What is a MP4 file?

MP4 — universal video

What is it?

MP4 is the most widely used video format in the world. It's a container: it doesn't compress anything by itself, but instead bundles together a video track, one or more audio tracks, subtitles, and metadata.

The actual compression is handled by the codec stored inside — most often H.264, sometimes H.265 or AV1. That's why two MP4 files can differ enormously in quality and size: what matters isn't the wrapper, but what's been placed inside it.

History & origin

MP4 was standardized in 2003 by the MPEG, under the name MPEG-4 Part 14. Its structure was directly borrowed from Apple's QuickTime format, which served as its model.

Its rise was meteoric: propelled by H.264 and by the explosion of online video and smartphones, it became the world's default video format within a decade.

Why it is useful

Unmatched compatibility: every phone, television, browser, game console, and editing program plays it, with virtually no exceptions.

An excellent balance between quality and file size, streaming playback from the very start of a download, and support for subtitles and chapters.

Limits & drawbacks

Its subtitle and multi-track capabilities remain more limited than those of the more flexible MKV.

The H.264 codec it most often carries is patent-encumbered, which has pushed Google and the Alliance for Open Media to promote royalty-free alternatives such as WebM and AV1.

Practical tips

When in doubt, choose MP4: it's the format most likely to work for whoever receives it, on any device.

If you only need to extract the soundtrack from a video, convert it to MP3: you'll keep just the audio, at a fraction of the file size.

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