# Start here

Canonical URL: https://encode.wiki/start-here/
Content version: ca42e61ede0a24f789d7287a0001244ad22f4abf
Status: current
License: CC BY-SA 4.0
Checksum (SHA-256): 332ce41c5c5d16c815f69d300aa57fdef4df05b4a7b0a326a5ae2b9c637c2b8f

Encoding turns audio, video and images into a compact form for storage and delivery, and decoding
turns it back into something you can watch or hear. Nearly every practical decision is a trade
between quality, file size, encoding time and compatibility.

Read these pages in order if you are new:

1. [Encoding basics](/start-here/encoding-basics/): what codecs, encoders and containers are.
2. [Terminology](/start-here/terminology/): the words you will see everywhere else on this wiki.
3. [Lossless compression](/start-here/lossless/): how data shrinks without losing anything.
4. [Lossy compression](/start-here/lossy/): where information is thrown away, and why it can still
   look and sound right.
5. [Psychovisual encoding](/start-here/psychovisual/): why encoders optimize for what people see,
   not for simple error measures.
6. [Video artifacts](/start-here/video-artifacts/): recognizing blocking, banding, ringing and other
   compression damage.
7. [High dynamic range](/start-here/high-dynamic-range/): PQ, HLG, HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision.

When you are ready to encode something, continue with the [guides](/guides/), starting with
[a first FFmpeg encode](/guides/first-ffmpeg-encode/).