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Decode to Encode: Master Complex Concepts Faster, Bridge Gaps and Be the Expert in Video Coding
Video coding is complex. YouTube and Netflix use it to deliver great video even at extremely low data rates. Have you ever wondered how they optimize video for low bandwidths? Do technical terms like 'rate distortion optimization', 'predictive coding' or 'adaptive quantization' overwhelm you? Decode To Encode is the only book that answers the hows and whys of elements in AVC (H.264), HEVC (H.265) and VP9. It provides video engineers and students all the compression fundamentals they need to solve problems, conduct research and serve their customers better. Coming from an experienced video codec engineer and product enthusiast, the book is written in a clear language with numerous examples. You will learn - digital video fundamentals and the evolution of codecs; - spatial and temporal aspects leveraged to achieve compression in block-based video architecture; - intra and inter coding, GOPs, block partitioning, prediction, transforms, quantization, CABAC, in-loop filtering, rate-distortion optimization and rate control; - bitrate modes, performance metrics and comparisons; - emerging topics like per-title encoding, AV1, 360 Video and VR, encoding with ML. Why be left behind in today’s evolving video landscape? Get the tools you need to understand technical specifications and design video algorithms. Learn the concepts in this book and become a compression expert today. Exude confidence as you walk into your next meeting or start a conversation about video compression. Book
284 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 28, 2018
17 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 9, 2022
Overall a pretty good introduction to video encoders and decoders. It doesn't go into a ton of depth, but there is enough explained to understand what is happening under the hood. The author also does a good job of explaining the challenges associated with video encoding and how the different encoders address them.
A few of the chapters are a little difficult to parse because they contain a bunch of esoteric concepts that may not be easy to understand if you are a complete beginner. Those chapters are definitely worth reading again, as well as finding some supplemental explanation to solidify the concepts.
Note: You won't find any instructions on _how_ to encode videos (e.g. specific FFMpeg commands to encode or convert). This book is mostly focused on the _what_ and _why_ to give complete beginners a view into the world of video.
A few of the chapters are a little difficult to parse because they contain a bunch of esoteric concepts that may not be easy to understand if you are a complete beginner. Those chapters are definitely worth reading again, as well as finding some supplemental explanation to solidify the concepts.
Note: You won't find any instructions on _how_ to encode videos (e.g. specific FFMpeg commands to encode or convert). This book is mostly focused on the _what_ and _why_ to give complete beginners a view into the world of video.
October 21, 2025
Great book for if you know nothing or very little about digital video, and would like to learn more about how it works on a general/intermediate level.
The first half is perhaps the most interesting, and is pretty easy to digest. The second half starts covering more complex topics, and is more technical and harder to keep up with because of it.
It doesn't go into massive detail about every encoder/decoder step, but gives enough information, context, and examples to understand what each step does and why it is important (and enough terms and keywords for if you want to research the topics more).
For me, I knew very little about decoders/encoders/codecs, and wanted to understamd how they work and what's the difference between the different ones. This book was perfect for that, and answered all my questions.
The first half is perhaps the most interesting, and is pretty easy to digest. The second half starts covering more complex topics, and is more technical and harder to keep up with because of it.
It doesn't go into massive detail about every encoder/decoder step, but gives enough information, context, and examples to understand what each step does and why it is important (and enough terms and keywords for if you want to research the topics more).
For me, I knew very little about decoders/encoders/codecs, and wanted to understamd how they work and what's the difference between the different ones. This book was perfect for that, and answered all my questions.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews