Have you ever wondered what are MP4 files? Do you want to know how to open them?
You’ve probably come across an mp4 file before, but you’re not sure what it is or how to open it.
An mp4 file can be a confusing thing to come across – especially if you don’t know what it is. Most people don’t realize that they can play these files on their computer, phone, or tablet.
Don’t worry. We’re here to help clear things up for you. Keep reading our MP4 file guide to learn what mp4 files are and how you can open them up on your device.
What Is an MP4 File?
An mp4 video file, or MP4, is an audio-visual container format used for encoding digital video and audio. It is similar to avi files in function but much smaller than avi files.
An .mp4 file uses the same audio and video format as the popular flash videos use (H.264/AAC). This means that any web browser which can play flash video (.flv) will be able to play your .mp4 without modification.
You cannot burn .mp4 files onto a CD because they are not written in a way that all DVD players will recognize them.
Want to create a video from a gif file? Here’s a gif to MP4 converter.
What’s the Difference Between MP4 and MPEG?
The “4” in mp4 stands for the fourcc used to encode video. MPEG-4 is an international standard defining a standardized coding of moving pictures and associated audio information.
The MPEG is not part of the name, it’s just part of what makes up the format (much like how .mp3 is not part of the name of an MP3 file).
How Do You Open an MP4 File?
The reason why you are reading this article probably has something to do with opening an .mp4 file. It is a video file, so it should be opened by your computer’s media player, right?
Unfortunately, this is not always the case. You see, there are many different types of mp4 files. For your computer to recognize the mp4 video you have downloaded or created, it has to use a specific “codec”.
A codec (coder-decoder) is what translates the raw data stored inside an mp4 file into something your computer can understand and playback through its speakers or monitor.
However, not all .mp4 files use the same codecs! The most common ones are H.264/AAC (which uses Quicktime), Xvid (which uses the VLC player), and DivX.
How to open your mp4 file:
If you just want to play your .mp4 files on a Windows machine, we recommend using a VLC media player because it plays virtually all video formats.
To encode your videos into an .mp4, we recommend Handbrake which is free for both Windows and Mac. It supports many output devices including Android phones/tablets!
What Are MP4 Files?
In this blog post, we’ve answered the question “what are MP4 files?” and shown you how to open them. Despite seeming scary, these MP4 file tips have shown that mp4 files are pretty simple and easy to use.
Want more articles like this? Check out our blog!