About compression of movie files

Compression is essential for reducing the size of movies so that they can be stored, transmitted, and played back effectively. When exporting or rendering a movie file for playback on a specific type of device at a certain bandwidth, you choose a compressor/decompressor (also known as an encoder/decoder, or codec), to compress the information and generate a file readable by that type of device at that bandwidth.

A wide range of codecs is available; no single codec is best for all situations. For example, the best codec for compressing cartoon animation is generally not efficient for compressing live-action video. When compressing a movie file, you can fine-tune it for the best-quality playback on a computer, a mobile device, the web, or a DVD player. Depending on which encoder you use, you may be able to reduce the size of compressed files by removing artifacts that interfere with compression, such as random camera motion and excessive film grain.

The codec you use must be available to your entire audience. For instance, if you use a hardware codec on a capture card, your audience must have the same hardware codec installed, or a software codec that emulates it.