What does digital compression do to a video file?

Digital compression is a process applied to video files to reduce their size for easier storage and transmission. By removing certain data—such as redundant or unnecessary information—compression techniques can significantly decrease the file size, making it more manageable for playback and streaming.

However, this reduction in size often comes at the cost of some video quality. This occurs because certain details may be sacrificed in order to achieve a smaller file size. Depending on the type of compression (lossy or lossless), the impact on quality can vary. Lossy compression, for example, discards some data deemed less critical to human perception, leading to a noticeable decrease in quality, particularly at higher rates of compression.

In contrast, the other options discuss outcomes that do not align with how digital compression functions. Increasing file size or maintaining quality without changes contradicts the purpose of compression. Additionally, converting a video into an audio-only format introduces an entirely different process unrelated to digital compression. Therefore, the correct understanding of digital compression accurately recognizes the balance it strikes between file size and video quality.