leandromoreira/digital_video_introduction

What is it?

Key features

• 01Explains core concepts such as color models, YCbCr, chroma subsampling and bit rate.
• 02Describes I, P and B frame types and how inter and intra prediction remove redundancy.
• 03Walks through the main stages of a generic codec, from partitioning to bitstream format.
• 04Compares H.264, H.265, VP9 and AV1 and the history behind them.
• 05Includes hands-on FFmpeg and Jupyter examples for inspecting video files.

Use cases

• Onboarding engineers who work on video players, streaming or media pipelines.
• Learning how codec settings such as keyframe interval and B-frames affect file size.
• Teaching a workshop or course on video compression fundamentals.

Quick start

1. 1

   Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/leandromoreira/digital_video_introduction.git
2. 2

   Enter the project folder

   cd digital_video_introduction
3. 3

   Run the setup script (requires Docker)

   ./setup.sh

Things to know

• !Hands-on sections require Docker to be installed.
• !It is a learning guide rather than a software library or tool.

In collections

Topics

FAQ

What is digital_video_introduction?

A hands-on, beginner-friendly introduction to digital video concepts, covering color, frame types, codecs such as H.264, H.265, VP9 and AV1, and streaming, with FFmpeg examples. This is a gentle, hands-on guide to how digital video works, aimed at software developers but written so that anyone can follow it. It walks through basic terminology such as pixels, resolution, aspect ratio and bit rate, then explains how video is compressed by removing redundancy in color, time and space.

Is digital_video_introduction free to use? What license does it have?

digital_video_introduction is open source under the BSD-3-Clause license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.

Is digital_video_introduction still maintained?

Actively maintained. The last commit to digital_video_introduction was on Nov 5, 2026.

What can I use digital_video_introduction for?

Onboarding engineers who work on video players, streaming or media pipelines. Learning how codec settings such as keyframe interval and B-frames affect file size. Teaching a workshop or course on video compression fundamentals.

How do I install digital_video_introduction?

Clone the repository: git clone https://github.com/leandromoreira/digital_video_introduction.git Enter the project folder: cd digital_video_introduction Run the setup script (requires Docker): ./setup.sh

Where can I get digital_video_introduction?

The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/leandromoreira/digital_video_introduction