Encoding

Published At: March 5, 2024

Video encoding is the process of taking a raw series of frames and, through a specified set of operations specified by a codec, compressing them to a smaller file size.

Encoding is sometimes used informally to refer to transcoding more generally.

Video encoding is a process for making video files smaller through compression. You may often see the term “transcoding” used interchangeably with “encoding.” Transcoding is the process of decoding (uncompressing) from one codec then encoding (compressing) it into another. Encoding on its own really only happens when video is first captured, whether from a camera or a digitally composed camera. In video, the term encoding is most commonly used to refer to the latter part of transcoding. Learn more about encoding.

Related Terms:

• Encoding ladder
• Transcoding
• Decoding