A video file format is a type of file format for storing digital video data on a

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations ( computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These prog ...

system. Video is almost always stored using

lossy compression In information technology, lossy compression or irreversible compression is the class of data compression methods that uses inexact approximations and partial data discarding to represent the content. These techniques are used to reduce data si ...

to reduce the file size. A video file normally consists of a container (e.g. in the Matroska format) containing visual (video without audio) data in a video coding format (e.g. VP9) alongside audio data in an audio coding format (e.g. Opus). The container can also contain synchronization information, subtitles, and metadata such as title. A standardized (or in some cases de facto standard) video file type such as

.webm WebM is an audiovisual media file format. It is primarily intended to offer a royalty-free alternative to use in the HTML5 video and the HTML5 audio elements. It has a sister project, WebP, for images. The development of the format is sponsored ...

is a profile specified by a restriction on which container format and which video and audio compression formats are allowed. The coded video and audio inside a video file container (i.e. not headers, footers, and metadata) is called the essence. A program (or hardware) which can decode compressed video or audio is called a codec; playing or encoding a video file will sometimes require the user to install a codec library corresponding to the type of video and audio coding used in the file. Good design normally dictates that a file extension enables the user to derive which program will open the file from the file extension. That is the case with some video file formats, such as WebM (.webm), Windows Media Video (.wmv), Flash Video (.flv), and Ogg Video (.ogv), each of which can only contain a few well-defined subtypes of video and audio coding formats, making it relatively easy to know which codec will play the file. In contrast to that, some very general-purpose container types like AVI (.avi) and QuickTime (.mov) can contain video and audio in almost any format, and have file extensions named after the container type, making it very hard for the end user to use the file extension to derive which codec or program to use to play the files. The

free software Free software or libre software is computer software distributed under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, and distribute it and any adapted versions. Free software is a matter of liberty, n ...

FFmpeg project's libraries have very wide support for encoding and decoding video file formats. For example, Google uses ffmpeg to support a wide range of upload video formats for YouTube. One widely used media player using the ffmpeg libraries is the free software VLC media player, which can play most video files that end users will encounter.

List of video file formats

{, class="wikitable sortable" , - ! Name ! File extension(s) ! Container format ! Video coding format(s) ! Audio coding format(s) ! Notes , -- ,

WebM WebM is an audiovisual media file format. It is primarily intended to offer a royalty-free alternative to use in the HTML5 video and the HTML5 audio elements. It has a sister project, WebP, for images. The development of the format is sponso ...

, .webm , Matroska , VP8, VP9, AV1 ,

Vorbis Vorbis is a free and open-source software project headed by the Xiph.Org Foundation. The project produces an audio coding format and software reference encoder/decoder ( codec) for lossy audio compression. Vorbis is most commonly used in con ...

, Opus , Royalty-free format created for HTML5 video. , -- , Matroska , .mkv , Matroska , any , any , , -- ,

Flash Video Flash Video is a container file format used to deliver digital video content (e.g., TV shows, movies, etc.) over the Internet using Adobe Flash Player version 6 and newer. Flash Video content may also be embedded within SWF files. There ar ...

(FLV) , .flv , FLV ,

VP6 On2 TrueMotion VP6 is a proprietary lossy video compression format and video codec. It is an incarnation of the TrueMotion video codec, a series of video codecs developed by On2 Technologies. This codec is commonly used by Adobe Flash, Flash Vide ...

, Sorenson Spark, Screen video, Screen video 2, H.264 , MP3, ADPCM,

Nellymoser Asao (also known as Nellymoser audio codec) is a proprietary single-channel (mono) codec and compression format optimized for low-bitrate transmission of audio, developed by Nellymoser Inc. Technical Details Sound data is grouped into frames o ...

, Speex, AAC , Use of the H.264 and AAC compression formats in the FLV file format has some limitations and authors of Flash Player strongly encourage everyone to embrace the new standard F4V file formatKaourantin.net (31 October 2007) Tinic Ur
New File Extensions and MIME Types
, Retrieved on 2009-08-03 de facto standard for web-based streaming video (over RTMP). , -- , F4V , .flv , MPEG-4 Part 12 , H.264 , MP3, AAC , Replacement for FLV. , -- ,

Vob VOB (for video object) is the container format in DVD-Video media. VOB can contain digital video, digital audio, subtitles, DVD menus and navigation contents multiplexed together into a stream form. Files in VOB format may be encrypted. File f ...

