 Bink logo | |
| Filename extension | .bik, .bk2, .bik2 |
|---|---|
| Internet media type | video/vnd.radgametools.bink |
| Developed by | Epic Games Tools |
| Initial release | March 22, 1999 |
| Latest release | |
| Type of format | Video file |
| Open format? | No |
| Website | www |
Bink Video is a proprietary file format (extensions .bik and .bk2) for video developed by Epic Games Tools (formerly RAD Game Tools), a part of Epic Games.
The format includes its own proprietary video and audio compression algorithms (video and audio codecs) supporting resolutions from 320×240 up to high definition video.
It is bundled as part of the Epic Video Tools along with Epic Games Tools' previous video codec, Smacker video. It is a hybrid block-transform and wavelet codec using 16 different encoding techniques. The codec places emphasis on lower decoding requirements over other video codecs with specific optimizations for the different computer game consoles it supports.
It has been primarily used for full-motion video sequences in video games, and has been used in games for Windows, Mac OS and all sixth-generation game consoles (Dreamcast, GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox) and all major seventh-generation gaming platforms (Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii and Xbox 360). [2]
The format was reverse-engineered by the FFmpeg project and Bink decoding is supported by the open-source libavcodec library. [3]
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (August 2023) |
Bink was inducted into the Front Line Awards Hall of Fame by the Game Developer magazine in 2009. The winners for the award were published in the January 2010 issue of the magazine. [4]
Bink 2, a new version of the format, was released in 2013. [5] This new format is available for Windows (standard, Windows 8 Store and Windows 8 Phone), Mac OS, Linux, major touchscreen smartphone platforms (Android and iOS), all three major seventh-generation consoles (PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360), all major eighth-generation platforms except the Nintendo 3DS (Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U and Xbox One) and the ninth-generation PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. [6] Bink 2 is faster than Bink 1, and supports higher resolutions as well. [7]
Epic Games acquired the technology and business of RAD Game Tools including Bink on January 7, 2021, renaming it to Epic Games Tools. It was announced they planned to integrate RAD's technology directly into Unreal Engine and that licenses will continue to be available to those who do not use the Unreal Engine in their work. [8] [9]
| | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2024) |
Bink uses a wavelet-based compression algorithm optimized for game video sequences. It supports resolutions up to 4K and can encode at bitrates from 500 kbps to 200 Mbps. The codec is designed for efficient decompression, leveraging multithreading and SIMD instructions on modern CPUs. [5] Bink also offers optional alpha channel support for composing video with 3D graphics. [10]
Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) is an audio coding standard for lossy digital audio compression. It was designed to be the successor of the MP3 format and generally achieves higher sound quality than MP3 at the same bit rate.
Unreal Engine (UE) is a series of 3D computer graphics game engines developed by Epic Games, first showcased in the 1998 first-person shooter video game Unreal. Initially developed for PC first-person shooters, it has since been used in a variety of genres of games and has been adopted by other industries, most notably the film and television industry. Unreal Engine is written in C++ and features a high degree of portability, supporting a wide range of desktop, mobile, console, and virtual reality platforms.
Full-motion video (FMV) is a video game narration technique that relies upon pre-recorded video files to display action in the game. While many games feature FMVs as a way to present information during cutscenes, games that are primarily presented through FMVs are referred to as full-motion video games or interactive movies.
Smacker video is a video file format developed by Epic Games Tools, and primarily used for full-motion video in video games. Smacker uses an adaptive 8-bit RGB palette. RAD's format for video at higher color depths is Bink Video. The Smacker format specifies a container format, a video compression format, and an audio compression format. Since its release in 1994, Smacker has been used in over 2300 games. Blizzard used this format for the cinematic videos seen in its games Warcraft II, StarCraft and Diablo I.
Cinepak is a lossy video codec developed by Peter Barrett at SuperMac Technologies, and released in 1991 with the Video Spigot, and then in 1992 as part of Apple Computer's QuickTime video suite. One of the first video compression tools to achieve full motion video on CD-ROM, it was designed to encode 320×240 resolution video at 1× CD-ROM transfer rates. The original name of this codec was Compact Video, which is why its FourCC identifier is CVID. The codec was ported to Microsoft Windows in 1993. It was also used on fourth- and fifth-generation game consoles, such as the Atari Jaguar CD, Sega CD, Sega Saturn, and 3DO. libavcodec includes a Cinepak decoder and an encoder, both licensed under the terms of the LGPL.
