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Glossary Forensics

Codec

A codec (coder-decoder) is the method used to compress and decompress audio or video, such as H.264, H.265, AV1, AAC or MP3.

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In more detail

The codec decides quality and file size, and is separate from the file extension and the Container format. Forensic tools read the codec, bitrate and encoder tags to show how a file was made and whether it was re-encoded. See the Video Forensics.

Try these tools

Video Forensics

Analyze MP4, MOV, WebM and MKV files in your browser - walk the container structure, read creation timestamps and encoder tags.

See also

  • Glossary Container format
    A container format, such as MP4, MKV or WAV, wraps one or more encoded streams (video, audio, subtitles) and their metadata into one file.
  • Glossary Keyframe
    A keyframe, or I-frame, is a video frame stored as a complete picture, while the frames between keyframes store only the changes.
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