---
title: "Video sample description ('stsd')"
framework: quicktime-file-format
role: symbol
role_heading: Atom
path: quicktime-file-format/video_sample_description
---

# Video sample description ('stsd')

An atom that contains information that defines how to interpret video media data.

## Overview

Overview The video sample description contains information that defines how to interpret video media data. A video sample description begins with the four fields described in the ‘General structure of a sample description’ section of Sample description atom ('stsd'). note: Some video sample descriptions contain an optional 4-byte terminator with all bytes set to 0, following all other sample description and sample description extension data. If this optional terminator is present, the sample description size value will include it. It is important to check the sample description size when parsing: more than or fewer than these four optional bytes, if present in the size value, indicates a malformed sample description. The data format field of a video sample description indicates the type of compression that was used to compress the image data, or the color space representation of uncompressed video data. The following table shows some of the formats supported. The list is not exhaustive, and is subject to addition.  |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |

## Topics

### Data fields

- [Sample description size](quicktime-file-format/video_sample_description/sample_description_size.md)
- [Data format](quicktime-file-format/video_sample_description/data_format.md)
- [Reserved](quicktime-file-format/video_sample_description/reserved.md)
- [Data reference index](quicktime-file-format/video_sample_description/data_reference_index.md)
- [Version](quicktime-file-format/video_sample_description/version.md)
- [Revision level](quicktime-file-format/video_sample_description/revision_level.md)
- [Vendor](quicktime-file-format/video_sample_description/vendor.md)
- [Temporal quality](quicktime-file-format/video_sample_description/temporal_quality.md)
- [Spatial quality](quicktime-file-format/video_sample_description/spatial_quality.md)
- [Width](quicktime-file-format/video_sample_description/width.md)
- [Height](quicktime-file-format/video_sample_description/height.md)
- [Horizontal resolution](quicktime-file-format/video_sample_description/horizontal_resolution.md)
- [Vertical resolution](quicktime-file-format/video_sample_description/vertical_resolution.md)
- [Data size](quicktime-file-format/video_sample_description/data_size.md)
- [Frame count](quicktime-file-format/video_sample_description/frame_count.md)
- [Compressor name](quicktime-file-format/video_sample_description/compressor_name.md)
- [Depth](quicktime-file-format/video_sample_description/depth.md)
- [Color table ID](quicktime-file-format/video_sample_description/color_table_id.md)

## See Also

### Storing video data

- [Video sample description extensions](quicktime-file-format/video_sample_description_extensions.md)
- [Video sample data](quicktime-file-format/video_sample_data.md)