Apple Intermediate Codec

• FOURCCs: icod
• Company: Apple
• Samples: http://samples.mplayerhq.hu/V-codecs/icod/
• Decoder: http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/appleintermediatecodec101.html
• Description: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2704

Lossy codec used in Final Cut Express HD and iLife ’05

Apple Lists its Features as:

• Intra Only
• 4:2:0 color
• 8-bits per sample

More technical details

Each frame starts with 24-byte header:

 6- 7  frame width
 8- 9  frame height
10-11  frame width (or maybe tile width)
12-13  frame height(or maybe tile height)

16     high nibble is ?, low nibble is ?
18     high nibble is ?, low nibble is ?
19     high 2 bits are ?, next 2 bits are ?, low 3 bits are ?

It is followed by some tables consisting of 16-bit little-endian entries (Huffman weights?).

There are 4 versions of coded data which differ by coded colourspaces (the same YUV420 but 8/16 bits per component and linear/non-linear?).

Each tile has data coded as 4 bands (probably in YYUV order) and DCT is employed.

Each band looks like it's coded with Golomb codes (possibly as delta values, there are about 4 very similar coding modes for that too).