Media Player

CODEC REFERENCE

IMPLEMENTATION TIERS ▼

Tier 1: Native Browser Support (HTML5 MediaElement)

Tier 2: WebCodecs API (Hardware-accelerated)

Tier 3: FFmpeg.wasm (Software decoding)

VIDEO › CONSUMER/DELIVERY ▼

H.264/AVC

FourCC: avc1, H264

Containers: MP4, MKV, MOV, TS

Tier: Tier 1

Notes: Universal support. Profiles: Baseline, Main, High, High 10, High 4:2:2, High 4:4:4

H.265/HEVC

FourCC: hvc1, hev1

Containers: MP4, MKV, MOV

Tier: Tier 1 (Safari/Edge), Tier 3 (Chrome/Firefox)

Notes: 8/10/12-bit, HDR support (HDR10, HLG, Dolby Vision)

VP8

FourCC: vp08

Containers: WebM, MKV

Tier: Tier 1

Notes: Legacy WebM codec

VP9

FourCC: vp09

Containers: WebM, MKV, MP4

Tier: Tier 1

Notes: Profile 0 (8-bit 4:2:0), Profile 2 (10/12-bit, HDR)

AV1

FourCC: av01

Containers: MP4, WebM, MKV

Tier: Tier 1/2

Notes: Modern efficient codec. Supports HDR, 10-bit

Theora

FourCC: theo

Containers: OGV

Tier: Tier 1 (Firefox)

Notes: Legacy open codec

MPEG-1

FourCC: mpg1, m1v

Containers: MPEG, VOB

Tier: Tier 3

Notes: Legacy. 352×240 to 4095×4095

MPEG-2

FourCC: mpg2, m2v

Containers: MPEG, VOB, TS, MXF

Tier: Tier 3

Notes: DVD/broadcast standard. 4:2:0, 4:2:2 profiles

MPEG-4 Part 2

FourCC: mp4v, DIVX, XVID

Containers: AVI, MP4

Tier: Tier 3

Notes: Legacy DivX/Xvid era

WMV/VC-1

FourCC: WMV3, WVC1

Containers: ASF, WMV

Tier: Tier 3

Notes: Microsoft legacy codec

VIDEO › PROFESSIONAL/PRODUCTION ▼

Apple ProRes

FourCC: apch, apcn, apcs, apco, ap4h, ap4x

Containers: MOV, MXF

Tier: Tier 3

Notes: ProRes 422 (HQ/SQ/LT/Proxy), ProRes 4444 (XQ), ProRes RAW

Avid DNxHD

FourCC: AVdh

Containers: MXF, MOV

Tier: Tier 3

Notes: 1080p/720p. Bitrates: 36-440 Mbps

Avid DNxHR

FourCC: AVdh

Containers: MXF, MOV

Tier: Tier 3

Notes: LB, SQ, HQ, HQX (10-bit 4:2:2), 444 (12-bit 4:4:4)

GoPro CineForm

FourCC: CFHD

Containers: MOV, AVI

Tier: Tier 3

Notes: 10-bit 4:2:2, wavelet-based

HAP

FourCC: Hap1, Hap5, HapY, HapM, HapA

Containers: MOV, AVI

Tier: Tier 3

Notes: GPU-accelerated. HAP, HAP Alpha, HAP Q, HAP Q Alpha

Sony XAVC

FourCC: xavc

Containers: MXF, MP4

Tier: Tier 3

Notes: XAVC-I (Intra), XAVC-L (Long GOP), XAVC-S

Blackmagic BRAW

FourCC: BRAW

Containers: BRAW

Tier: Tier 3

Notes: Blackmagic RAW, requires SDK

RED R3D

FourCC: R3D

Containers: R3D

Tier: Tier 3

Notes: RED RAW, requires SDK

AUDIO › LOSSY ▼

AAC

Identifier: mp4a

Containers: MP4, M4A, MKV, MOV

Tier: Tier 1

Notes: LC, HE-AAC, HE-AAC v2. Up to 7.1 channels

MP3

Identifier: mp3, .mp3

Containers: MP3, MP4, MKV

Tier: Tier 1

Notes: MPEG-1/2 Audio Layer III. Stereo/Joint Stereo

Opus

Identifier: opus

Containers: WebM, OGG, MKV

Tier: Tier 1

Notes: Modern, efficient. 1-255 channels

AC-3 (Dolby Digital)

Identifier: ac-3

Containers: MKV, MP4, VOB

Tier: Tier 3

Notes: 5.1 surround standard

AUDIO › LOSSLESS ▼

FLAC

Identifier: flac

Containers: FLAC, MKV, OGG

Tier: Tier 1 (Chrome/Firefox)

Notes: Up to 32-bit, 655kHz, 8 channels

WAV/PCM

Identifier: pcm, lpcm

Containers: WAV, MOV, MKV

Tier: Tier 1

Notes: Uncompressed. 8/16/24/32-bit int, 32/64-bit float

CONTAINER FORMATS ▼

MP4/M4V

Extensions: .mp4, .m4v

Typical Codecs: H.264, H.265, AAC

Notes: MPEG-4 Part 14

MOV

Extensions: .mov

Typical Codecs: ProRes, DNxHD, H.264, PCM

Notes: QuickTime

MKV

Extensions: .mkv

Typical Codecs: Any

Notes: Matroska, very flexible

MXF

Extensions: .mxf

Typical Codecs: ProRes, DNxHD, XDCAM, JPEG 2000

Notes: Broadcast/professional

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS ▼

HDR Metadata

HDR10: Static metadata (MaxCLL, MaxFALL)

HDR10+: Dynamic metadata

Dolby Vision: Proprietary, requires licensing

HLG: Broadcast HDR standard

Color Spaces

BT.601: SD video

BT.709: HD video standard

BT.2020: UHD/HDR wide color gamut

DCI-P3: Digital cinema

Bit Depths

8-bit: Standard consumer

10-bit: Professional/HDR minimum

12-bit: High-end cinema cameras

16-bit: RAW/archival

Chroma Subsampling

4:2:0: Consumer delivery

4:2:2: Professional/broadcast

4:4:4: VFX/grading, full color

Information