Description
This article describes the different components involved in a video upload. As well, it will explain how different language streams can be added to a single video file.
What is a container?
The video file that will be uploaded is actually a container comprising a number of components:
- Video codec
- Audio codec
- Captioning or video description
- Metadata
A codec refers to a set of algorithms used to compress video or audio streams. Please consult the list of video and audio codecs that we support.
Here, the container contains different media types, such as video and audio. As well, it contains captions and metadata about the file.
As a result, the term "file format" refers to container format, after which the file extension for normal video files is named. Some file extensions include .avi, .mp4, .mkv.
Video files (containers) with streams
The videos you will upload will contain one video and audio track, which are known as "streams".
You can have a video file with multiple audio streams or a video file with captions in different languages (subtitles) or video descriptions (closed captioning for accessibility purposes).