10 Most Popular Video Formats Today

As you may already know, your smartphone can play various video formats. How many of these formats are familiar to you? Perhaps MP4, MKV, AVI, and WMV come to mind?

You're correct! These are some of the most popular formats. In fact, there are currently around 30 video formats in existence, which is quite a lot. Compare this to the time when the first digital video recording medium, Sony D1 (1986), was introduced—it supported just one format. This might make you wonder: why are there so many video formats today?

To answer that, we need to take a trip back in time. About 40 years ago, people had limited options for watching videos. They either used a television or a projector.

Today, things are vastly different. Videos can be enjoyed on a wide range of devices such as smartphones, laptops, home theaters, and televisions that even support 4K resolution. What’s impressive is that each device can display videos with the best possible quality tailored to its capabilities.

This is made possible by a system called a codec (short for compressor-decompressor). Codecs work by compressing the video file to reduce its size and decompressing it when played.

In a video file, two codecs work simultaneously: one manages the audio, while the other handles the visuals. These two codecs are then combined into a single container, creating a complete video. This container is what we refer to as a video format.

Just as there are various types of containers, codecs also come in many forms. However, not all codecs are compatible with every container. The compatibility depends on the format's ability to "carry" specific codecs or support multiple types.

Every video format has its own unique story of how it came to be, along with specific advantages and drawbacks. This time, Carisinyal will explore the history, benefits, and limitations of the 10 most popular video formats in the world. Let's dive in!

1. MP4

MP4, short for MPEG-4 Part 14, is a video format introduced to the public in 2001 as an evolution of MPEG-1.

MPEG stands for Moving Picture Experts Group, a joint collaboration between two organizations: ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission). The group included scientists and business professionals from around the world. It was co-founded by Hiroshi Yasuda, a professor at the University of Tokyo, and Leonardo Chiariglione, an Italian engineer.

Today, MP4 is arguably the most popular video format. Videos recorded on Android smartphones, for example, are typically saved in the .mp4 format.

One of MP4’s main advantages is its compatibility with numerous video player applications. It also offers good video quality while maintaining a relatively small file size. Its efficiency has even made it the standard for platforms like the iTunes Music Store.

Even so, MP4 is not free from shortcomings. One of them is that because this format is so popular, there is a risk of distribution abuse (easy to pirate). Additionally, MP4 files can be harder to edit and may experience quality loss due to high compression levels in some cases.

2. MKV

MKV (Matroska Video) was created by Steve Lhomme in late 2002. It emerged after Lhomme couldn’t reach an agreement with fellow developer Lasse Karkkainen on the Multimedia Container Format (MCF) project. The name "Matroska" is derived from the Russian word matryoshka, meaning "wooden doll."

The MKV format is open-source, meaning it is free to use and developed by volunteers. When it was first introduced, MKV competed with other video formats like MP4 and AVI. However, in 2014, Microsoft announced that Windows 10 would support MKV, which helped increase its adoption.

One key advantage of MKV is that it supports a wide range of codecs, thanks to its open-source nature. However, the downside is that MKV files tend to be relatively large due to the broad support for various codecs.

3. WMV

Microsoft began working on the WMV project in 2003, and officially launching it three years later. WMV stands for Windows Media Video.

This format marked a significant breakthrough for Microsoft compared to their earlier video formats. WMV’s ability to drastically reduce file sizes makes it particularly useful for sharing videos via email or streaming them online.

The format is often considered suitable for animated videos. However, support for WMV remains limited. Currently, only a few platforms, such as YouTube and Windows-based devices, provide native support for it.

Despite its advantages, WMV has faced criticism. Some users, including journalists, have expressed frustration with the copyright restrictions often embedded in WMV files, which can limit their usability.

4. AVI

Before introducing WMV, Microsoft had already developed another video format known as AVI, which stands for Audio Video Interleaved. AVI was launched in November 1992, making it over 28 years old.

AVI is commonly used as a foundational format for video editing, as many cameras default to AVI for recording videos.

Both Windows and Mac operating systems can play AVI files without requiring additional software. However, due to its age, the format comes with several limitations. For instance, AVI does not support specifying the aspect ratio within the video file itself.

This limitation means that some older video players may not display the video with its original aspect ratio. Nonetheless, this issue can be resolved through manual adjustments.

Additionally, AVI cannot include attachments such as subtitles, titles, or fonts. As a result, when watching a movie in AVI format, subtitles must be added as a separate file in the media player. Furthermore, AVI files tend to have relatively large file sizes compared to newer formats.

