List of codecs

The following is a list of compression formats and related codecs.

Audio codecs

Non-compression formats

• Linear Pulse Code Modulation (LPCM, generally only described as PCM) is the format for uncompressed audio in media files and it is also the standard for CD-DA; note that in computers, LPCM is usually stored in container formats such as WAV, AIFF, or AU, or as RAW audio format
  • FFmpeg
• Pulse-density modulation (PDM)
  • Direct Stream Digital (DSD) is standard for Super Audio CD
    • foobar2000 Super Audio CD Decoder (based on MPEG-4 DST reference decoder)
• Pulse-amplitude modulation (PAM)

Lossless data compression

• Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC)
  • FFmpeg
  • QuickTime
• ATRAC Advanced Lossless (AAL)
• Direct Stream Transfer (DST)
  • MPEG-4 DST reference software (ISO/IEC 14496-5:2001/Amd.10:2007)
• Dolby TrueHD – Optional lossless surround sound format used by HD DVD and Blu-ray, it uses MLP but adds higher sample rates, bit rates, and more channels
  • FFmpeg (decoding only)
• DTS-HD Master Audio – Optional lossless surround sound format used by HD DVD and Blu-ray, it was previously known as DTS++ and DTS-HD
• Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)
  • FFmpeg
  • libFLAC
• Lossless Audio (LA)
• Lossless Predictive Audio Compression (LPAC)
• Lossless Transform Audio Compression (LTAC)
• MPEG-4 Audio Lossless Coding (MPEG-4 ALS)
  • MPEG-4 ALS reference software (ISO/IEC 14496-5:2001/Amd 10:2007/Cor 3:2009)
  • FFmpeg (decoding only)
• MPEG-4 Scalable Lossless Coding (MPEG-4 SLS, also used in audio profile HD-AAC)
  • MPEG-4 SLS reference software (ISO/IEC 14496-5:2001/Amd 10:2007)
• Meridian Lossless Packing (MLP), also known as Packed PCM (PPCM), it is as Dolby TrueHD the standard lossless compression method for DVD-Audio content
  • FFmpeg (decoding only)
• Monkey's Audio (APE)
  • FFmpeg (decoding only)
• mp3HD
• OptimFROG (OFR)
• Original Sound Quality (OSQ)
• RealAudio Lossless
• RK Audio (RKAU)
• Shorten (SHN)
  • FFmpeg (decoder only)
• TAK
  • FFmpeg (decoder only)
• True Audio (TTA)
  • FFmpeg (decoder only)
• WavPack (WV)
  • FFmpeg (decoder only)
• Windows Media Audio 9 Lossless
  • Flip4Mac WMV (QuickTime)
  • FFmpeg (decoder only)

