Audio And Video
Make sure you have the latest version of this memo.
Version Date: February 9, 2015.
Type of Memo: Normative
Rationale: Codecs and formats must be free, open-source and NOT
patent encumbered.
Additional Info: https://xiph.org/
General
- AV-0 Use a preferred format if at all possible.
Else use an acceptable format.
- AV-1 Formats not listed here are not acceptable.
- AV-2 First, determine if you need lossless or lossy
formats or special purpose formats. Then determine if you need both
audio and video. If you need both, then you also need a container
format. All these are described below; in particular, pay attention
to the headers of each section. In all cases, use the appropriate
audio and video codecs, and the appropriate container.
Lossless
- AV-3 The preferred codec for lossless audio is
FLAC.
- AV-4 The preferred codec for lossless video is DIRAC and
see also High Resolution below.
- AV-5 Acceptable lossless audio codecs: WavPack and Apple
Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC).
- AV-6 Acceptable lossless video codecs: See High
Resolution below.
Lossy
- AV-7 The preferred codec for lossy audio is VORBIS.
- AV-8 The preferred codec for lossy video is THEORA.
- AV-9 Acceptable codecs for lossy audio: See Specific
Uses below.
- AV-10 Acceptable codecs for lossy video are: VP3 and
VP8.
Containers
- AV-11 The preferred container is OGG.
- AV-12 Acceptable containers are: MATROSKA and WebM.
High Resolution
- AV-13 The preferred codec for high-resolution video is
DAALA (when finished).
- AV-14 Accepted codec for high-resolution is VP9.
Specific Uses
- AV-15 The preferred codecs for specific uses are:
Opus.
- AV-16 Accepted codecs for specific uses: Speex, CELT,
BroadVoice, G.711.