Background

• The MP4 video format was developed by MPEG (Motion Pictures Experts Group), an international organization that develops and manages publishing standards for digital audio and video. First released in 1998, MP4 was a culmination of the prior video formats MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-3. Much of the appeal of MP4 is attributed to its ability to stream high quality video and audio on comparatively low bandwidth. By 1999, the file type emerged as the predominant format of online video due to its compact data rate.
  
  

Technology

• MP4 is a container format that can combine different multimedia tracks into a single file. In addition to audio and video, MP4 files can support text and graphics. More advanced MP4 files will contain streams for 2D and 3D animation and user interactivity (such as DVD menus.) MPEG-4, the video compression standard behind MP4 files, is an open standard that is publicly available for developing software or hardware. All files encoded in an MPEG-4 standard are associated with the extension".mp4."
  
  

Usage

• In addition to online video, the MP4 video format is considered the ideal medium for video on mobile devices. Since MP4 files have efficient data transfer, they are less likely to overrun a device's space or memory. Portable media players and smartphones like the Sony PSP, Apple iPod and Apple iPhone are all engineered to support MP4 video files.
  
  

Media Players

• Due to its popularity and proliferation over the Internet, most desktop video applications support playback for MP4 video files. Apple's QuickTime and iTunes, Microsoft's Windows Media Player, Real Networks' RealPlayer and VideoLAN VLC media player are major programs that can preview MP4 files.
  
  

Related Files

• The MPEG-4 video compression standard has been utilized to produce other files besides MP4. For instance, M4A files are essentially MP4 files that only contain an audio track. Apple also used the technology to develop the M4V file, an MP4 video format that is optimized for playback in iTunes, the iPod and the iPhone. The company also adapted the MP4 format to create M4P format, the file extension for all DRM-protected files sold in iTunes.