Lossy data compression

General

• Adaptive Differential (or Delta) pulse-code modulation (ADPCM, see Pulse-code modulation)
• Adaptive Rate-Distortion Optimised sound codeR (ARDOR)
• Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding (ATRAC, used in MiniDisc devices)
  • FFmpeg (decoder only)
• apt-X
• Dolby Digital (A/52, AC3)
  • FFmpeg
  • liba52 (decoder only)
• DTS Coherent Acoustics (DTS, Digital Theatre System Coherent Acoustics)
  • FFmpeg
• Impala FORscene audio codec
• ITU standards:
  • G.719
  • G.722
    • FFmpeg
  • G.722.1 and G.722.1 Annex C
    • libg722_1
    • libsiren (part of libmsn and msn-pecan)
  • G.722.2
    • 3GPP TS 26.173 - AMR-WB speech Codec (C-source code) - reference implementation^[1]
    • opencore-amr (decoder)
    • FFmpeg (decoding only)
• MPEG-1 Audio and MPEG-2 Audio
  • layer I (MP1) (MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and non-ISO MPEG-2.5)
    • FFmpeg (decoder only)
  • layer II (MP2) (MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and non-ISO MPEG-2.5)
    • FFmpeg
    • tooLame (encoding only)
    • twoLame (encoding only)
  • layer III (MP3) (MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and non-ISO MPEG-2.5)
    • FFmpeg (decoding only)
    • LAME (encoding only)
  • Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) (MPEG-2 Part 7)
    • FAAC, FAAD
    • FFmpeg
    • iTunes
    • Nero AAC Codec
• MPEG-4 Audio
  • Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), (MPEG-4 Part 3 subpart 4), HE-AAC
    • FAAC, FAAD2
    • FFmpeg
    • iTunes
    • Nero AAC Codec
    • MPEG-4 AAC reference software (ISO/IEC 14496-5:2001)
  • Harmonic and Individual Lines and Noise (HILN, MPEG-4 Parametric Audio Coding)
    • MPEG-4 reference software (ISO/IEC 14496-5:2001)
  • TwinVQ
    • MPEG-4 reference software (ISO/IEC 14496-5:2001)
    • FFmpeg (decoding only)
  • BSAC (Bit-Sliced Arithmetic Coding)
    • MPEG-4 reference software (ISO/IEC 14496-5:2001)
• Musepack
  • FFmpeg (decoding only)
• Opus
• Perceptual audio coder
• QDesign
  • FFmpeg (decoding only)
• Siren 7
  • libg722_1
  • libsiren (part of libmsn and msn-pecan)
• Siren 14
  • libg722_1
• Siren 22
• TwinVQ
  • FFmpeg (decoder only)
  • NTT TwinVQ Encoder, NTT TwinVQ Player
• Vorbis
  • aoTuV
  • FFmpeg
  • libvorbis
  • Tremor (decoder only)
• Windows Media Audio (WMA)
  • Windows Media Encoder
  • FFmpeg

Voice

(low bit rate, optimized for speech)

• Advanced Multi-Band Excitation (AMBE)
• Algebraic Code Excited Linear Prediction (ACELP)
• CDMA compression formats and codecs
  • Enhanced Variable Rate Codec (EVRC)
    • FFmpeg (decoder only)
  • Enhanced Variable Rate Codec B (EVRC-B)
  • QCELP (Qualcomm Code Excited Linear Prediction)
    • FFmpeg (decoder only)
  • Selectable Mode Vocoder (SMV)
  • Variable Multi Rate – WideBand (VMR-WB)
• CELT
  • libcelt
• Code Excited Linear Prediction (CELP)
• Continuously variable slope delta modulation (CVSD)
• Dialogic ADPCM (VOX)
• Digital Speech Standard (DSS)
• FS-1015 (LPC-10)
  • HawkVoice (libHVDI)
• FS-1016 (CELP)
  • HawkVoice (libHVDI)
• ITU standards:
  • G.711 (a-law and μ-law companding), also known as PCM of voice frequencies
    • FFmpeg (libavcodec)
  • G.711.0 (G.711 LLC)
  • G.711.1
  • G.718
  • G.719
  • G.721 (superseded by G.726)
  • G.722 (SB-ADPCM)
    • FFmpeg
  • G.722.1
  • G.722.2 (AMR-WB)
    • 3GPP TS 26.173 - AMR-WB speech Codec (C-source code) - reference implementation^[1]
    • opencore-amr (decoder)
    • FFmpeg (decoder only)
  • G.723 (24 and 40 kbit/s DPCM, extension to G.721, superseded by G.726)
  • G.723.1 (MPC-MLQ or ACELP)
    • FFmpeg
  • G.726 (ADPCM)
    • FFmpeg (libavcodec)
  • G.728 (LD-CELP)
  • G.729 (CS-ACELP)
    • FFmpeg (decoder only)
  • G.729a
  • G.729d
    • FFmpeg (decoder only)
  • G.729.1
• GSM compression formats and codecs:
  • Full Rate (GSM 06.10)
    • libgsm
    • FFmpeg (decoder only)
  • Half Rate (GSM 06.20)
  • Enhanced Full Rate (GSM 06.60)
  • Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR)
    • AMR-NB
      • 3GPP TS 26.073 - AMR speech Codec (C-source code) - reference implementation^[2]
      • opencore-amr (one may compile ffmpeg with—enable-libopencore-amrnb to incorporate the OpenCORE lib)
      • FFmpeg (by default decoder only, but see above the compiling options to incorporate the OpenCORE lib).
    • AMR-WB
      • 3GPP TS 26.173 - AMR-WB speech Codec (C-source code) - reference implementation^[1]
      • opencore-amr (decoder), from OpenCORE (one may compile ffmpeg with—enable-libopencore-amrwb to incorporate the OpenCORE lib)
      • vo-amrwbenc (encoder), from Android VisualOn (one may compile ffmpeg with—enable-libvo-amrwbenc to incorporate the VisualOn lib)
      • FFmpeg (by default decoder only, but see above the compiling options).
    • AMR-WB+
      • 3GPP TS 26.273 - AMR-WB+ speech Codec (C-source code) - reference implementation^[3]
• Harmonic Vector Excitation Coding (HVXC)
• Internet Low Bit Rate Codec (iLBC)
  • WebRTC
• Improved Multi-Band Excitation (IMBE)
• internet Speech Audio Codec (iSAC)
  • WebRTC
• IP-MR used by SPIRIT DSP and many others
• Mixed Excitation Linear Prediction (MELP)
• Nellymoser Asao Codec
  • FFmpeg (libavcodec)
• PT716, PT716plus
• PT724
• RALCWI (Robust Advanced Low Complexity Waveform Interpolation)
• Relaxed Code Excited Linear Prediction (RCELP)
• RTAudio - used by Microsoft Live Communication Server
• SILK - used by Skype
• Speex, patent free
  • libspeex
• SVOPC - used by Skype
• Triple Rate CODER (TRC) - used in some pocket recorders.
• Vector Sum Excited Linear Prediction (VSELP)
• OpenLPC
  • HawkVoice (libHVDI)
• Voxware - used by Microsoft DirectPlay
• Truespeech
  • FFmpeg (decoder only)
• PDC-HR (PSI-CELP) used in ARIB RCR STD-27 (PDC)
• Broadcom BroadVoice16/BroadVoice32

