Video Formats & Technical Guide

Comprehensive guide to video formats supported by VidLoad.cc and the technical relationships between resolution, bitrate, and frame rate.

Supported Video Formats

HLS Streams (.m3u8)

HTTP Live Streaming

Use Cases:

• Live streaming broadcasts
• Adaptive bitrate streaming
• OTT platform content
• CDN-delivered videos

Technical Features:

• Segmented delivery
• Multiple quality levels
• Real-time adaptation
• Cross-platform compatibility

MP4 Videos

MPEG-4 Part 14

Use Cases:

• Social media content
• Video sharing platforms
• Mobile video playback
• Downloaded content

Technical Features:

• H.264/H.265 codecs
• Progressive download
• Wide compatibility
• Efficient compression

WebM Videos

Web Media Format

Use Cases:

• Web-optimized content
• Open-source projects
• Real-time communication
• HTML5 video elements

Technical Features:

• VP8/VP9/AV1 codecs
• Royalty-free
• High compression efficiency
• Native browser support

AVI Videos

Audio Video Interleave

Use Cases:

• Legacy video files
• Video editing projects
• Archive content
• Screen recordings

Technical Features:

• Multiple codec support
• Uncompressed options
• Windows native format
• High quality preservation

MOV Videos

QuickTime Format

Use Cases:

• Professional video editing
• Apple ecosystem content
• High-quality recordings
• Cinema production

Technical Features:

• ProRes codec support
• Lossless compression
• Professional metadata
• Multi-track audio

MKV Videos

Matroska Video

Use Cases:

• High-definition content
• Multi-language videos
• Anime and foreign films
• Archival storage

Technical Features:

• Multiple subtitle tracks
• Chapter support
• Open-source container
• Advanced metadata

Video Quality Technical Relationships

Resolution × Bitrate × Frame Rate

Quality Formula

Video Quality ∝ Resolution × Bitrate × Frame Rate

Higher values in any parameter improve quality but increase file size.

Resolution Impact

• 4K (3840×2160): 4× more pixels than 1080p
• 1080p (1920×1080): Standard HD quality
• 720p (1280×720): HD ready quality
• 480p (854×480): SD quality

Bitrate Guidelines

• 4K: 15-25 Mbps (streaming), 50-100 Mbps (production)
• 1080p: 5-10 Mbps (streaming), 15-25 Mbps (production)
• 720p: 2.5-5 Mbps (streaming), 8-12 Mbps (production)
• 480p: 1-2.5 Mbps (streaming), 4-6 Mbps (production)

Frame Rate Effects

• 60 fps: Smooth gaming, sports
• 30 fps: Standard video content
• 24 fps: Cinematic content
• Higher fps = 2× bitrate for same quality

Video Compression Technologies

Compression Evolution

Each generation offers 50% better compression than the previous:

H.264 → H.265/HEVC → AV1 → VVC

H.264 (AVC)

• Most widely supported codec
• Good compression efficiency
• Universal compatibility
• Hardware acceleration available

H.265 (HEVC)

• 50% better compression than H.264
• Ideal for 4K content
• Growing device support
• Patent licensing required

AV1

• Royalty-free codec
• Superior compression efficiency
• Optimized for streaming
• Growing adoption

VP9

• Google's open-source codec
• YouTube's primary codec
• Good web browser support
• Efficient for web streaming

Compression Techniques

• Intra-frame: Compress within single frames
• Inter-frame: Remove redundancy between frames
• Motion compensation: Track object movement
• Quantization: Reduce color/detail precision

Quality vs File Size Reference

Resolution	Frame Rate	Bitrate (H.264)	Bitrate (H.265)	File Size (1 hour)	Use Case
4K (3840×2160)	60fps	20-25 Mbps	12-15 Mbps	9-11 GB	Gaming, Sports
4K (3840×2160)	30fps	15-20 Mbps	8-12 Mbps	6.8-9 GB	Cinema, Streaming
1080p (1920×1080)	60fps	8-12 Mbps	5-8 Mbps	3.6-5.4 GB	Gaming, Action
1080p (1920×1080)	30fps	5-8 Mbps	3-5 Mbps	2.3-3.6 GB	Standard Video
720p (1280×720)	30fps	2.5-4 Mbps	1.5-2.5 Mbps	1.1-1.8 GB	Web Streaming
480p (854×480)	30fps	1-2 Mbps	0.5-1 Mbps	450-900 MB	Mobile, Low Bandwidth

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