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Format Description Properties
• ID: fdd000062
• Short name: AVI_Cinepak
• Content categories: moving image
• Format category: file format
• Last significant update: 2004-05-03
Identification and description 
| Full name | AVI (Audio Video Interleaved), Cinepak Video Codec |
| Description | File format that wraps a Cinepak video bitstream with other data chunks, e.g., audio. Multiple versions of Cinepak exist, including SuperMac, Radius, and Compression Technologies; this document does not distinguish between them. |
| Production phase | Used as a middle-state format (often used as the video source when producing lower-resolution streaming versions); also used as a final-state format for enduser delivery. |
| Relationship to other formats | |
| Subtype of | AVI |
| Contains | Cinepak video codec |
| May contain | WAVE audio (interleaved with video) |
| May contain | MP3_CBR (constant bit rate) audio (interleaved with video) |
Local use
| LC experience or existing holdings | |
| LC preference | See AVI |
Sustainability factors
| Disclosure | See AVI and Cinepak |
| Documentation | See AVI and Cinepak |
| Adoption | AVI is widely adopted for video production and filemaking; commentator John McGowan writes, "Cinepak is the most widely used Video for Windows codecs." |
| Licensing and patent claims | See AVI and Cinepak |
| Transparency | See Cinepak |
| Self-documentation | See AVI |
| External dependencies | See AVI |
| Technical protection considerations | See AVI |
Quality and functionality factors (video)
| Normal rendering | Good support. |
| Clarity (support for high image resolution) | Moderate to good, given that this is a format typically used for compression and does not support interlaced video. Outcome will depend on the type and extent of compression, and the encoder used. High resolution work is limited in the Windows environment due to file size limits (2 GB with FAT 16 technology; theoretical 8 GB with later technologies). |
| Fidelity (support for high audio resolution) | See AVI |
| Support for multiple sound channels | See AVI |
| Functionality beyond normal video rendering | See AVI |
File type signifiers
| Tag type | Value | Note |
| Filename Extension | avi | |
| Internet Media Type | See AVI | |
| Magic numbers | See AVI | |
| Microsoft FOURCC | CVID | See the Microsoft registry. |
Notes
Format specifications
URLs
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Useful references
URLs
• John McGowan's AVI Overview (http://www.jmcgowan.com/avi.html)
• John McGowan's AVI Audio and Video Codecs (http://www.jmcgowan.com/avicodecs.html)
• Microsoft registry of FOURCC codes and WAVE format indicators (http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnwmt/html/registeredfourcccodesandwaveformats.asp). The archived 2001 version of this registry is at http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/archive/fourcc.mspx.
• Gary Kessler's File Signatures Table (http://www.garykessler.net/library/file_sigs.html).
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Last Updated: Wednesday, 07-Mar-2007 12:40:19 EST