Text codecs

• BiM
• Continuous Media Markup Language (CMML)
• MPEG-4 Part 17 (e.g. 3GPP Timed Text)
• Ogg Kate
• Ogg Writ
• ttyrec

Video codecs

Lossless compression^[4]

• Alpary
• Animation (qtrle)
  • QuickTime
  • FFmpeg
• ArithYuv
• AVIzlib
  • LCL (VfW codec) MSZH and ZLIB ^[5]
  • FFmpeg
• CamStudio GZIP/LZO
  • FFmpeg (decoder only)
• Dirac lossless
  • libdirac
  • FFmpeg (decoder only)
• FastCodec
• FFV1 FFv1's compression factor is comparable to Motion JPEG 2000, but based on quicker algorithms (allows real-time capture). Written by Michael Niedermayer and published as part of FFmpeg under to GNU LGPL.
  • FFmpeg
• H264 lossless
  • x264 (encoder only)
  • FFmpeg (decoder only, uses x264 for encoding)
• Huffyuv Huffyuv (or HuffYUV) was written by Ben Rudiak-Gould and published under the terms of the GNU GPL as free software, meant to replace uncompressed YCbCr as a video capture format. It uses very little cpu but takes a lot of disk space.
  • FFmpeg
• JPEG 2000 lossless
  • libopenjpeg
• Lagarith A more up-to-date fork of Huffyuv is available as Lagarith.
  • Lagarith Codec (VfW codec)
  • FFmpeg (decoder only)
• LOCO
  • FFmpeg (decoder only)
• LZO
• MSU Lossless Video Codec
• PNG
  • CorePNG
  • FFmpeg
• SheerVideo
• Snow lossless
  • FFmpeg
• TechSmith Screen Capture Codec (TSCC)^[6]
  • FFmpeg (decoder only)
• Ut Video ^[7][8]
  • FFmpeg
• VMNC^[9]
• YULS
• ZMBV (Zip Motion Block Video) Codec
  • FFmpeg
• ZRLE used by VNC
• Blackmagic codec

