A file with the .mp4 file extension is an MPEG-iv video file format. MP4s are i of the more than common video file formats used for downloading and streaming videos from the internet. Information technology's a highly versatile and compressed video format that also can store audio, subtitles, and all the same images.

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What Is an MP4 File?

MP4 files were created nether the ISO/IEC 14496-12:2001 standard past the ISO/IEC and Motion Movie Experts Grouping (MPEG). Because of this, MP4 is an international standard for audio-visual coding.

Initially created in 2001, MPEG-four Part 12 was based on the QuickTime File Format (.MOV). The current version—MPEG-4 Part fourteen—was released in 2003. MP4 is considered a digital multimedia container format—substantially a file containing a bunch of data that'southward been compressed, The standard specifies how the data is stored within the container itself, but not how that data is encoded.

With the high degree of compression used in MP4 videos, this allows the files to exist much smaller in size than other video formats. Reducing the file size doesn't immediately impact the quality of the file, either. Almost all of the original quality is retained. This makes MP4 a portable and web-friendly video format.

While MP4 files tin play sound, they shouldn't be confused with M4A and MP3, as these are file formats thatonly contain audio.

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How Do I Open an MP4 File?

Because MP4 is a standardized file format for video, almost all video players support MP4. To open up a file, all you have to do is double-click your video, and information technology will open with your operating system's default video viewer. Android and iPhone natively support playback of MP4 as well—just tap the file, and yous'll exist watching your video in no time.

Windows and macOS users tin play MP4 files without having to install any third-party software. Windows uses Windows Media Player by default; in macOS, they're played using QuickTime.

If, however, you prefer a different video player than either of those, changing the association of a file is a elementary procedure on either Windows or macOS. And you lot almost likely won't even have to practise that. When you lot install a new video playback app, the chances are loftier that the new app will claim the association with MP4 files during installation, unless specified otherwise.

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