What Is a Codec?

Videoconferencing has grown in popularity in recent years. It has many advantages,and the most important one being that business meetings can be held in real time despite the location of those in attendance. Through continuous improvement of videoconferencing technologies,live face to face communication has improved in a great way.

The term codec always gets mentioned and talked about whenever there is a discussion about video sharing,audio sharing and videoconferencing. It leads to the question,what is a codec?

What Is Codec?

The words encode and decode were joined to form the word codec. A codec is a computer program that is used to compressing (encode) and to decompress (decode) large video files. By doing so,transferring of large files or videos over the internet becomes easier and faster. Simply put,codecs help shrink video or audio signals for transmission,and then they enlarge or decode the same signal for viewing by the recipient once the transfer process has been completed.

Codec in Video Conferencing

So why is it important to know about codec in video conferencing? Every online activity that deals with video production and sharing requires codecs. Videoconferencing has not been left out in this. Knowing what you are dealing with in terms of your codec will help you determine how much bandwidth you will need for making video calls and video conferencing. Knowing your codec will also play a big role in determining how far a distance you can make calls and with whom you can communicate. If the codec you chose is not commonly used by other businesses or companies,your video communication to this other companies will be limited.

Another feature that is important to consider when dealing with codec is to find out whether it is a lossless codec or a lossy codec. A lossless codec means that after encoding and sharing,the file that s received and decoded is exactly the same as what was sent. A lossy code means that there has been some loss on the quality of the sent file after decoding. Knowing the difference between the two and getting the one that your business requires saves the business’ time and spares it disappointment in their work.

Codec in video conferencing is among the new technologies that are being used by web conferencing companies. The reason for this is very clear. If you are holding a video meeting,you need the communication to be as fast as possible. It should be in real time. If the communication is slow,there will be no clear interaction,time will be wasted and the whole point of having a video conference will lose its meaning. Which leads to another question,what is codec in video?

What Is Codec in Video?

Codec in video refers to shrinking a video to make it small in size. Once it has been compressed it can be transferred over the internet in the shortest time possible. There are many codecs being used,each to satisfy the needs of the individual user. There are codecs for video and audio compression,codecs for streaming live media on the internet and codecs that are custom made for videoconferencing. One important detail to remember is that a codec must be on both ends of the video meeting. Before the start of any meeting,the two parties need to communicate and agree on which codec they will be using.

Web conferencing companies are making web and video conferencing easy for their clients. The client can relax knowing that they have similar codec on both sides of a meeting. A company like ezTalks for example has a Monitor codec and Codec among the new videoconferencing technologies it has on offer for its clients. I will explain briefly how these two technologies work.

In Monitor Codec,one can easily convert his computer monitor into a video call display. This is not only convenient but also saves time. Once the video call is over the screen can easily be changed back into a monitor. External cameras,displays and microphones are used in their other codec option. This best suits meetings where there is a lot of movement during a meeting. For this option however the same codec must be in use on the other side of the call.

Summary

Large files or videos need to be compressed to enable them be shared as fast as possible. With the growth in web conferencing and many web conferencing venders trying to market their products,knowing what the videoconferencing terms mean is important. Now that we know what codec is and how important it is for your business,you need to also find out what codec your web conferencing vender will provide for you. Codec plays a big role in determining the success of you videoconferencing experience. Communication needs to be as fast as possible so that the meeting will be natural and flow as swiftly as a face to face office meeting. Apart from the quality of your video meeting,codec also helps you determine what amount of bandwidth you will require for sending and receiving a certain quality of video.