Lossy compression

General

• Apple Intermediate Codec
• Audio Video Standard (AVS)
  • OpenAVS
  • FFmpeg (decoding only)
• Blackbird FORscene video codec
• Cinepak
  • FFmpeg (decoder only)
• Dirac
  • Schrödinger
  • dirac-research
  • FFmpeg (decoder only)
• Firebird ^[10] Original FORscene video codec
• H.261
  • FFmpeg H.261 (libavcodec)
• MPEG-1 Part 2 (MPEG-1 Video)
  • Cinema Craft Encoder
  • Elecard MPEG-1 Decoder/Encoder
  • FFmpeg
  • MainConcept MPEG-1
  • TMPGEnc
• H.262/MPEG-2 Part 2 (MPEG-2 Video)
  • Canopus ProCoder
  • Cinema Craft Encoder
  • Elecard MPEG-2 Video Decoder/Encoder
  • FFmpeg
  • InterVideo Video Decoder
  • MainConcept MPEG-2
  • TMPGEnc
• H.263
  • FFmpeg H.263 (libavcodec)
• MPEG-4 Part 2 (MPEG-4 Advanced Simple Profile)
  • 3ivx
  • DivX
  • Elecard MPEG-4 Decoder/Encoder
  • libavcodec
  • HDX4
  • Nero Digital
  • Xvid
• H.264/MPEG-4 AVC or MPEG-4 Part 10 (MPEG-4 Advanced Video Coding), approved for Blu-ray
  • CoreAVC
  • Elecard AVC Decoder/Encoder
  • MainConcept
  • Nero Digital
  • QuickTime H.264
  • Sorenson AVC Pro codec, Sorenson's new implementation
  • x264 (encoder only)
  • FFmpeg (decoder only)
• Indeo 3/4/5
  • FFmpeg (decoder only)
• OMS Video
• On2 Technologies TrueMotion VP3/VP4, VP5, VP6, VP7, VP8; under the name The Duck Corporation: TrueMotion S, TrueMotion 2
  • FFmpeg (decoder only)
• Pixlet
• RealVideo
  • FFmpeg
• Snow Wavelet Codec
• Sorenson Video, Sorenson Spark
  • FFmpeg
• Tarkin
• Theora
  • FFmpeg (decoding only)
  • libtheora
• VC-1 (SMPTE standard, subset of Windows Media Video)
  • FFmpeg (decoder only)
• Windows Media Video (WMV)
  • WAX (Part of the Windows Media Series)
  • FFmpeg

Intra-only Codecs

• MJPEG
  • FFmpeg
  • Morgan Multimedia M-JPEG
  • Pegasus PICVideo M-JPEG
  • MainConcept M-JPEG
• JPEG 2000 intra frame video codec
  • libopenjpeg
  • FFmpeg (experimental)
• Apple ProRes 422/4444
  • FFmpeg
• AVC-Intra
  • FFmpeg
• DV
  • FFmpeg
• VC-2 SMPTE standard (a.k.a. Dirac Pro)
  • Schrödinger
  • dirac-research
• VC-3 SMPTE standard
  • Avid DNxHD
  • FFmpeg
• GoPro CineForm
• REDCODE RAW - used by Red cameras
• Grass Valley Codec

See also

Free software portal

• Open source codecs and containers
• Comparison of video codecs
• Comparison of audio codecs
• Comparison of container formats
• Comparison of media players
• RTP audio video profile
• Comparison of video encoders

References

External links

• Subjective codec comparison
• Audio formats comparison, a look at six lossless formats and five lossy formats.
• http://www.fourcc.org/codecs.php, list of codec four digit codes (like DIV3, XVID, ...)
• Interactive blind listening tests of audio codecs over the internet
• http://mediainfo.sourceforge.net/en/Support/Formats,List of different audio codecs and meta-data by them
• Online Video Format Identification Tool - Designed primarily for CCTV video formats and codecs