As you’re probably aware there are lots of video formats out there, and you will probably encounter several types on a regular basis. Some formats are definitely more popular than others however – and normally for good reason.
It is a good idea to always know what the more popular video formats is, and why they are popular. That way you can also know when you need to use them, which will make deciding on a format to use a whole lot easier.
As thing stand there are three popular video formats that you really should know about:
MP4 with H.264 (MPEG-4 AVC)
Right now MP4 with H.264 is the most popular format of video, and it has been for some time. It is used extensively in online videos, and is the recommended format on most social media and online video streaming platforms.
The reason for the popularity of MP4 with H.264 is mostly the fact that it enjoys near-universal support. It can be played on pretty much any device or platform without any issues and is the only HTML5 video format that is supported by all browsers.
In short if you want a video format that people can definitely view – MP4 with H.264 is the way to go.
MPEG-2
Although it is old, MPEG-2 is still often used. The main reason for that is the fact that some older recording devices use it to encode videos, and more importantly it is the format that is used for DVD videos.
To be honest that is the one situation when you would want to use MPEG-2: When encoding videos for DVDs. That being said the video needs to be encoded based on the DVD video specification, otherwise it may not be able to be viewed.
MP4 with HEVC (H.265)
The HEVC format was designed as the successor to H.264 and improves upon it notably in terms of its compression. The same quality of H.264 video can be compressed to up to 50% of its file size using HEVC.
Despite its advantages, HEVC is still not as widely supported as its predecessor. Its adoption has been affected by issues, especially due to its complex royalty and licensing structure.
That being said HEVC is a good format to use if you want to encode videos and compress them beyond what H.264 can provide. The only caveat is you should ensure the device you want to watch the videos on supports HEVC.
As you can see in most cases MP4 with H.264 is the format that you’ll need to make sure your videos can be viewed and to upload them online. That is why a free MPG to MP4 converter can be very helpful.
Between the three video formats listed above you should be able to easily pick which one you need to use in any given situation. Just keep in mind that new formats may eventually replace some of the formats listed above, so you need to keep track of any that are released.
