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Chapter 8 Administration
System Formats and Codecs in Avid Liquid
This section provides information about the system formats and codecs available in Avid Liquid.
System Formats
Analog and digital video and audio material can be recorded, stored, edited and transmitted in many
“formats”. The term “format” has no very precise definition and is confusing because of the many ways
in which it is used. The “formats” that you work with as a Avid Liquid user primarily depend on your
editing system.
File Formats
File Formats can be identified by the file name extension on the Media Files. But the extension not always
gives away the actual content of the file. If, for example, the file extension is *.avi, the file actually may
contain DV or MPEG essence data - two different video media formats. In contrast, “examplefile.2vuy” is
a pure video media file, and the extension clearly indicates that fact.
Some file formats, such as AVI and MXF are so called “wrapper formats”. You can put video and audio
files inside an AVI wrapped filed when you, e.g., fuse a Sequence.
 For a list of supported formats on import, see “What Can Be Imported?” on page 152.
 For information on supported export formats, see “Export to File” on page 951.
 Information on capture, render and fuse formats or codecs can be found at the end of this chap-
ter (page 321).