The main types of file formats. Video formats and their characteristics Complete list of all file extensions
The file format, also called file type, is information about a file for a computer. Thanks to this information, the computer knows approximately what is inside the file and "understands" in which program to open it.
In order for the computer to understand what type this or that file belongs to and in which program to open it, the extension is indicated after the name.
An extension is a series of letters or numbers that appear after a period in a name.
The picture shows a file with the mp3 extension. The computer "knows" about him that it is music file, and you need to open it in the player program. The picture of the file matches the picture of the program that opens it. An experienced computer user already by this icon alone understands which program will open this file and what type it belongs to.
There is, for example, text files... This means that the content of such files is text, and they open in a text program. There are music and video files, that is, their contents are music and video, and they open in players. Also, graphic files are often found - photographs and pictures. There are many more types. Each of them has its own icon, more precisely, the icon of the program installed on the computer in which it opens.
Let me remind you that the computer determines the file type by extension. So many computers are configured in such a way that the file extension is not shown. It's very convenient!
To make it so for you, open any folder and click on the "Service" inscription (at the top of the window). Select "Folder Options ..." or "Folder Options ..." from the list.
If there is no "Service" item at the top of the window, then click on the "Start" button and open the "Control Panel". Find and open Folder Options (Appearance and Personalization - Folder Options) among the icons.
A window will open. Click on the "View" tab (above).
Check the box "Hide extensions for registered file types" and click the "OK" button at the bottom of the window.
By the way, in the same way you can configure your computer so that, on the contrary, it does not hide, but shows file extensions.
The table of the most common extensions:
| Extension | Example | |
| exe | programs | ACDSee9.exe |
| com | Command.com | |
| doc | the documents ( Microsoft Word) | Letter.doc |
| xls | tables (Microsoft Excel) | Xls catalog |
| txt | text documents | text.txt |
| ppt | presentations (Microsoft PowerPoint) | Presentation.ppt |
| htm | pages from the Internet | Book.htm |
| html | Book.html | |
| hlp | reference | Windows.hlp |
| bmp | drawing, photography | Figure.bmp |
| jpg | Photo.jpg | |
| tif | Nature.tif | |
| gif | Picture.gif | |
| mp3 | Music | Song.mp3 |
| mpeg | video | Movie.mpeg |
| avi | Clip avi | |
| zip | ZIP archive | Abstract.zip |
| rar | WinRAR archive | Abstract.rar |
Important! If the computer is configured so that the extensions are shown, then when you change the file name, leave the extension as it is. That is, change the name of the file to a dot. If you change the extension, the file may stop opening after that. Remember this!
File formats are the foundation for working with digital photos. will guide you through all the major graphic file formats.
RAW.
A file format containing raw information coming directly from the camera's image sensor. These files are not processed by the camera's processor (unlike JPG) and contain the original shooting information. RAW can be compressed without loss of quality.
The advantages of RAW are obvious - unlike JPG, which was processed in camera and already saved with data compression - RAW provides the broadest possibilities for photo processing and retains the highest quality.
The note. Different manufacturers Photographers use different algorithms to create RAW in their cameras. Each manufacturer comes up with their own resolution for their RAW file - NEF - Nikon, CR2 - Canon ...
JPEG (aka JPG).
This is the most common graphics file format.
JPG has earned its popularity for its flexible data compression capabilities. If necessary, the image can be saved with maximum quality... Or compress it to the minimum file size for transmission over the network.
JPG uses a lossy compression algorithm. What does it give us? A clear disadvantage of such a system is the loss of image quality every time a file is saved. On the other hand, compressing the image 10 times simplifies data transfer.
In practice, saving a photograph with a minimum compression ratio does not result in any visible degradation in image quality. That is why JPG is the most widespread and popular format for storing graphic files.
TIFF.
The TIFF format is very popular for storing images. It allows you to save photos in various color spaces (RBG, CMYK, YCbCr, CIE Lab, etc.) and with a large color depth (8, 16, 32 and 64 bits). TIFF is widely supported graphics applications and is used in the printing industry.
Unlike JPG, a TIFF image will not lose quality after every file save. But, unfortunately, it is because of this that TIFF files weigh many times more than JPG.
The TIFF format is currently owned by Adobe. Photoshop can save TIFF without merging layers.
PSD.
PSD format is used in Photoshop... PSD allows you to save a raster image with many layers, any color depth and in any color space.
Most often, the format is used to save intermediate or final results of complex processing with the ability to change individual elements.
PSD also supports lossless compression. But the abundance of information that can contain PSD file, greatly increases its weight.
BMP.
BMP format is one of the first graphic formats. It is recognized by any program that works with graphics; format support is integrated into Windows and OS / 2 operating systems.
