Which Exactly Are MP4 Files - and What Do They Do?

MPEG-4 technology was developed to offer DVD quality sound and pictures within a very small file size - perfect for playing on portable MP4 players such as the iPod Video.

MP4 is here to remain. The Apple Corporation themselves clarifies MP4 as "the global multimedia standard, delivering professional-quality audio and video streams over a wide range of bandwidths, from cell phone to broadband and beyond". Thy go on to state that "hundreds of researchers around the world contributed to MPEG-4, which was finalized in 1998 and became an international standard in 2000".

The BBC confirms that MPEG-4 is used to compress video and is the successor to MPEG-2. They also clarify the variant that can turn huge movie files to a handier size has escaped on to the Internet as a result of Microsoft. Microsoft developed the program to compress and decompress video, which can be called a known as a codec. (A codec is a device or program capable of performing encoding and decoding on a digital data stream or signal. The word codec means Compression/Decompression algorithm)

The codec assists the Windows Media Player app handle transferring pictures sent over the net. Other web based media players like the Real Player will play with the MP4 file format so long as you've got the latest version downloaded. You need to download the most recent MP4 Codec for your own digital media player to ensure MP4 file playback compatibility.

But, an MP4 file does not only refer to video content - an MP4 file may also be an audio file. Many people believe the MP4 format will function as visual and sound standard file format of the future.

The iPod Video is undoubtedly the hottest MP4 Player available on the market. But iPod do not want us to call it an MP4 Player even though it plays MP4 file. Why? It may be because you could then choose another MP4 Player rather!

Another high-profile recent MP4 Player launch is the Zune Player by Microsoft. Surprisingly though, ZDnet.com discovered that in the time of the launch, Zune devices simply play protected files in the Zune marketplace.

That is where Microsoft and Apple are both arguably guilty. Both companies are dubiously controlling specific niches. Nevertheless, this can give the benefit to this MP4 Player consumer. If you take the time to convert your audio files to MP4 (for which there is free applications available) then you can play them in your cheaper MP4 Player, which likely has more functions than the Video iPod. Even in the event that you opt to proceed into the Video iPod at the long run, it's still possible to move your old MP4 files.

The MP4 file format will be integral to the future of internet based videos and portable media player movies. It is a global multimedia standard, each growing in popularity. It's the file format which best insures the mass approval of your own media files on various types of media players. Find out more info click youtube to mp3