H.264

H.264 (AVC) is the most common delivery codec on the planet, used for web video, streaming, Blu-ray, and most camera and phone recording. It achieves small files through inter-frame, long-GOP compression: most frames store only the differences from neighbors rather than a full image. That efficiency makes it perfect for distribution but harder on editing software, which must reconstruct frames to scrub, so it can feel sluggish and tax the CPU. Editors typically export final videos to H.264 for YouTube, clients, and social platforms, balancing bitrate against quality. For the cutting itself, many transcode H.264 source to an intra-frame intermediate like ProRes or DNxHD for smoother performance, then return to H.264 only at the export stage.