When someone creates a video, in order for the video to be a reasonable size, you must encode the video using a selected compression method. (Codec)
Originally without the compression method, a video can be very large and harder to distribute on CD / DVD and over the web.
With the technology of codec's, friends and family members can transfer their favorite video's and view streaming video's over the web in a reasonable time; Eliminating download times and large disk space.
There are hundreds of codecs released that are being used to compress video's. In order to view the video properly you must install the required codec.
The codec industry started to take off in the mid 1980's. Who could create the highest quality video using the best compression method was the goal and it has been a great success.
Players such as Quicktime (.QT) and Real Player (.RM, .RA, .RAM) have been focused on providing high quality streaming video over the web rather than a physical download. (.AVI, .MPG, .MPEG)
.AVI files are the most common video's that require the majority of the codecs. This file type is not suitable as online video due to its size and must be downloaded, transferred or received by CD.
Formats such as .AVI and .MPG files are larger in size, but its not necessarily a bad thing. Even though file sizes are larger, you can receive high quality results.
With today's technology, you can view high quality video's downloaded right at the home of your PC
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