<s>
A	O
bitstream	B-General_Concept
format	I-General_Concept
is	O
the	O
format	O
of	O
the	O
data	O
found	O
in	O
a	O
stream	B-Architecture
of	O
bits	O
used	O
in	O
a	O
digital	O
communication	O
or	O
data	B-General_Concept
storage	I-General_Concept
application	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
typically	O
refers	O
to	O
the	O
data	O
format	O
of	O
the	O
output	O
of	O
an	O
encoder	O
,	O
or	O
the	O
data	O
format	O
of	O
the	O
input	O
to	O
a	O
decoder	O
when	O
using	O
data	B-General_Concept
compression	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Standardized	O
interoperability	O
specifications	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
video	B-Algorithm
coding	I-Algorithm
standards	I-Algorithm
produced	O
by	O
the	O
MPEG	O
and	O
the	O
ITU-T	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
audio	O
coding	O
standards	O
produced	O
by	O
the	O
MPEG	O
,	O
often	O
specify	O
only	O
the	O
bitstream	B-General_Concept
format	I-General_Concept
and	O
the	O
decoding	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allows	O
encoder	O
implementations	O
to	O
use	O
any	O
methods	O
whatsoever	O
that	O
produce	O
bitstreams	O
which	O
conform	O
to	O
the	O
specified	O
bitstream	B-General_Concept
format	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Normally	O
,	O
decoding	O
of	O
a	O
bitstream	O
can	O
be	O
initiated	O
without	O
having	O
to	O
start	O
from	O
the	O
beginning	O
of	O
a	O
file	B-Operating_System
,	O
or	O
the	O
beginning	O
of	O
the	O
data	O
transmission	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Uses	O
of	O
bit	O
stream	B-Architecture
decoders	O
(	O
BSD	O
)	O
:	O
</s>
