When Is Lossy Compression?

A compression method is lossy if it is not possible to reconstruct the original exactly from the compressed version. There are some insignificant details that may get lost during the process of compression.

When would you use lossy compression?

Lossy compression is most commonly used to compress multimedia data (audio, video, and images), especially in applications such as streaming media and internet telephony. By contrast, lossless compression is typically required for text and data files, such as bank records and text articles.

What is lossy compression example?

Lossy methods can provide high degrees of compression and result in smaller compressed files, but some number of the original pixels, sound waves or video frames are removed forever. Examples are the widely used JPEG image, MPEG video and MP3 audio formats. The greater the compression, the smaller the file.