What is a BIK file?
The files with .bik extension are used for playing movie clips in video games on both PCs and gaming consoles. BIK file enables standard video to be compressed greatly while optimizing video quality for the target platform. BIK videos can be run on Windows Media Player (WMP) but you should have the Windows 7 Codec Pack installed on your computer. You may see a warning message while playing that WMP doesn’t recognize the file format but you can still play the video.
BIK file format
BIK Video is a proprietary file format for videos developed by RAD Game Tools. This file format includes its own video and audio compression algorithms and uasually supporting resolutions ranging from 320×240 up to high definition video. The FFmpeg project format reverse-engineered this format and also open-source libavcodec library support Bink decoding. This file format has been used basically for full-motion video sequences in video games, and has been used in games for Mac OS, Windows and all sixth-generation game consoles (Dreamcast, GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox) and all major seventh-generation gaming platforms such as PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable and Wii.
Breif History
It was included into the Front Line Awards Hall of Fame by the Game Developer magazine in 2009. The winners for the award were announced in the January 2010 issue of the magazine. BIK format’s 2nd version was released in 2013. This advanced format is available for Windows, Mac OS, Linux, major touchscreen smartphone platforms such as Android and iOS, all three major seventh-generation consoles such as PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360, all major eighth-generation platforms. BIK 2nd variant is faster than 1st version, and it supports higher resolutions as well.
Relation with RAD Game Tools
BIK is a video format created by RAD Game Tools, a company that specializes in tools and technologies for the video game industry. RAD Game Tools provides a package of tools called RAD Video Tools, which includes a BIK player that can be used to play BIK files. In addition to RAD Video Tools, there are other media players that support the BIK format, such as VLC media player and Media Player Classic.
How to open BIK file?
To open a BIK file, you need a media player that supports the BIK format. Some media players that support BIK include the following:
- RAD Video Tools: This is a package of tools created by RAD Game Tools, which includes a BIK player.
- VLC media player: A popular open-source media player that supports a wide range of video formats, including BIK.
- Media Player Classic: A popular media player that supports a wide range of video formats, including BIK.
It is also possible that the game you obtained the BIK file from has its own built-in video player, in which case you may be able to play the BIK file directly from within the game. Besides, if you don’t have a media player that supports BIK, you may need to download and install a codec pack that includes support for the BIK format, such as the K-Lite Codec Pack.
