Digital media: Compressed audio/photo/video formats

Professionals and private individuals alike have to produce, manipulate, store, manage, exchange, broadcast and distribute digital media "encoded" in various formats, called "essence" formats, and encapsulated in extremely numerous and varied storage and transport "container formats".

This "Panorama of digital media" dossier, comprising six articles, aims to provide a definition, description of the characteristics, mapping and classification of these different digital media formats.

The first article [TE 5 364] details the parameters of the "digital native format", which is the result of a discontinuous, coded measurement of the amplitude of continuous, proportional analog quantities generated by sound or image recording equipment.

This second article [TE 5 366] presents an overview of digital, audio, still image and video compression formats that reduce the amount of data in native formats, making them easier to store and distribute.

The third article [TE 5 368] introduces the characteristics of container formats for encapsulating audio, still images or video, either in native format or in compression format.

The fourth article [TE 5 369] describes container formats dedicated to media storage, in particular around fifty file formats, among the most widely used in the media and audiovisual world, as well as some recording formats on optical or magnetic media.

The fifth article [TE 5 370]...