---
title: How Video Call Codecs Improve Call Quality
tags:  #video codecs #video communication #video call #video conferencing  
author: [Shaw47](https://docswell.com/user/Shyam)
site: [Docswell](https://www.docswell.com/)
thumbnail: https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/GE5MV54GE4.jpg?width=480
description: Most video call issues aren't caused by bad internet.  They're caused by the codec.  A codec compresses your video, sends it across the network, and rebuilds it on the other side. If the codec isn't optimized, you'll see blurry video, frozen screens, laggy audio, and dropped calls.  This carousel explains:  How video codecs work The most common codecs used today (H.264, VP8, VP9, AV1 & Opus) How adaptive bitrate, simulcast, and SVC keep calls stable Why choosing the right video stack matters before you start building  If you're building a video calling product, understanding codecs is essential.  Don't want to build the entire video infrastructure from scratch?  MirrorFly gives you high-quality video calling with advanced codecs, adaptive streaming, and a production-ready SDK you can deploy in as little as 48 hours. Self-hosted or cloud. Full source code ownership.  Build high-quality video calls - More Info: https://www.mirrorfly.com/blog/video-codecs/
published: August 20, 26
canonical: https://docswell.com/s/Shyam/Z4NM1Q-2026-08-20-193015
---
# Page. 1

![Page Image](https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/GE5MV54GE4.jpg)

MirrorFly
#1 Self-Hosted AI CPaaS Solution
01
Codecs Make Or
Break Your Calls
Compression quality decides what
happens on your calls.
< 200ms
Latency Target
4K
Resolution
LIVE

# Page. 2

![Page Image](https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/97293NVDJR.jpg)

MirrorFly
#1 Self-Hosted AI CPaaS Solution
02
Bad Codecs Break
Your Calls In 4 Ways
Blurry
Faces
Frozen
Frames
Laggy
Audio
Dropped
Calls

# Page. 3

![Page Image](https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/DJY41P3M7M.jpg)

MirrorFly
#1 Self-Hosted AI CPaaS Solution
03
How Codecs Work
Compress
Shrink raw frames before they leave the
device.
Transmit
Push compressed data across an
unpredictable network.
Rebuild
Decode it back to video, in real time, on
the other end.

# Page. 4

![Page Image](https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/V7NY25V3E8.jpg)

MirrorFly
#1 Self-Hosted AI CPaaS Solution
04
Five Ways To Compress
Video Calls
H.264
The safe default
VP8
Open-source fallback
VP9
Efficient, CPU-hungry
AV1
Best compression
Opus
The audio layer behind all of them

# Page. 5

![Page Image](https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/YJ9P1Y6P73.jpg)

MirrorFly
#1 Self-Hosted AI CPaaS Solution
05
Calls Never Crash.
They Adapt.
Adaptive bitrate
Drops resolution before the
call freezes.
Simulcast
Sends multiple quality streams
at once.
SVC
One stream, tuned per viewer's
bandwidth.
1080p
720p
360p

# Page. 6

![Page Image](https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/GJ8D46ZXJD.jpg)

MirrorFly
#1 Self-Hosted AI CPaaS Solution
06
What A Good Codec
Does For Your Calls
Echo
cancellation
Noise
suppression
Packet
loss cover
Jitter
buffering
Hardware
accel
Simulcast
groups

# Page. 7

![Page Image](https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/LJLM69DNER.jpg)

MirrorFly
#1 Self-Hosted AI CPaaS Solution
07
Should You Build or Buy
A Video Call Codec
BUILD
Codec Licensing
Device testing at scale
Ongoing maintenance
BUY
Pre-built codec stack
Tested across networks
Vendor-supported

# Page. 8

![Page Image](https://bcdn.docswell.com/page/47MY5ZPQ7W.jpg)

MirrorFly
#1 Self-Hosted AI CPaaS Solution
08
Build Your Own
High-Quality Video
Calls With MirrorFly
Advanced codecs. Adaptive video streaming
Ready to ship in 48 hours.
1000+ features
Self-hosted or cloud
Full source ownership
Talk to us →
www.mirrorfly.com