5. MOV

Microsoft’s competitor, Apple, also aimed to stay ahead by launching its own video format. In 1991, Apple introduced the Quick File Format, which uses the .mov extension.

Apple designed this format with simplicity in mind, incorporating multiple tracks to accommodate various codecs, including audio, video, and text. This versatility made video editing much easier.

The MOV format is particularly beginner-friendly, helping those new to video editing. Popular video editing software like Adobe Premiere and Final Cut fully support this format. Additionally, MOV is closely related to MP4, as both formats share support for the same MPEG-4 codec.

However, not all devices are capable of playing MOV files. If you lack a compatible player, you’ll need to convert MOV files into a different format. Another drawback of this format is the potential loss of video quality due to significant compression.

6. FLV

The American technology company Adobe aimed to enhance user experience by offering intuitive visuals for internet browsing. To achieve this, Adobe developed the Flash Video (FLV) format in 2003.

FLV was designed to deliver videos with manageable file sizes while maintaining acceptable quality. Its development was also driven by the widespread use of Adobe Flash software by web developers to create animation effects on websites.

The format underwent improvements in 2008 when Adobe adopted the same codec used in MP4. This enhancement further boosted FLV’s popularity, especially among those embedding videos on their websites. This trend was most prominent in the mid-to-late 2000s.

However, Apple openly refused to support Flash-based plug-ins, including both animations and videos, on their iPhone and iPad browsers. Apple argued that Flash slowed down browsing and drained battery life.

As a result, the FLV format gradually fell out of favor, particularly with the emergence of HTML5 as the new standard for web development. Adobe ultimately retired Flash for good.

7. 3GP

The 3GP format is essentially a part of the MP4 family, as it uses MPEG-based codecs. However, 3GP was specifically designed for mobile phones, which is why the file size is much smaller. This size reduction allows it to be compatible with older mobile phones that couldn’t support high-resolution videos.

Because of the significant reduction in size, the quality of 3GP videos is generally not very good. If you try playing a 3GP video on a laptop or computer, you’ll likely notice that the image appears "broken" or distorted.

If you remember, many videos recorded by feature phones in the past were in this format. The 3GP file format was introduced by The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), an organization formed in 1998.

8. WEBM

WEBM is another video format that once gained significant popularity. Its development was primarily funded by Google, making it an open-source format. WEBM is closely related to Matroska, utilizing the VP9 video codec and the Opus audio codec.

Google strongly advocated for WEBM to become the default video format for web developers, especially as HTML5 increasingly replaced Flash. One of WEBM’s key advantages is its ability to maintain video quality even when accessed on older computers with limited resources.

Additionally, although WEBM is designed for streaming, it remains user-friendly for those who wish to edit videos in this format.

However, support for WEBM is still relatively limited. Currently, only browsers like Google Chrome, Opera, and Mozilla Firefox can play WEBM videos without requiring additional applications. Similarly, portable devices capable of playing WEBM videos are still quite rare.

9. MPG

MPG is the 'great-grandfather' of the most commonly used format today, MP4. The full name of the format introduced in 1993 is Moving Picture Experts Group Phase 1 (MPEG-1). During its time, MPG was the most popular video format.

If you're familiar with VCD movie discs, you'll know they often contain MPG-formatted videos. Sometimes, these files are encountered in the DAT (.dat) format, which is specifically used for VCD players.

One advantage of MPG is its ability to replicate video quality closely to the original. Additionally, the audio files it contains, typically in MP3 format, also maintain good quality and are still in use today.

However, there are some drawbacks to MPG. For one, devices often need special software to convert it, as MPG was originally designed for VCD players. Furthermore, MPG videos are highly compressed, which makes them unsuitable for editing. Another issue is that large MPG files can take a long time to open.

10. AVCHD

Two Japanese tech giants, Sony and Panasonic, collaborated to create a new high-quality video format, specifically designed for videos produced by their camcorder products.

As a result, in 2006, they introduced the AVCHD (Advanced Video Coding High Definition) format. This format combines audio files with the Dolby AC-3 codec and video files with the H.264 codec (from the MPG family).

Videos produced in AVCHD can support up to Full HD resolution, which is why many professional videographers favor it. Additionally, AVCHD also supports 3D videos.

However, AVCHD has some limitations. It has not reached the popularity of MP4, and it does not support 4K resolution. Another drawback is that some video editing software requires more processing time for AVCHD files, making it slower compared to other video formats.

This summary covers the 10 most popular video formats in the world, giving you an overview of what video formats are and what they are used for.