Updated: July 16th, 2008 03:07 PM GMT-05:00

Introduction to video CODECs : MJPEG, MPEG-4, H.264

Demystifying CODECs used in video surveillance storage and transmission

[Editor's note: John Honovich publishes this and other information on network video at IPVideoMarket.info.]

CODECs are a critical element of choosing, designing and using video surveillance systems. CODECs can lower the price of overall systems and increase the usability of systems. As such, having a basic understanding of what a CODEC is and why CODECs are used is important.


Fundamental Principle of CODECs

The most important factor to understand in video CODECs is that CODECs help balance off different costs.

For instance, let's say you want to go to the mall and to the supermarket. A few years ago, when gas was cheaper, you might have done this in 2 separate trips. Now that gas prices have increased dramatically, you might want to combine those trips. What's happening here is that as gas has become more expensive, you are willing to trade off lower convenience for savings in cash.

Likewise, using CODECs is a balance between the cost of storage, bandwidth and CPUs. Specifically:


As such, selecting a CODEC always requires you to understand the tradeoffs in cost between using less bandwidth and storage or using less CPU cycles. Generally CPU cycles are cheaper than bandwidth and storage so more advance CODECs save you money. Sometimes, CODECs can be too demanding, especially with megapixel cameras and can potentially cost you more in CPU than you save in bandwidth and storage.