Decoding Blu-ray Codecs

You may have heard some hype about the various codecs that Blu-ray technology standards demand. But what exactly are codecs and as an end user does it really make a difference to you. First, codecs are a set of compression standards used to make files smaller. Your digital camera likely uses the JPEG for compressing the files into smaller sizes. MPEG is a comparable format for your movie clips. With that in mind, Blu-ray discs also have a variety of different codecs they must be capable of handling.

These codecs are in place to ensure compatibility between the Blu-ray players as well as the Blu-ray content such as movies. Both the manufacturers as well as the movie studios are aware of the requirements which means that the Blu-ray disc you buy or rent will play in your Blu-ray disc player.

MPEG-2 is the codec that allows backwards compatibility with DVD discs. Some Blu-ray discs were released in this same format however their length is limited because the file size is much larger than the other video codecs that Blu-ray is capable of.

H.264/MPEG-4/AVC (advanced video coding) is a newer technology allowing for good quality video delivery at lower bit rates. It's able to compress video more efficiently than previous standards.

SMPTE VC-1 is the third required video codec specified by Blu-ray technology. This codec is based on Microsoft's Windows Media technology.

What do these three video codecs mean to you, the viewer? Not much, the studios will pick the codec that best meets their needs whether they need maximum compression to fit more content onto the Blu-ray disc or want to incorporate interactive features into their programming. As long as you have a Blu-ray player, the support for these three mandatory codecs is already built in.

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Read more Blu-ray news at http://www.mangotango.co.uk/technology-news/
Unsure about Blu-ray? Read our article on what is Blu-ray?

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