, .vob , VOB , H.262/MPEG-2 Part 2 or MPEG-1 Part 2 ,

PCM Pulse-code modulation (PCM) is a method used to digitally represent sampled analog signals. It is the standard form of digital audio in computers, compact discs, digital telephony and other digital audio applications. In a PCM stream, the am ...

, DTS, MPEG-1, Audio Layer II (MP2), or Dolby Digital (AC-3) , Files in

VOB VOB (for video object) is the container format in DVD-Video media. VOB can contain digital video, digital audio, subtitles, DVD menus and navigation contents multiplexed together into a stream form. Files in VOB format may be encrypted. File f ...

format have .vob filename extension and are typically stored in the VIDEO_TS folder at the root of a DVD. The VOB format is based on the MPEG program stream format. , -- , Ogg Video , .ogv, .ogg , Ogg ,

Theora Theora is a free lossy video compression format. It is developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation and distributed without licensing fees alongside their other free and open media projects, including the Vorbis audio format and the Ogg container ...

, Dirac ,

, FLAC , , -- , Dirac , .drc , ? , Dirac , ? , , -- , GIF , .gif , N/A , N/A , none , Simple animation, inefficient compression, no sound, widely supported , -- ,

Video alternative to GIF The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF; or , see pronunciation) is a bitmap image format that was developed by a team at the online services provider CompuServe led by American computer scientist Steve Wilhite and released on 15 June 1987. ...

, .gifv , HTML , any , none , Not standardized, and not a real video file in the classical meaning since it merely references the real video file (e.g. a .webm file), which has to exist separately elsewhere. A .gifv "file" is simply a HTML webpage which includes a HTML5 video tag, where the video has no sound. As there were large communities online which create art using the medium of short soundless videos in GIF format, GIFV was created as a functionally similar replacement with vastly smaller filesizes than the inefficient GIF format. , -- , Multiple-image Network Graphics , .mng , N/A , N/A , none , Inefficient, not widely used. , -- ,

AVI Avi is a given name, usually masculine, often a diminutive of Avram, Avraham, etc. It is sometimes feminine and a diminutive of the Hebrew spelling of Abigail. People with the given name include: * Avi (born 1937), Newbery award-winning Americ ...

, .avi , AVI , any , any , Uses

RIFF A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or acc ...

, - , MPEG Transport Stream , .MTS, .M2TS, .TS , AVCHD , AVCHD (MPEG-4 / H.264 ) , Dolby AC-3 or uncompressed linear PCM , The standard video format used by many Sony and Panasonic HD camcorders. It is also used for storing high definition video on Blu-ray discs. , -- , QuickTime File Format , .mov, .qt , QuickTime , many , AAC, MP3, others , , -- ,

Windows Media Video Windows Media Video (WMV) is a series of video codecs and their corresponding video coding formats developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Windows Media framework. WMV consists of three distinct codecs: The original video compression technol ...

, .wmv , ASF , Windows Media Video, Windows Media Video Screen, Windows Media Video Image , Windows Media Audio, Sipro ACELP.net , , -- , Raw video format , .yuv , Further documentation needed , Doesn't apply , Doesn't apply , Supports all resolutions, sampling structures, and frame rates , -- , RealMedia (RM) , .rm , RealMedia , RealVideo ,

RealAudio RealAudio, or also spelled as Real Audio is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over dialup modems, to high-fi ...

, Made for RealPlayer , -- , RealMedia Variable Bitrate (RMVB) , .rmvb , RealMedia Variable Bitrate , RealVideo ,

, Made for RealPlayer , -- ,

VivoActive Vivo Software was a pioneer internet streaming media company which was acquired by RealNetworks in March 1998. Vivo Software designed the ''Vivo Video/Audio platform'', including its encoding tools and end-user ''VivoActive Player''. The Vivo f ...

(VIV) , .viv , VIV , based upon H.263 video , G.723 ADPCM audio (not the G.723.1 speech codec) , Made for

VivoActive Player Vivo Software was a pioneer internet streaming media company which was acquired by RealNetworks in March 1998. Vivo Software designed the ''Vivo Video/Audio platform'', including its encoding tools and end-user ''VivoActive Player''. The Vivo f ...

