The Difference Between an MPEG-2 & AVCHD Blu-ray Formats
MPEG 2 and AVCHD are both codecs that were especially developed to process the video tracks in digital video files. While they have a similar background, there are some marked differences between the two codecs’ compression methods and implementation. But in order to fully understand the differences between the technologies, it is helpful to discuss the basic process through which digital videos are published.
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Video Compression
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Every digital video is a product of a special process known as compression. During compression, streams of media like audio and video tracks are written with codecs. A codec is an algorithm that translates digital information into a readable format. Once the media has been encoded, they are subsequently merged into a single file through the use of a multimedia container. Since most multimedia containers are synonymous with their file extensions, they may alternately be referred to as file formats.
Development
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The MPEG-2 video codec was introduced in 1994. Although it has been updated since it was first released, the encoding profile is still used to publish digital videos that are burned onto DVDs. An acronym for Advanced Video Coding High Definition, AVCHD was co-developed by Sony and Panasonic and released in 2006. While the proprietary algorithm is derived from the MPEG-2 compression standard, it is especially engineered to store video data in resolutions of 720p and 1080p/1080i. Since it was designed to support high definition media, AVCHD is used to format movies onto Blu-ray discs and record footage in HD camcorders.
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Multimedia Containers
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Digital videos that are compressed with an MPEG-2 video codec are typically stored in multimedia containers like MPG, VOB and TS. While MPG files are usually transmitted through digital video downloads, VOB and TS files are commonly stored on DVDs and they can be accessed through the disc’s VIDEO_TS folder. Conversely, digital videos that are compressed with AVCHD are distributed with either an M2TS or MTS multimedia container. While M2TS files are stored on Blu-ray discs, MTS files are recorded by Sony and Panasonic HD camcorders.
Supported Software
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A media player is any application that can open and play digital audio and digital video. While all media players have the same basic functionality, they each support playback for a different array of digital media formats. Nonetheless, there is a lot of overlap when it comes to which applications can stream MPEG-2 and AVCHD compressed digital videos. VLC is a media player that can open VOB, TS, M2TS and MTS files. And Windows Media Player supports playback for MPG, VOB, M2TS and MTS files.
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