Apple Animation Codec

A lossless codec created by Apple often used for high-end compositing applications, primarily used as an intermediate step for moving between different applications while maintaining full quality. The format is uncompressed (using RGB color space) so the full range of data is maintained, leading to high data rates and needing large amounts of hard drive storage space (if used at 100% quality). It is a lossy codec if used at quality settings below 100%. Often used to preserve an "alpha channel". In other words, image transparency is able to be retained using this codec when moving between various applications. In Apple's QuickTime, to preserve an alpha channel, the user would not only choose the Animation codec, but would also choose a setting labeled as Millions of Colors+. The "+" indicates preserving the alpha channel. The Animation codec is available in a wide range of Mac applications including After Effects, Final Cut Pro and Motion.