I got the basic codec infrastructure working correctly tonight. This is simply an FFmpeg module that “codes” the raw RGBA32 data by passing it through untouched and “decodes” it by doing the same. Hey, it still felt like a major achievement.
Next goal is a basic palette coding model.
I decided it is time to stop talking about what I going do and start talking about how I am going to do it. I want to try my hand at creating a new video codec. This is my first attempt at such a feat. I need to write both the encoder and decoder simultaneously. I need to develop some idea about which coding theories I wish to test and how I will go about testing them. I need test vectors for encoding.
But first and foremost, I need a name for this new codec. I have decided on “Palettized Animation Video Codec.” That is what its name shall be unless someone can come up with a better name. The fourcc shall be ‘PAVC’ which is yet unclaimed (although ‘PDVC’ is claimed according to fourcc.org). Since this is an article about PAVC, I need to lead in with some cool shots of old video games, if only as a reminder of this endeavor’s challenge:
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Crystalis, NES Widely regarded as the finest video game ever produced 
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 Solar Jetman, NES Perhaps the toughest Nintendo game to get the hang of |
Originally, I was building this hypothetical video codec around old 8-bit NES videos. However, my Old Skool gaming colleague, Trixter, suggested that I think more generally and design the codec around video output from 1st and 2st generation gaming consoles. For reference, these generations are defined as:
Writing about this codec idea is so much fun because I get to use colorful video game screenshots. For example:
 U.N. Squadron, Super Nintendo |
 Golden Axe, Sega Genesis |
[a continuation of Custom NES Video Codec]
Data compression is all about analyzing the nominal characteristics of a particular type of data and understanding how that data can best be coded using the least amount of information. Let’s look at some of the characteristics of NES video:
| Fun NES Screenshots: | |
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| Battletoads | Blaster Master |