Image source: Shutterstock.com What Video File Formats Are and Which Is Best to Use Even if you’ve never edited video, you probably know a little about video formats – for instance, that the format of a movie or clip can be easily determined from the stored recording’s filename extension. You’ve likely also heard that video recordings are sometimes converted from one format to another.
Want to know more? You’re in the right place! In this article, we’re going to tell you about various popular video file types and the differences between them. We’ll also give you some practical advice on how to choose the appropriate format in which to store your videos. What Is a Video Format? A video file format is the structure in which a video recording is stored in a computer’s memory, on disc, or on other digital media.
Mac supported video file formats: QuickTime Movie (.mov), MPEG-4 (.mp4,.m4v), MPEG-2 (OSX 10.0-10.6 are exclusive), MPEG-1, 3GPP Mac still remains supreme with the.mov and.mpeg file types. Naturally, MOV is the standard and best video format for Mac. It is known to have the best.
A format consists of two parts: a container in which the recording is stored and a codec used to process the sound and image for viewing. Let’s clear things up! What Is a Container? To answer this, let’s take a look at the process of recording a video on a digital device (video camera, mobile phone, or any other digital device). These devices record audio and video as different streams, encoding each of them using a special program called a codec.
Both streams are then compressed into a special file – the container – where they are given a description. This description enables media players to correctly synchronize the audio and video when replaying the recording. What Is a Codec? A codec is a program that handles the coding of large amounts of data and renders them uncompressed during playback.
There are specific codecs for each data type: audio, video, etc. You can learn more about codecs. Image source: Shutterstock.com What Are the Most Common Video Formats? Let’s take a look at a few popular video file extensions and learn more about their uses from how their differences are examined and explained. MOV This is one of the first successful formats developed by Apple and is native to the company’s QuickTime Player. MOV supports a wide range of codecs for compressing movies and other video files. It is also compatible with both Mac and Windows PCs as well as iOS-based devices like iPhone and iPad.
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AVI Short for “Audio Video Interleave”, AVI is one of the oldest and most popular multimedia formats, in which the data in a video file is stored in tagged “chunks.” It was originally introduced by Microsoft as part of its Video for Windows technology. Thanks to its simplicity, AVI is supported by all Windows-based devices as well as many Android-based devices, game consoles like Xbox and PSP, and most personal computer operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. MP4 Derived from the QuickTime file format, MP4 has quickly become almost a universal standard for sharing videos on the Internet and elsewhere. MP4 provides a nearly lossless compression algorithm and a higher quality than most other formats. It is also accepted by almost all computers, phones, TVs, and DVD players from Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Lenovo, and many other manufacturers. FLV The FLV, or Flash Video, format is mainly used to play online video content via Adobe’s Flash Player.
FLV video files maintain high quality even after being compressed to much smaller sizes, which enables users to load online videos faster. Since the player is preinstalled in almost all browsers, FLV is supported by popular video-hosting websites like YouTube, Hulu, VEVO, and many others. WMV Another format developed by Microsoft, WMV was originally positioned as a competitor to RealVideo. WMV files are among the smallest video files on the Internet, though their quality is often lower because of the significant decrease in size after lossy compression. The key app for playing WMV is Windows Media Player, available on all Windows-based platforms as well as Mac OS X.
MKV While conceptually similar to other containers like MP4 and AVI, the Matroska Video (MKV) format differs in that it’s entirely open source. MKV can include an unlimited number of video and audio tracks as well as features like multilingual subtitles in one file, so it’s now become the preferred format for HD video on the Web. Image source: Shutterstock.com Which Is the Best Video Format to Use? Video formats differ a lot in the contents of their container file. Some, AVI for instance, can include multiple audio tracks and subtitles; others, like MKV, let you pack in everything you need: video and audio tracks, animated and text subtitles, fonts, and more. Formats also differ in that each of them works only with a specific list of audio and video codecs. These two fundamental differences can of course lead to many other variations: file size, video resolution, support for online videos, etc.
Certain formats yield superior picture and sound quality, while others provide only the basics. However, there’s no definitive answer to the question “which video format is the best?” The answer depends on the specific device on which you’re going to watch a clip or movie; the best format might be the most readily available, the most compressed, or the one with the highest quality.
Choosing the format in which to save videos for viewing on your device depends on what you want to do, do here are a few illustrations: I Want to Upload Videos Online For YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, use MP4 with H.264 and AAC codecs. This configuration will ensure maximum quality and minimum file size. Most other websites are compatible with MP4, FLV, and AVI, so you can pick any of these. I Want to Store and Watch Videos on My Computer If you’re interested in HD quality, go with MKV or M2TS and you’ll enjoy the best possible pro level picture and sound quality.
For regular-quality videos, we recommend MP4, AVI, or WMV if you’re using a Windows PC or laptop; pick MOV or MP4 if you’re using a Mac. I Want to Store and Watch Videos on My Mobile Device Depending on the resolution of your phone or tablet and which formats it’s compatible with, choose MP4 or 3GP.
All-in-One Video Converter Wondershare Video Converter Ultimate. Convert video to over 1000 formats, like AVI, MKV, MOV, MP4, etc. Edit, enhance & personalize your videos by trimming, cropping, adding subtitles and more. Download or record videos from YouTube and other 10,000 video sharing sites. 30X faster conversion speed than any conventional converters.
Burn and customize your DVD with free DVD menu templates. Versatile toolbox combines screen recorder, GIF maker, fix video metadata, etc. 10 FREE Video Converters for Windows Users (Windows 10 Included) Looking for some FREE video converters for Windows (Window 10 included), just get the top 10 free video converters below.