BMP stores data with a color depth of up to 48 bits and maximum size 65535 × 65535 pixels.
Presently BMP format it is practically not used either on the Internet (JPG weighs several times less), or in printing (TIFF copes with this task better).
GIF.
The GIF format was created at the dawn of the internet for the exchange of images. It can store losslessly compressed images in up to 256 colors. GIF format is ideal for drawings and graphics, and also supports transparency and animation.
GIF also supports lossless compression.
PNG.
The PNG format was created to both enhance and replace GIF with a license-free graphics format. Unlike GIF, PNG has alpha channel support and the ability to store an unlimited number of colors.
PNG compresses data losslessly, which makes it very convenient for storing intermediate versions of image processing.
JPEG 2000 (or jp2).
New graphics format created to replace JPEG. For the same quality, JPEG 2000 file size is 30% smaller than JPG.
When compressed strongly, JPEG 2000 does not split the image into the squares typical of the JPEG format.
Unfortunately, at the moment this format is not widely used and is supported only Safari browsers and Mozilla / Firerox (via Quicktime).
You've probably noticed that different video files have different formats. Why are there a large number different formats video files?
Because these formats were originally designed for different purposes. Some formats can store multiple audio tracks and subtitles, while other file formats do not. Some formats are more suitable for broadcasting, while others are more suitable for editing.
This article will briefly describe the most popular video file formats.
Video file standards
First of all, these are standards that have been developed by various international organizations and which define the encoding and storage format of media file data.
- MPEG-1 (Moving Picture Experts Group 1) is a video and audio compression standard. For video, the Video CD format is used, and for audio, the MPEG audio layer 3 format, or for short, the well-known MP3 format. It is the most compatible format for playing on computers with CD / DVD optical drives.
- MPEG-2 (Moving Picture Experts Group 2) - this standard is used in DVD and digital television DBV. In this format, video is shot in different devices for video shooting.
- MPEG-3 (Moving Picture Experts Group 3) - this standard was developed for television high definition HDTV has now become part of the MPEG-2 standard.
- MPEG-4 (Moving Picture Experts Group 4) - This standard is used to compress digital video and audio. Consists of several standards, includes many features of MPEG-1 and MPEG-2. This standard uses various codecs: DivX, Xvid, H.264 (AVC) and others. The MP4 format is one of the specifications of this standard.
A media file has several characteristics that determine how it works. This is the codec that encodes this media file and the type of container, which determines the recording format using various information: video and audio data, subtitles and other information placed in the container.
- Example codecs - DivX, Xvid, H.264, Theora.
- An example of containers is Matroska, AVI, QuickTime, Ogg, 3GP.
Video file formats
Now let's take a look at the most common video file formats. After installing the codec pack, almost all the formats discussed in this article will have to be played by a standard player - Windows Media Player installed in the Windows operating system. Together with a pack of codecs K-Lite Codec The Pack installs the Media Player Classic Home Cinema, which will also play almost all of these video file formats.
- 3GP - This container was designed for use on mobile phones, v cellular communication third generation. This format reduces the size of the audio and video file that is used on a mobile phone.
Opens with programs: VLC media player, MPlayer, QuickTime Player, RealPlayer.
- ASF (Advanced Systems Format File) is a container developed by Microsoft for streaming audio and video. When using this format, no additional codecs are required.
Opens with programs: Windows Media Player, Media Player Classic Home Cinema, VLC media player.
- AVI (Audio-Video Interleaved) is a container developed by Microsoft Corporation. It is one of the most common video file formats. Various codecs can be used in this format.
Opens with programs: Windows Media Player ( Windows Player Media), CyberLink PowerDVD, QuickTime Player, VLC media player, Winamp.
- FLV (Flash Video) is a video format created for transmitting video over the Internet. It is the most widely used format on the Internet. It is widely used on various video hosting sites that are designed to store video files. The main advantages are: good quality pictures at a low bit rate, the ability to view the video until the video file is fully loaded, the use of this format for various operating systems.
Opens with programs: browsers using Adobe Flash Player, FLV Player, VLC media player, Media Player Classic Home Cinema.
- M2TS is a Blu-ray video file.
Opens with programs: CyberLink PowerDVD, Sony Vegas, VLC media player.
- M4V - iTunes video file.
Opens with programs: iTunes, QuickTime Player, RealPlayer, Media Player Classic Home Cinema.
- MKV (Matroska) is a container that can contain video, audio, subtitles, and more. This format can contain Various types subtitle and supports adding multiple audio tracks to the video file.
Opens with programs: Windows Media Player, VLC media player, Media Player Classic Home Cinema.
- MOV is a container designed by Apple for QuickTime. This is the operating room format Mac systems OS X. Playable in the operating room. Windows system... Files of this format are used to store movies and various videos... This format can contain multiple video and audio tracks, subtitles, animation and panoramic images. This format is easy to edit.
