Video editing glossary

0-9

• Files, formats & codecs 2.7K video A GoPro-era resolution of about 2704 pixels wide, between 1080p and 4K. It offers more detail than Full HD with high frame rates and lighter files.
• Files, formats & codecs 4:2:2 color A chroma subsampling level that keeps twice as much color detail as standard 4:2:0, giving cleaner edges for keying and more robust heavy grading.
• Files, formats & codecs 4K video Video about 4,000 pixels wide, usually 3840 x 2160 UHD. It has four times the pixels of 1080p and is the standard high-quality mode on action cameras.
• Files, formats & codecs 5.3K video A video resolution of 5312 x 2988 pixels in 16:9, the top mode on recent GoPros. About 91 percent more pixels than 4K, leaving room to crop and pull stills.
• Files, formats & codecs 8K video Video around 7680 pixels wide, four times the pixels of 4K. In action cameras it mainly matters for 360 footage, where pixels spread over a whole sphere.
• Files, formats & codecs 10-bit color Video that stores 1,024 brightness levels per color channel instead of 256, giving over a billion colors, smoother gradients and more room for grading.
• Files, formats & codecs 1080p (Full HD) Video at 1920 x 1080 pixels with progressive frames. Still the most widely compatible resolution for sharing, editing and playback on any device.

A

• Files, formats & codecs All-Intra (ALL-I) A compression method where every video frame is encoded on its own, with no reference to other frames. Files are big, but editing is fast and robust.
• Files, formats & codecs Aspect ratio The ratio of a video frame's width to its height, such as 16:9 for widescreen, 4:3 or 8:7 for taller action-camera modes, and 9:16 for vertical video.
• Files, formats & codecs AV1 A modern royalty-free video codec that compresses even better than HEVC. Streaming platforms use it widely, though few action cameras record it.

B

• Files, formats & codecs Bitrate The amount of data a video uses per second, measured in megabits per second (Mbps). Higher bitrate preserves more detail but fills memory cards faster.

C

• Files, formats & codecs Chaptered video files Long action-camera recordings split into a series of ~4 GB files called chapters. Each one picks up exactly where the last ended, with no lost frames.
• Files, formats & codecs Chroma subsampling Saving space by storing color at lower resolution than brightness, written as ratios like 4:2:0 or 4:2:2. Eyes notice brightness detail far more than color.
• Files, formats & codecs CinemaDNG An open raw video format that stores each frame as a separate DNG raw image, used by some professional drones and cinema cameras for maximum grading room.
• Files, formats & codecs Color banding Visible stripes or steps in smooth gradients such as skies or walls, caused by too few tonal values or heavy compression. It is common in 8-bit footage.
• Files, formats & codecs Color space The defined range of colors a video can represent and how they are encoded, such as Rec. 709 for standard video or Rec. 2020 for HDR.
• Files, formats & codecs Compression artifacts Visible flaws created when a codec throws away too much detail: blocks, smearing, banding, mosquito noise around edges and shimmering in fine textures.
• Files, formats & codecs Constant bitrate (CBR) An encoding mode that spends roughly the same amount of data every second, no matter how complex the picture is. Predictable size, uneven quality.
• Files, formats & codecs Container format The file wrapper, such as MP4, MOV or MKV, that holds video, audio and metadata streams together. It is separate from the codec that compresses them.

E

• Files, formats & codecs exFAT The file system most cameras use on large SD cards. It supports files over 4 GB and works on Windows and Mac, unlike the older FAT32.

G

• Files, formats & codecs Gamma curve The curve that maps recorded values to on-screen brightness. Standard gamma looks natural; log and HDR curves spread values differently to hold more range.
• Files, formats & codecs GOP (group of pictures) A run of video frames that starts with one complete keyframe followed by frames stored as changes. Its length sets the balance of file size and editability.
• Files, formats & codecs GPMF telemetry GoPro's format for sensor data stored inside each MP4: gyroscope, accelerometer and, on GPS models, location and speed, all synced with the video.

