FourCC
FourCC (four-character code) - a sequence of four bytes used to uniquely identify the format of a file. Imagined for operating systems, originally used in Macintosh software, later adapted for Amiga and Electronic Arts. The algorithm was later modified for compression of QuickTime and DirectShow files.
In 1985, Electronic Arts presented the Interchange File Format (IFF), a family of formats originally designed for Amiga computers. The files consisted of a sequence of "chunks" that could contain any data; each chunk was preceded by a four-byte identifier.
IFF has been adapted by many manufacturers such as Microsoft to create AVI and WAV formats. Microsoft has also used FOURCC to identify formats in DirectX, specifically DirectShow and DirectX Graphics.
One of the most well-known FourCC uses are video codecs used in the AVI format. This identification also occurs in DivX, Xvid, and h.264 codecs, as well as audio codecs for AVI and WAV formats. Also used in PNG, 3DS and MIDI files.
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