truevision.

  • Stands for Truevision Graphics Adapter.
  • Supports storing information about transparency in an alpha channel.
  • Not widely used as of today.
  • Sometimes also referred to as TARGA.
  • File suffix: .tga

WEBP

WebP is an image file format developed by Google.

  • Supports both lossy and lossless compression.
  • Supports storing information about transparency in an alpha channel.
  • On average it gives 40% smaller files compared to Jpeg.
  • File suffix: .webp

TIFF

TIFF is an image file format.

  • Stands for Tag Image File Format.
  • Uses lossless compression
  • Supports storing information about transparency.
  • Not widely used as of today.
  • File suffix: .tiff

HAP

HAP, High Performance Video  Codec, is a family of open-source video codecs. The family contains:

  • HAP provides reasonable image quality. It does not support an alpha channel.
  • HAP Alpha provides the same quality as HAP and supports an alpha channel.
  • HAP Q provides improved image quality at the expense of larger file sizes. It does not support an alpha channel.
  • HAP Q Alpha provides the same image quality as HAP Q and supports an alpha channel.
  • HAP R provides higher image quality than HAP Q (and consequently HAP) and supports an alpha channel. It uses BC7 Texture Compression.

All codecs above are encoded using a 8-bit color depth.

H.264 - AVC

AVC, Advanced Video Coding, is a widely used video compression standard and codec first introduced in 2003. Its successor H.265 (HEVC) offers improvements related to compression quality and support for HDR content.

WATCHOUT supports H.264 up to level 5.2

H.265 - HEVC

HEVC, High Efficiency Video Coding, is a video compression standard and codec that offers much greater compression with maintained image quality compared to its predecessor AVC.

PRORES

ProRes is an intermediate codec which has visually lossless compression. It was developed by Apple for use in video post-production as a successor to the Apple Intermediate Codec. It is intended for video editing, not end user viewing (thereby intermediate codec) and ProRes is not optimized for media servers.

NOTCHLC

NotchLC is a GPU-accelerated video codec designed for both intermediary use and playback. NotchLC provides the equivalent of 10-bit color depth.