They can let you convert to or from AVI, MKV, MP4, MOV, FLV, 3GP, and more. 10 FREE Video Converters for Windows (Windows 10 Included). Wondershare Free Video Converter. Handbrake. Format Factory. Freemake Video Converter. MPEG Streamclip.
AVS Media Converter. Ffmpeg. MediaCoder. Koyote Free Video Converter. Media.io Free Online Video Converter 1.
It is recognized as the fastest video converter for Windows (Windows 10 included). The conversion speed is 30 X faster than all the competitors. It can be used to convert AVI, MP4, MKV, MOV, FLV, 3GP, and more. Even it can be used to donwload video from YouTube site. The Premium version of this app has many advanced features without any limits.
Step 1 Launch Wondershare Free Video Converter first, click Add Files on the primary interface or directly drag video files to get started. Step 2 Hit the format icon in the uppper-right corner to get the full list of output format just as the screenshot shows, select your target format there.
Step 3 Click Convert All to free start video conversion right away. Handbrake is available on different platforms, Windows, Mac and Linux.
It supports different formats and encoders including MP4(m4v), MKV, H.264(x264), MPEG-4 and MPEG-2 (libav). You can convert videos directly to iPhone, iPad, iPod, and other Android phones wth the optimized presets. Format Factory is another free video converter for Windows 8. It mainly supports the MPG, MP4, MP3, AVI, 3GP, OGG, BMP, TIF, TGA, ICO, WMA, SWF, FLV, JPG, WMV and a whole lot more.
It also works perfectly with iPod and iPhone formats and rips DVD. Apart from it, it is mainly available in 65 languages. It is also trusted in repairing the damaged audio and video file as well as reducing the file size. It also supports iPod's multimedia and iPhone's file formats.
Freemake has a straight forward and instructive interface. The most important thing for this Windows 8 video converter is its versatility. It supports 200+ video formats and has presets for iPod, iPhone, iPad, PSP, Android, etc. Also you can use it to edit video, share photos or music to YouTube, create slideshows and make multiple DVD copies. MPEG Streamclip is also included on the top 5 video converters for Windows 8. It allows you to play and open most of the movie formats that include the MPEG files.
The formats can also be transported and edited with TRIM, PASTE, COPY and CUT. They can also be converted into a demuxed or muxed files and are exported to an AVI, MPEG-4, DV or QuickTime files with such a professional quality. Another good thing is that you can also import them through the use of DVD authoring tool and even use them with other devices and applications.
Its supported input formats include the M2P, DAT, MP4, PS, MPEG, VOB, TS, M2T, REC, MPV, M1A, AC3, M1V, AVR, REC, MMV, AIFF, MP2, MPA, MOD, M1V and a whole lot more. This free video converter is currently available on Windows only. It mainly supports AVI, WMV, 3GP, VOB, H.264, M2TS, AVCHD, Blu-Ray, TOD, RM, FLV, MKV, DVR-MS, XVID, MPEG, MOD, MTS, QT and DVD. The available output presets include Blackberry, Sony, Apple, Android, or game consoles and more.
This Windows 8 video converter like all the above converters supports many video formats, AVI, MP4, iPod, PSP, 3GP (mobile phones), iPhone, WMV, ASF, MOV, QuickTime, MPEG, MPG2 etc. It lets you convert videos to your TV, website, mobile phone, iPod, iPhone, PSP, MP4 player and more with optimized presets. Also you can extract beautiful music from movies. MediaCoder is a very easy to use Windows 8 Video Converter for free. It supports convert videos in different formats like MP4, AVI, Quicktime/MOV, MKV, FLV, MTS/M2TS/, and more. And also you can use it to rip BD/DVD/VCD/CD and capture from video cameras.
This software also can enhance audio and video contents by various filters. Koyote can be your great choice for a FREE Windows 8 video converter. It has a simple interface. You can just import your file, select output format and then start to convert. You can convert MPEG-4, AVI, MP4, 3GP, DVD, FLV and WMV formats, and other formats compatible with websites, iOS or Android devices. If you don't want to install any desktop software to convert videos, then you could use Media.io, a totally free online media converter website allowing you to convert video/audio to any popular formats. What's more, it's fully compatible with all widely-used browsers which is of great use.
Advanced & Professional Video Converter (Windows & Mac) Recommended: If you are seeking for the best video output quality, fastest video conversion speed, and the most formats supported, Wondershare Video Converter Ultimate will be your best choice. Also it has other features that will impress you!. Convert video to over 1000 formats, like AVI, MKV, MOV, MP4, etc. Convert video to optimized preset for almost all of the devices. 30X faster conversion speed than other common converters.
Edit, enhance & personalize your videos by trimming, cropping, adding subtitles, and more. Burn video to playable DVD or Blu-ray disc with attractive free DVD template. Download or record videos from YouTube and other 10,000 video sharing sites.
Versatile toolbox includes fixing video metadata, GIF maker, casting video to TV, VR converter and screen recorder. Supported OS: Windows 10/8/7/XP/Vista, Mac OS X 10.14 (Mojave), 10.13, 10.12, 10.11, 10.10, 10.9, 10.8, 10.7, 10.6. Watch Video Tutorial to Convert Videos Easily With Wondershare MP4 Converter for Windows Screencasts of Wondershare Video Converter Ultimate: 1. Batch convert videos or merge videos with a simple user interface.
Burn DVD: Burn videos to DVD or Blu-ray discs with many free templates. Trim, crop videos, add subtitles, apply effects and more to edit your video. Download videos from YouTube, Netfix and other 10,000 video sharing sites. Different output formats with different types: Recently, Video, Audio and Device. Video output presets: Support customizing your output formats with personalized resolution, bitrate, encoder, etc.