Bink Video
Bink Video is a proprietary file format for video developed by Epic Games Tools, a part of Epic Games.
Overview
The format includes its own proprietary video and audio compression algorithms supporting resolutions from 320×240 up to high definition video.It is bundled as part of the Epic Video Tools along with RAD Game Tools' previous video codec, Smacker video. It is a hybrid block-transform and wavelet codec using 16 different encoding techniques. The codec places emphasis on lower decoding requirements over other video codecs with specific optimizations for the different computer game consoles it supports.
It has been primarily used for full-motion video sequences in video games, and has been used in games for Windows, Mac OS and all sixth-generation game consoles and all major seventh-generation gaming platforms.
The original format was reverse-engineered by the FFmpeg project and Bink decoding is supported by the open-source libavcodec library. The bk2 format isn't supported yet.
History
Bink was inducted into the Front Line Awards Hall of Fame by the Game Developer magazine in 2009. The winners for the award were published in the January 2010 issue of the magazine.Bink 2, a new version of the format, was released in 2013. This new format is available for Windows, Mac OS, Linux, major touchscreen smartphone platforms, all three major seventh-generation consoles, all major eighth-generation platforms except the Nintendo 3DS and the ninth-generation PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Bink 2 is faster than Bink 1, and supports higher resolutions as well.
Epic Games acquired the technology and business of RAD Game Tools including Bink on January 7, 2021, renaming it to Epic Games Tools. It was announced they planned to integrate RAD's technology directly into Unreal Engine and that licenses will continue to be available to those who do not use the Unreal Engine in their work.