Principles of File Types

ADOBE CREATIVE CAREERS CURRICULUM
Principles of File Types
Essential Principles Series

Contents
This resource explores the properties of various

file types for:
● Digital images
● Digital video
● Digital audio
© 2022 Adobe. All Rights Reserved.

Adobe Creative Careers Curriculum
Digital images | Compression and CODECs
File formats are used to encode digital images.
Part of the reason for different file types is the need for
compression. Image files can be quite large, and larger
file types mean more disk usage and slower downloads.
Compression is a term used to describe ways of cutting

the size of the file. This can be achieved by removing
color information (e.g, from 16 million colors to 256) or
by removing detail that would be unnoticeable to the
eye.
Compression schemes can be described as lossy or

lossless, which indicates whether compression will/will
not affect the quality of the image on successive saves.

CODECs are compression technologies. They have

two components - an encoder (which compresses the
files) and a decoder (to decompress the file). There
are CODECs for data, still images, audio, and video.
● Uncompressed
○ Original format
● Compressed
○ Lossless - removes statistical redundancy
○ Lossy - removes information

JPG - Joint Photographic Experts Group

A lossy image format widely used to display photographic images.
PSD - Adobe Photoshop Document

Lossless format that retains layer information.
PNG - Portable Network Graphic

Lossless compression | Enables transparency | Good format for web graphics
GIF - CompuServe’s Graphics Interchange Format

Limited to 256 colors | Good for short, animated images or graphics

Digital images | Image file types for web
Popular web browsers can all display these

four image file types:
● JPG - Best for photographs

● GIF - Best for logos
● PNG - Best for images that need
transparent backgrounds
● SVG - Best for vectors (newer browsers
only)

Digital images | Raster images
Raster images are also called bitmap images.
They use a grid of pixels to create subtle changes

in color.
Pros:
● Can display a greater range of color in more
detail
Cons:
● Large file size
● Can lose quality when resized (i.e.,
resolution goes down)

Digital images | Vector images
Vector images are created using paths, smooth lines created with
mathematical equations.
Pros:
● Smaller file size than raster
● Can be resized infinitely with smooth edges and no loss of quality
Cons:
● Less subtle detail in color

Digital images | Raster/vector summary
Raster file types Vector file types

● JPG ● SVG - Scalable Vector
● PNG Graphic
● ● Adobe Photoshop EPS
GIF
● TIFF
Raster uses Vector uses
● ● Logos
Photographs
● Illustrations (cartoons)
● Digital painting

Digital video | Video containers and CODECs
A container (also referred to as the format) holds the grouping of

compressed video as defined by the CODEC. The container takes care of
packaging, transport, and presentation. The container is usually represented
by a file extension. For example, the MPEG4 container is usually
represented by a .mp4 file type.
Most video file types are named after their container:

● .mp4
● .avi
● .mov

Digital video | Video containers and CODECs
CODECs
● H.264 is the most common. It can be lossless or lossy.
● H.265 - newer for 4K

Digital audio | Audio file types
Digital audio files are created by converting analog audio (i.e., sound
waves) into digital code.
When choosing a digital audio format, storage size and/or sound quality
will be your main concern. Ensuring the file can be played back on the
devices you intend is also a factor.
Hi-res audio refers to audio files which use a higher sampling frequency
(kHz) and/or bit depth (-bit) than CD quality (16-bit/44.1kHz). Hi-res files
are often in the form of 16-bit/96kHz or 24-bit/192kHz, for example.
Because hi-res audio files have more audio information, they tend to
sound much better than compressed formats.

Digital audio | Audio file types
● Uncompressed
○ aiff – Audio Interchange File Format
○ wav – Microsoft Wave
● Compressed - Lossless
○ M4A – Apple Lossless
● Compressed – Lossy
○ MP3, AAC (Advanced Audio Coding)

Digital audio | Common audio file types
● AAC - (Audio Advanced Coding): Apple's alternative to MP3 and used for Apple Music Streaming -
compressed / lossy.
● AIFF: Apple's alternative to WAV, with better metadata support. It’s lossless and uncompressed (so big
file sizes), but not hugely popular.
● FLAC (Free Lossless Audio CODEC): A lossless format which supports hi-res sample rates. Considered
preferred format for downloading and storing hi-res albums. Unsupported by Apple.
● MP3: Popular but lossy format. Smaller file sizes. Not the best sound quality, but convenient for storing
music on smartphones, etc.
● WAV: Standard format in which CDs are encoded. Good sound quality (lossless), but large file sizes.
● WMA Lossless (Windows Media Audio): A hi-res, lossless version of Windows Media Audio, but no
longer as well supported on modern devices.
Matching activity
Lossless Lossy
Compressed Uncompressed

This activity is part of Adobe’s free “Adobe Creative Careers Curriculum'' series. Adobe Photoshop and other Creative Cloud apps require an account and login. Keep
in mind that children under the age of 13 are not allowed to create their own Adobe ID. Educators can find more teaching materials for using Adobe software in the
classroom on the Adobe Education Exchange.
© 2022 Adobe. All rights reserved. Adobe, the Adobe logo, Creative Cloud, and Photoshop are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe in the United
States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Principles of File Types

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Principles of File Types

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Principles of File Types

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

ADOBE CREATIVE CAREERS CURRICULUM

Principles of File Types

Essential Principles Series

This resource explores the properties of various

© 2022 Adobe. All Rights Reserved.

File formats are used to encode digital images.

Compression is a term used to describe ways of cutting

Compression schemes can be described as lossy or

© 2022 Adobe. All Rights Reserved.

CODECs are compression technologies. They have

© 2022 Adobe. All Rights Reserved.

JPG - Joint Photographic Experts Group

PSD - Adobe Photoshop Document

PNG - Portable Network Graphic

GIF - CompuServe’s Graphics Interchange Format

© 2022 Adobe. All Rights Reserved.

Popular web browsers can all display these

● JPG - Best for photographs

© 2022 Adobe. All Rights Reserved.

Raster images are also called bitmap images.

They use a grid of pixels to create subtle changes

© 2022 Adobe. All Rights Reserved.

© 2022 Adobe. All Rights Reserved.

Raster file types Vector file types

© 2022 Adobe. All Rights Reserved.

A container (also referred to as the format) holds the grouping of

Most video file types are named after their container:

© 2022 Adobe. All Rights Reserved.

© 2022 Adobe. All Rights Reserved.

© 2022 Adobe. All Rights Reserved.

© 2022 Adobe. All Rights Reserved.

© 2022 Adobe. All Rights Reserved.

You might also like