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Desktop Video AGOCG Report

Compression in Video for Windows

Video for Windows uses a default compression method called Microsoft Video 1 which guarantees a specified data rate for 8, 16 and 24-bit colour sequences. The data rate is critical since it controls the speed and therefore the amount of video that can be loaded and displayed when a sequence is running.

Run Length Encoding (RLE) is another option and is best suited for storing animations or video with only a few changing areas. When large changes occur between successive frames, RLE reduces colour information so that it always fits the right amount of data into a frame. This can make images blurry in some cases.

One of the more interesting methods of compression is Intel's Indeo, designed to work mainly with hardware assistance from the company's ActionMedia card. With this installed, an Indeo file can be recorded at 320 x 240 pixels and played at 30 frames per second in a window measuring 640 x 480.

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