Glossary of Terms

Video Formats:  There are an array of different formats for video as some have to be compatible with others such as there is a format for apple, as mentioned above that would not work on an average PC, so there would have to be another format to be able to function with both. Also other apps have been made which provide the same service and have their own formats. A video format is how a video is saved for example if you export a file on an editing software (Final cut pro). Every video application has a proper codec and container. To add one more layer of complexity: both codecs and containers go in and out of style  so a format which was prominent a few years ago may be something few people are using today.


Steaming: Streaming is when you watch a video or listen to music in real-time, meaning the provider is playing the video at the same time, this means there is no video to download and you have to be connected to the internet to watch it, rather than saving the video on your device. To stream a video or audio, the moving information is a stream of data from a server. The decoder is an individual player or a plugin that works as part of a Web browser. The server, information stream and decoder work together to let people watch live or prerecorded broadcasts. There are many type of streaming services such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Twitch and SkyGo.

File Compression: File compression allows you to reduce the overall bits and bytes in a file which can help transmit the document at a faster rate over slower internet collections, so the file can be sent to someone else much quicker rather than have to wait which would waste time. Also the compression can take up less space in storage of where the file is saved.  You can work with compressed files and folders in the same way that you work with uncompressed files and folders.

Aspect ratio: This is the ratio of the width and height of an image on the screen. The most used ratio for the very first films was 4:3, it now has changed a lot over the years and both film and television have different aspect ratios, also online (interactive video) has many varied ratios depending on where the file is uploaded. These are the main examples:

Frame rate: The frame rate is the number of frames or images that are projected or displayed per second. The professional frame rate for motion pictures is 24 frames per second and, for television, 30 frames per second (in the U.S.). Frame rate is what creates the movement in the video as it is a collection of images which are played at 24 pictures a second.