What is a .Y4M file?
The file extension .Y4M represents a YUV4MPEG2 Video File. This type of video file is created in the YUV4Mpeg format, which is used to store videos as a series of uncompressed YCbCr images. Each image represents one frame of the video, so when these images are played in sequence, they form a video. The YCbCr format is notable for how it separates color data, making it sensitive and accurate in color representation, which is particularly useful in professional video editing and processing.
The .Y4M file format is typically used as an intermediate format. This means that it is often used to store raw video data that has not yet been compressed. This uncompressed state makes it easier to edit and process the video without losing quality. After editing, the video is usually compressed into more popular, smaller-sized formats such as MPEG-2 or Matroska (.MKV), which are more suitable for distribution and playback on various devices.
To open a .Y4M file, you can use the program FFmpeg. FFmpeg is a powerful multimedia framework that can decode, encode, transcode, mux, demux, stream, filter, and play almost any type of media file. It is particularly useful for converting the .Y4M file into other video formats, processing the video, or extracting information from it. FFmpeg is available for multiple operating systems, including Windows, Mac, and Linux.
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