Bink Video is a proprietary file format (extensions .bik and .bk2) for video developed by Epic Games Tools (formerly RAD Game Tools), a part of Epic Games.
Overview
The format includes its own proprietary video and audio compression algorithms (video and audiocodecs) supporting resolutions from 320×240 up to high definition video.
It is bundled as part of the Epic Video Tools along with Epic Games Tools' previous video codec, Smacker video. It is a hybrid block-transform and waveletcodec 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.
The format was reverse-engineered by the FFmpeg project and Bink decoding is supported by the open-source libavcodec library.[3]
History
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (August 2023)
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.[4]
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.[8][9]
Technical
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2024)
Bink uses a wavelet-based compression algorithm optimized for game video sequences. It supports resolutions up to 4K and can encode at bitrates from 500 kbps to 200 Mbps. The codec is designed for efficient decompression, leveraging multithreading and SIMD instructions on modern CPUs. Bink also offers optional alpha channel support for composing video with 3D graphics.[10]