Médiatömörítés

Médiatömörítés refers to the process of reducing the size of media files, such as images, audio, and video, to make them easier to store, transmit, and process. This reduction is achieved by removing redundant or less important information from the original data. The goal is to minimize the file size without significantly compromising the perceived quality of the media.

There are two main types of compression: lossless and lossy. Lossless compression reduces file size by identifying and eliminating statistical redundancy. The original data can be perfectly reconstructed from the compressed version. Examples include PNG for images and FLAC for audio. Lossy compression, on the other hand, achieves greater compression by discarding some data that is considered less perceptible to human senses. While some information is permanently lost, the resulting file size reduction is often substantial. Common examples include JPEG for images, MP3 for audio, and MP4 for video.

The choice between lossless and lossy compression depends on the specific application and the tolerance for quality degradation. Lossless compression is preferred when the integrity of the original data is paramount, such as in professional archiving or medical imaging. Lossy compression is widely used for streaming media, web content, and general consumer use where a small loss in quality is acceptable in exchange for smaller file sizes and faster loading times. The effectiveness of media compression is measured by the compression ratio, which is the ratio of the original file size to the compressed file size, and by metrics that assess the perceptual quality of the decompressed media.