Introduction

Welcome to the Video and Video Processing unit. Maybe you have realized that in our course content so far, we have mainly focused on standard, static 2D images. Of course, the real world of Computer Vision has a lot more to offer. Videos are definitely one of the most used mediums in our world due to applications like Social Media, broadcasts, or surveillance cameras.

Given their importance in our society and research, we also want to talk about them here in our course. In this introduction chapter, you will learn some very basic theory behind videos before going on to have a closer look at video processing.

Let’s go! 🤓

What is a Video?

An image is a binary, two-dimensional (2D) representation of visual data. A video is a multimedia format that sequentially displays these frames or images.

Technically speaking, the frames are separate pictures. As a result, storing and playing these frames sequentially at a conventional speed results in the creation of a video, thus giving the illusion of motion (just like a flipbook). It is a popular and widely used medium for communicating information, entertainment, and conversation. Videos and photos are obtained via image-acquisition equipment such as video cameras, smartphones, and so on.

Aspects of a Video

Bitrates for videos are commonly expressed in megabytes per second (mbps) or kilobytes per second (kbps).

In summary, a video is a dynamic multimedia format that combines a series of individual frames, audio, and often additional metadata. It is used in a wide range of applications and can be tailored for different purposes, whether for entertainment, education, communication, or analysis.