All digital objects have a variety of formats and most are compressed or encrypted. This section defines some of the most common characteristics associated with a digital object.
When a digital photo is taken, a video is recorded, and a document is scanned, the resulting data stored is referred to as the raw format. Some cameras immediately compress the raw format to save it on a storage. Most videos are immediately compressed, because the storage required—if the raw format was used—would exceed its storage limit. The raw format image is also referred to as the original image. The original should never be changed. If it is modified or transformed, then the resultant changed image should be saved as a derivative.