First things first so just get these basics in….
FPS: for Frames per second. The number of movie frames displayed per second.Resolution: The number of horizontal and vertical dots that make up the display.
Codec: Algorithm that is used to compress and decompress a video/audio stream. Needless to say, a stream compressed using a codec needs the same codec to decompress it. Open source codec examples: Mpeg1, Xvid, X264, etc. Other popular codecs include MOV, DivX, WMV, WMA, QT, RM.
Container Format: The file used to pack data. Data (Audio, Video, Text) can be compressed using any codec but should be packed in one of the many container formats. This would explain why it is possible to hear the audio even when the video codec is unavailable. Some containers are not compatible with certain codecs. Open source container formats: Matroska, Ogg, etc.
Aspect Ratio: The ratio of the width and height of a display. Most monitors use a 4:3 aspect ratio, whereas widescreen displays use the 16:9 aspect ratio.
AVI: Stands for Audio Video Interleave. So called because Audio and Video data are alternately arranged in the data stream. AVI is a container format.
DVD: Digital Versatile Disk. For the purpose of this article all DVD refers to Video DVD only. By default uses MPEG2 for video compression and offers resolution of 720x576 (PAL) and 720x480 (NTSC). Audio can be compressed using other codecs.
MPEG: Motion Picture Expert Group. Default compression format for VCD. Resolution of 352x288 (PAL), 352x240 (NTSC)
MPEG2: Motion Picture Expert Group 2. Default compression for Video DVD. Allows significantly more features than MPEG1 in the form of menus, customizable angles, customizable audio output, customizable subtitles and languages.
PAL: Phase Alternation Line, a format of Video display used in India. This is made up of 600 lines refreshed at 25fps.
NTSC: National Televisions Standards Committee, a format of video display mostly used in US. This is made up of 525 lines refreshed at 29.97fps. Since most DVD player available at present can play PAL and NTSC DVDs the distinction between these formats is not significant.
VOB: Files used to store data on DVD movies. VOB files use MPEG2 compression.
DAT: Video CDs use DAT files store data. These are normal MPEG1 files with additional information.
Interlaced VS Progressive: These relate to how information is displayed on a screen. Progressive display shows the entire screen in one o. Interlaced display causes data to be divided into two fields- odd and even, each one consisting of the alternate lines on the display.
