<sod>A '''codec''' is a device or [[computer program]] for [[encoder|encoding]] or [[Decoding methods|decoding]] a [[Digital data|digital]] [[data stream]] or [[signal (information theory)|signal]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/faq/codec.mspx |title=Using codecs |publisher=Microsoft |accessdate=2009-12-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://desktopvideo.about.com/od/glossary/g/codec.htm |title=About.com - Codec |publisher=About.com |accessdate=2009-12-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://help.ubuntu.com/8.04/musicvideophotos/C/codecs.html |title=Ubuntu Documentation - What is a codec? |publisher=Ubuntu Documentation Team |accessdate=2009-12-21 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219101738/https://help.ubuntu.com/8.04/musicvideophotos/C/codecs.html |archivedate=February 19, 2012 }}</ref> ''Codec'' is a [[portmanteau]] of ''coder-decoder'' or, less commonly, ''compressor-decompressor'', which is actually a common misnomer found in the literature because compression is often a fundamental feature of codecs and the ''codec'' term happens to coincidentally also fit with ''compressor/decompressor''; however, it is important to note that not all codecs perform compression.<eod>
<sod>A '''codec''' is a device or [[computer program]] for [[encoder|encoding]] or [[Decoding methods|decoding]] a [[Digital data|digital]] [[data stream]] or [[signal (information theory)|signal]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/faq/codec.mspx |title=Using codecs |publisher=Microsoft |accessdate=2009-12-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://desktopvideo.about.com/od/glossary/g/codec.htm |title=About.com - Codec |publisher=About.com |accessdate=2009-12-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://help.ubuntu.com/8.04/musicvideophotos/C/codecs.html |title=Ubuntu Documentation - What is a codec? |publisher=Ubuntu Documentation Team |accessdate=2009-12-21 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219101738/https://help.ubuntu.com/8.04/musicvideophotos/C/codecs.html |archivedate=February 19, 2012 }}</ref> ''Codec'' is a [[portmanteau]] of ''coder-decoder'' or, less commonly, ''compressor-decompressor'', which is a misnomer stemming from the fact that compression is often a fundamental feature of codecs (and the ''codec'' term happens to coincidentally also fit with ''compressor/decompressor''); however, it is important to note that not all codecs perform compression.<eod>