, -- ,

Advanced Systems Format Advanced Systems Format (formerly Advanced Streaming Format, Active Streaming Format) is Microsoft's proprietary digital audio/digital video container format, especially meant for streaming media. ASF is part of the Media Foundation framework. ...

(ASF) , .asf , ASF , any , any , , -- ,

AMV video format AMV (Actions Media Video) is a proprietary video file format, produced for MP4 players, as well as S1 MP3 players with video playback. There are two different versions of this format: an older one for Actions chips, and a newer one for ALi’ ...

, .amv , Modified version of AVI , Variant of Motion JPEG , Variant of IMA, ADPCM , Proprietary video file format produced for MP4 players and S1 MP3 players with video playback , -- , MPEG-4 Part 14 (MP4) , .mp4, .m4p (with DRM), .m4v , MPEG-4 Part 12 , H.264, H.265,

MPEG-4 Part 2 MPEG-4 Part 2, MPEG-4 Visual (formally ISO/IEC 14496-2) is a video compression format developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG). It belongs to the MPEG-4 ISO/IEC standards. It uses block-wise motion compensation and a discrete cosi ...

, MPEG-2, MPEG-1 ,

Advanced Audio Coding Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) is an audio coding standard for lossy digital audio compression. Designed to be the successor of the MP3 format, AAC generally achieves higher sound quality than MP3 encoders at the same bit rate. AAC has been stan ...

, MP3, others , , -- , MPEG-1 , .mpg, .mp2, .mpeg, .mpe, .mpv , MPEG-1 part 1 , MPEG-1 part 2 , MPEG-1 Audio Layer I, MPEG-1 Audio Layer I, MPEG-1 Audio Layer III ( MP3) , Old, but very widely used due to installed base. , -- , MPEG-2 – Video , .mpg, .mpeg, .m2v , ? , H.262 , AAC, MP3,

MPEG-2 Part 3 Part 3 of the MPEG-2 standard (formally known as ISO/IEC 13818-3, also known as MPEG-2 Audio or MPEG-2 BC) defines audio coding: * MPEG Multichannel - It enhances MPEG-1's audio by allowing the coding of audio programs with more than two channels ...

, others , , -- , M4V , .m4v , MPEG-4 Part 12 , H.264 , AAC, Dolby Digital , Developed by Apple, used in iTunes. Very similar to MP4 format, but may optionally have DRM. , -- , SVI , .svi , MPEG-4 utilising a special header , ? , ? , Samsung video format for portable players , -- , 3GPP , .3gp , MPEG-4 Part 12 ,

H.263 H.263 is a video compression standard originally designed as a low-bit-rate compressed format for videotelephony. It was standardized by the ITU-T Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) in a project ending in 1995/1996. It is a member of the H.26x fam ...

, H.264 , AMR-NB, AMR-WB, AMR-WB+,

AAC-LC Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) is an audio coding standard for lossy digital audio compression. Designed to be the successor of the MP3 format, AAC generally achieves higher sound quality than MP3 encoders at the same bit rate. AAC has been standa ...

, HE-AAC v1 or Enhanced aacPlus (HE-AAC v2) , Common video format for cell phones , -- , 3GPP2 , .3g2 , MPEG-4 Part 12 ,

, H.264 , AMR-NB, AMR-WB, AMR-WB+,

, HE-AAC v1 or Enhanced aacPlus (HE-AAC v2), EVRC, SMV or VMR-WB , Common video format for cell phones , -- , Material Exchange Format (MXF) , .mxf , MXF , ? , ? , , -- , ROQ , .roq , ? , ? , ? , used by

Quake 3 ''Quake III Arena'' is a 1999 multiplayer-focused first-person shooter developed by id Software. The third installment of the ''Quake'' series, ''Arena'' differs from previous games by excluding a story-based single-player mode and focusing prima ...

{{Cite web, url=http://wiki.multimedia.cx/index.php?title=RoQ, title=RoQ - MultimediaWiki, website=wiki.multimedia.cx , -- , Nullsoft Streaming Video (NSV) , .nsv , NSV , ? , ? , For streaming video content over the Internet , - ,

(FLV) , .flv .f4v .f4p .f4a .f4b , Audio, video, text, data , Adobe Flash Platform , SWF, F4V, ISO base media file format , Developed by the Adobe Flash Platform

References

Video Video formats

List of video file formats

See also

References