Mov, AVI, MP4 ...: which video format to choose?

Videos are more and more present on the Internet. According to Syndacast, 74% of internet traffic in 2017 was for this format.

For your referencing, as for your communication, you have every interest to use videos. But it is not enough to turn them, or even to mount them: it is still necessary to choose in what format they will be broadcast.

Not all coding protocols have the same benefits.

What is the format of a video?

Any video, is recorded, as any digital file. The video format is divided into two parts, which allows you to encode the sound and the image and synchronize them.

The main existing video formats are:

> MOV

> AVI

> MP4

> FLV

> WMV

These are the letters you will see at the end of your file name. Each of these formats has its specificities.

What is the MOV video format?

Apple has developed the MOV format, which is used by its video player software, QuickTime Player.

It is now compatible for both Mac and PC, and works on iOS smartphones.

It allows you to easily encode sound, image, effects, subtitles, etc., and is relatively simple to edit, which has made it popular.

What is the AVI video format?

AVI is one of the oldest video formats, launched by Microsoft.

It works so well for all devices running Windows or Android, as well as game consoles like Xbox or PSP.

It is also compatible for Mac or Linux. This format allows to compress videos in DivX or Xvid.

Nevertheless, the quality of the video decreases as soon as the compression is more powerful, which can disturb some users.

What is the MP4 video format?

The MP4 comes from the format used for QuickTime.

> It has quickly become a universal standard for video sharing, thanks to the high quality of its files and its high compression ratio.

> As a standard, it is used and accepted by most computers, smartphones, TVs or DVD players.

It also allows to encode subtitles apart from the image.

What is the FLV video format?

FLV is the format used by Adobe Flash Player to play videos.

> Its main advantage is to maintain a high degree of quality even when the video is compressed to the maximum, allowing faster downloads.

> This format is often used by video platforms, such as YouTube or Hulu.

What is the WMV video format?

WMV has also been developed by Microsoft, mainly to be read by Windows Media Player.

These files are lighter than others (Microsoft claims that the compression ratio is twice that of MP4), but their quality is not always the appointment as the compression becomes more important.

Choose the format of your video according to its use

Depending on what you plan to do with your video, some formats will be recommended:

> To upload videos online: If you want your content on YouTube, Facebook or Instagram, prefer the MP4.

> To keep videos on your computer, MP4, AVI or WMV will be preferred for Windows PCs, MOV or MP4 will run better on a Mac.

> To view videos on a mobile device (tablet or smartphone), the MP4 is also the best option.