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Is "file format" just slang for container?

AshesAndWool
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Go to solution Solved by mariushm,

If i understand your question correctly, then no.

Some file formats are containers, some are not.

 

For example PNG, PCX, TGA, PPM, PGM, WEBP are all files which can represent images, encoding the content in a specific way. These formats, encode just a single frame, in a specific way.

For audio, AAC, AC3, MP3, FLAC are file formats that can only encode audio in a specific way (mpeg 1 encoding, layer 3 audio  , aac, ac3 audio etc)

In contrast, you can have AVI, MKV, MP4 which are containers, they can store video, audio, subtitles, and each of the parts can be encoded in various ways, and the file format defines how to store that information as well.

 

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How do you mean like different filetypes work with different programs 

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I'm just speaking from experience so what I say may not work 100%

Please try searching up the answer before you post here but I am always glad to help

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If i understand your question correctly, then no.

Some file formats are containers, some are not.

 

For example PNG, PCX, TGA, PPM, PGM, WEBP are all files which can represent images, encoding the content in a specific way. These formats, encode just a single frame, in a specific way.

For audio, AAC, AC3, MP3, FLAC are file formats that can only encode audio in a specific way (mpeg 1 encoding, layer 3 audio  , aac, ac3 audio etc)

In contrast, you can have AVI, MKV, MP4 which are containers, they can store video, audio, subtitles, and each of the parts can be encoded in various ways, and the file format defines how to store that information as well.

 

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1 minute ago, mariushm said:

If i understand your question correctly, then no.

Some file formats are containers, some are not.

 

For example PNG, PCX, TGA, PPM, PGM, WEBP are all files which can represent images, encoding the content in a specific way. These formats, encode just a single frame, in a specific way.

For audio, AAC, AC3, MP3, FLAC are file formats that can only encode audio in a specific way (mpeg 1 encoding, layer 3 audio  , aac, ac3 audio etc)

In contrast, you can have AVI, MKV, MP4 which are containers, they can store video, audio, subtitles, and each of the parts can be encoded in various ways, and the file format defines how to store that information as well.

 

Thanks, this was exactly what I was looking for

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Things like .zip .7z .rar are containers .txt .exe .jpg would be a type of file and tell the pc how to open the file.

I could use some help with this!

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Need help updating a phone from w8.1 to w10 - Windows - Linus Tech Tips

please, pm me if you would like to contribute to my gpu bios database (includes overclocking bios, stock bios, and upgrades to gpus via modding)

Bios database

My beautiful, but not that powerful, main PC:

prior build:

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1 minute ago, HelpfulTechWizard said:

.jpg would be a type of file

Technically (and I only know this because I deep-dived the format standard a while back), JPEG is a container. You can have multiple different images as well as metadata stored in such a way that you don't need to read the entire file to view parts of the content.

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1 minute ago, AbydosOne said:

Technically (and I only know this because I deep-dived the format standard a while back), JPEG is a container. You can have multiple different images as well as metadata stored in such a way that you don't need to read the entire file to view parts of the content.

ah. jpeg is one of the weird ones. i thought it was a file.

I could use some help with this!

Spoiler

Need help updating a phone from w8.1 to w10 - Windows - Linus Tech Tips

please, pm me if you would like to contribute to my gpu bios database (includes overclocking bios, stock bios, and upgrades to gpus via modding)

Bios database

My beautiful, but not that powerful, main PC:

prior build:

Spoiler

 

 

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1 minute ago, AbydosOne said:

as well as metadata

The metadata itself can also contain a thumbnail-image, which isn't part of the larger image itself and is instead in and of itself a separate image.

Hand, n. A singular instrument worn at the end of the human arm and commonly thrust into somebody’s pocket.

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2 minutes ago, HelpfulTechWizard said:

ah. jpeg is one of the weird ones. i thought it was a file.

A file, a file-format and a container-format are all different things and they are not mutually exclusive. A video in a Matroska-container, for example, would still be saved into a file and the data inside stored following the file-format.

Hand, n. A singular instrument worn at the end of the human arm and commonly thrust into somebody’s pocket.

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