Opens with programs: QuickTime Player, CyberLink PowerDirector, Windows Media Player.
- MP4 is a video file of one of the specifications of the MPEG-4 standard. This format is very close to the MOV format and has almost the same capabilities.
Opens with programs: QuickTime Player, Windows Media Player, VLC media player.
- MTS is an AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition) video file that contains HD video and is used to save video files in camcorders from Sony, Panasonic and other companies.
Opens with programs: CyberLink PowerDVD, Sony Vegas, Corel VideoStudio, Corel WinDVD.
- Ogg is free, versatile and open format designed for storing multimedia files encoded with various codecs.
Opens with programs: VLC media player, MPlayer.
- RealMedia is a format created by RealNetworks. It is mainly used for TV broadcasting and video streaming on the Internet. Files of this format usually have small size, low bit rate and, accordingly, have a lower quality.
Opens with programs: RealPlayer, VLC media player, MPlayer.
- SWF (Shockwave Flash or Small Web Format) - video format for flash animation, vector graphics, video and audio on the Internet. The picture saved in this format is scaled without visible distortion, the video clip has a small size, more fast loading video file and its playback.
Opens with programs: browsers using Adobe Flash Player, VLC media player, Media Player Classic Home Cinema.
- VOB (Versioned Object Base) is data from a DVD-Video optical disc, usually found in the VIDEO_TS folder. These files contain MPEG-2 video, audio and subtitles.
Opens with programs: Windows Media Player, VLC media player, Media Player Classic Home Cinema, CyberLink PowerDVD and many other programs.
- WMV (Windows Media Video) - Windows Media developed by Microsoft Corporation. To play, no additional codecs are required. The video file can be protected with DRM protection system.
Opens with programs: Windows Media Player, CyberLink PowerDVD, MPlayer.
- WebM is an open format proposed by Google as a replacement for the H.264 / MPEG4 standard.
Opens with programs: browsers, VLC media player, MPlayer.
Television picture standards
Old analog standards:
- NTSC - Distributed in North America, parts of South America, Japan and some Asian countries.
- PAL - common in Europe, Asia, Australia, parts of Africa and South America.
- SECAM - widespread in France, in most of the countries of the former USSR and in parts of Africa.
New digital standards:
- ATSC - North America.
- DBV - Europe, including Russia.
- ISDB - Japan.
There are still quite a few analog and digital video recording formats, most of which were developed by specific manufacturers for their equipment.
This is the oldest text format, analogs of the modern notebook were still on the first PCs. It is the most versatile. Txt documents are opened with text editors that work in any operating system.The format is very simple and contains nothing but text. Formatting is not supported - only paragraphs, indentation, etc. are saved. Therefore, txt files are small. The format is resistant to damage. If part of the file is damaged, you can recover or process the rest of the document.
Rtf format
Specially developed by programmers from Microsoft and Adobe for the exchange of files between users. Can be opened and processed on any platform. Supported by many applications. Currently, rtf is introduced in Windows as a Clipboard format, which makes it possible to exchange data between different applications.Document-rtf supports complex formatting. In addition to text, it can contain various figures, tables, inserts and footnotes. It can use several types of fonts. The format is resistant to file corruption. Since rtf does not use macros, it is considered safer than the doc format.
Doc format
There was a time when the doc format was used for plain and unformatted text documents and Microsoft Word was regular text editor... However, in the early 90s, the situation began to change. Both the app and the format were constantly updated. Moreover, each a new version more and more different from the previous one.Today doc provides tremendous possibilities for processing text and inserting various images, diagrams, tables, links into a document. May include scripts and macros. But you need to remember that the format is closed, many documents in this format are displayed correctly only in the MS Word program itself.
In addition, developers are not concerned with the backward compatibility of versions of their application. Files created in new MS Word cannot be opened in previous versions programs without installing plugins. The main difference between the doc format and txt and rtf is their binary nature, which makes them unreadable in simple text editors.
Docx format
It was first used in MS Word 2007. Its main difference from the doc format is the use of zip compression to reduce the file size. It is a data archive containing, in addition to XML text, images, text styles, formatting, and other data. Moreover, text files and graphics are stored in separate documents.To see the contents of a docx file, you can change its extension to zip and open it in any archiver. To open document-docx in earlier versions Word, you must download and install the Compatibility Pack Microsoft Office for formats Word files, Excel and PowerPoint "
ODT / ODF (Open Document Format)
On December 21, 2010 by the Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology of Russia, an open format for office documents Open Document (ODF) was registered as a state standard.ODT / ODF (Open Document Format), developed by the OASIS community, based on HTML. It is an open format that can be used without restrictions and is an alternative to the Microsoft formats.