Game programming, a subset of game development, is the software development of video games. Game programming requires substantial skill in software engineering and computer programming in a given language, as well as specialization in one or more of the following areas: simulation, computer graphics, artificial intelligence, physics, audio programming, and input. For multiplayer games, knowledge of network programming is required. In some genres, e.g. fighting games, advanced network programming is often demanded, as the netcode and its properties are considered by players and critics to be some of the most important metrics of the game's quality. For massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs), even further knowledge of database programming and advanced networking programming are required. Though often engaged in by professional game programmers, there is a thriving scene of independent developers who lack a relationship with a publishing company.
The history of video game consoles, both home and handheld, began in the 1970s. The first console that played games on a television set was the 1972 Magnavox Odyssey, first conceived by Ralph H. Baer in 1966. Handheld consoles originated from electro-mechanical games that used mechanical controls and light-emitting diodes (LED) as visual indicators. Handheld electronic games had replaced the mechanical controls with electronic and digital components, and with the introduction of Liquid-crystal display (LCD) to create video-like screens with programmable pixels, systems like the Microvision and the Game & Watch became the first handheld video game consoles.
High-definition video is video of higher resolution and quality than standard-definition. While there is no standardized meaning for high-definition, generally any video image with considerably more than 480 vertical scan lines or 576 vertical lines (Europe) is considered high-definition. 480 scan lines is generally the minimum even though the majority of systems greatly exceed that. Images of standard resolution captured at rates faster than normal, by a high-speed camera may be considered high-definition in some contexts. Some television series shot on high-definition video are made to look as if they have been shot on film, a technique which is often known as filmizing.
1080p is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen vertically; the p stands for progressive scan, i.e. non-interlaced. The term usually assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a resolution of 2.1 megapixels. It is often marketed as Full HD or FHD, to contrast 1080p with 720p resolution screens. Although 1080p is sometimes referred to as 2K resolution, other sources differentiate between 1080p and (true) 2K resolution.
Indeo Video is a family of audio and video formats and codecs first released in 1992, and designed for real-time video playback on desktop CPUs. While its original version was related to Intel's DVI video stream format, a hardware-only codec for the compression of television-quality video onto compact discs, Indeo was distinguished by being one of the first codecs allowing full-speed video playback without using hardware acceleration. Also unlike Cinepak and TrueMotion S, the compression used the same Y'CbCr 4:2:0 colorspace as the ITU's H.261 and ISO's MPEG-1. Indeo use was free of charge to allow for broadest usage.
Low-definition television (LDTV) refers to TV systems that have a lower screen resolution than standard-definition television systems. The term is usually used in reference to digital television, in particular when broadcasting at the same resolution as low-definition analog television systems. Mobile DTV systems usually transmit in low definition, as do all slow-scan television systems.
FMOD is a proprietary sound effects engine and authoring tool for video games and applications developed by Firelight Technologies. It is able to play and mix sounds of diverse formats on many operating systems.
CineForm Intermediate is an open source video codec developed for CineForm Inc by David Taylor, David Newman and Brian Schunck. On March 30, 2011, the company was acquired by GoPro which in particular wanted to use the 3D film capabilities of the CineForm 444 Codec for its 3D HERO System.
Platform exclusivity refers to the status of a video game being developed for and released only on certain platforms. Most commonly, it refers to only being released on a specific video game console or through a specific vendor's platforms—either permanently, or for a definite period of time.
XBMC4Xbox is a free and open source media player software made solely for the first-generation Xbox video-game console. The software was forked from the XBMC project after XBMC removed support for the Xbox console. Other than the audio / video playback and media center functionality, XBMC4Xbox also has the ability to catalog and launch original Xbox games, and homebrew applications such as console emulators from the Xbox's built-in harddrive.
The eighth generation of video game consoles began in 2012, and consists of four home video game consoles: the Wii U released in 2012, the PlayStation 4 family in 2013, the Xbox One family in 2013, and the Nintendo Switch family in 2017.
Game development kits (GDK) are specialized hardware and software used to create commercial video games for game consoles. They may be partnered with game development tools, special game engine licenses, and other middleware to aid video game development. GDKs are typically not available to the public, and require game developers to enter an agreement, partnership, or program with the hardware manufacturer to gain access to the hardware. As console generations pass, development kits often get sold through websites like eBay without repercussions. This is often because the console manufacturers discontinue certain development programs as time passes.
In video games with online gaming functionality, also called cross-compatible play, cross-platform play, crossplay, or cross-play describes the ability of players using different video game hardware to play with each other simultaneously. It is commonly applied to the ability for players using a game on a specific video game console to play alongside a player on a different hardware platform such as another console or a computer. A related concept is cross-save, where the player's progress in a game is stored in separate servers, and can be continued in the game but on a different hardware platform.
In the video game industry, the market for home video game consoles has frequently been segmented into generations, grouping consoles that are considered to have shared in a competitive marketspace. Since the first home consoles in 1972, there have been nine defined home console generations.
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