H

• Files, formats & codecs H.264 (AVC) The most widely supported video codec, also called AVC. Nearly every camera, phone, browser and editor can record or play it, hence the label Most Compatible.
• Files, formats & codecs H.265 (HEVC) The successor to H.264, also called HEVC. It keeps similar quality at roughly half the bitrate and is required for 5.3K, top frame rates and 10-bit recording.
• Files, formats & codecs HDR10 An open HDR video standard using the PQ curve, Rec. 2020 colors, 10-bit depth and metadata describing brightness, widely used for streaming and TVs.
• Files, formats & codecs HLG Hybrid Log-Gamma, an HDR transfer curve that looks acceptable on standard screens and shows extra highlight range on HDR displays without needing metadata.

I

• Files, formats & codecs INSV file Insta360's native 360 video format: unstitched footage from both fisheye lenses that must be stitched and reframed in Insta360 software before normal use.

K

• Files, formats & codecs Keyframe (I-frame) A complete video frame stored on its own, without reference to other frames. Players and editors use keyframes as entry points into a stream.

L

• Files, formats & codecs Long GOP Compression that stores full frames only now and then and saves the frames between as changes, giving small files that are harder to edit smoothly.
• Files, formats & codecs LRV file A low-resolution copy of a video clip that GoPro and Insta360 cameras record next to the full file, used for fast previews in the phone app.

M

• Files, formats & codecs Macroblocking A compression artifact where parts of the image break into visible square blocks, usually during fast motion or detailed scenes when the bitrate runs short.
• Files, formats & codecs MOV Apple's QuickTime video container. iPhones record MOV files, and many DJI cameras offer it as an alternative to MP4 for the same video and audio.
• Files, formats & codecs MP4 The most common video container format: one file that holds compressed video, audio and metadata. Recorded natively by GoPro, DJI, Sony and most phones.

O

• Files, formats & codecs Oversampling Recording or reading more pixels than the output needs, then scaling down. The result is sharper, cleaner video with less noise and fewer jagged edges.

P

• Files, formats & codecs Progressive scan Video where every frame is a complete picture, shown in one pass. It is the standard for modern cameras and screens, unlike older interlaced video.
• Files, formats & codecs ProRes An Apple family of high-quality, lightly compressed video codecs built for editing. Files are huge but decode easily and survive heavy grading.
• Files, formats & codecs ProRes RAW An Apple format that stores raw sensor data with ProRes-style compression, so white balance, exposure and color can be set flexibly in post.

R

• Files, formats & codecs Rec. 709 The standard color space and gamma for HD video, used by most cameras in normal profiles, web platforms and TVs for standard dynamic range viewing.
• Files, formats & codecs Rec. 2020 A wide color gamut standard for ultra HD and HDR video that can show far more saturated colors than Rec. 709. It pairs with HLG or PQ for HDR.
• Files, formats & codecs Remuxing Moving the existing video and audio streams into a different container, for example MKV to MP4, without re-encoding. Fast, lossless and quality-neutral.

S

• Files, formats & codecs SD card speed class Ratings such as V30, U3 or V60 on memory cards that promise a minimum sustained write speed, which high-bitrate video recording needs to avoid dropped frames.

T

• Files, formats & codecs THM file A tiny JPEG thumbnail an action camera saves next to each video clip, so the camera screen and phone app can show a preview grid without opening the video.
• Files, formats & codecs Timecode A time label for each frame in hours, minutes, seconds and frames, used to sync cameras and audio recorders and to reference exact moments in an edit.
• Files, formats & codecs Transcoding Decoding a video and encoding it again in a different codec, resolution or bitrate. It changes compatibility and size, but every pass can lose quality.

V

• Files, formats & codecs Variable bitrate (VBR) An encoding mode that spends more data on complex scenes and less on simple ones, giving better quality for the same file size than constant bitrate.
• Files, formats & codecs Variable frame rate (VFR) Video whose frame rate changes during the recording instead of staying fixed. Phones and screen recorders produce it, and editors sometimes struggle with it.
• Files, formats & codecs Video codec The method used to compress video so it fits on a memory card and to decompress it for playback. H.264, H.265 (HEVC), AV1 and ProRes are common examples.
• Files, formats & codecs Video metadata Extra information stored in a video file besides picture and sound, such as date, camera model, settings, rotation, GPS and color tags.
• Files, formats & codecs VP9 An open, royalty-free video codec from Google, common on the web and in YouTube playback, offering compression similar to HEVC in a WebM container.

X

• Files, formats & codecs XAVC S Sony's recording format for consumer and prosumer cameras: H.264 video with audio, stored in an MP4 file. Used by Sony action cams, Alpha and ZV models.