A codec's a device or computer program capable of encoding and/or decoding a digital data stream or signal. The word codec's a portmanteau of 'compressor-decompressor' or, most commonly, 'coder-decoder'. Related concepts An endec (encoder/decoder)'s a similar yet different concept mainly used for hardware. In the mid 20th century, a "codec" was hardware that coded analog signals into Pulse-code modulation (PCM) and decoded them back. Late in the century the name came to be applied to a class of… (More on Codec)