Nothing attracts an audience like video. Whether you’re marketing a business or sharing content, you will use videos. The most visited sites on the internet involve videos, and the most successful ads use videos.
Nowadays, different video platforms support various types of video formats. These formats are MOV, MP4, AVI, GIF, WMA, and many more. The most popular out of these formats are MOV and MP4.
Are you trying to decide between MOV and MP4 for your video? Here’s how to choose which of the two video formats is best for you.
Basics of MOV vs. MP4
When it comes to quality and compatibility, there are a lot of question marks about MOV and MP4. Let’s answer them here.
What is MOV?
MOV is the video format created by Apple. Its design works with Apple’s QuickTime movie player and is often used to save many kinds of media.
This video format makes use of an innovative algorithm. It’s compatible with various Mac and Windows operating platforms. Plus, it stores data using the concept of tracks.
What is MP4?
MP4 is an industry norm. A good number of operating systems and media players support this format. Handheld devices like video players and gaming devices also support it.
Hardware devices, such as the Sony PSP and other DVD players, support MP4. On the software side, DirectShow/Video for Windows codec packs also supports the format.
Which Video Format Should You Choose?
Both MOV and MP4 don’t affect the quality of compressed videos. These video formats only serve as containers. If you know what you’re looking for, choosing between MOV and MP4 is easy.
Advantages of MOV
If you’re using a Mac, MOV is the better option because it’s both safe and efficient. It’s also a high-quality file format for storing and transferring digital data. Not to mention, QuickTime, Real Player, and Windows Media Player support MOV files.
You can combine various audio and video data with MOV. You can also use it in professional applications, segregating parts during video editing.
The size of the MOV files depends on the length and compression system you used. In general, they have larger file sizes than many other media types.
Advantages of MP4
If you’re using a non-Apple device, MP4 is your best bet. It can store various pieces of information. Aside from that, it’s compatible with low bandwidth.
When compared to DVD, the MP4 video format is of superb quality. It can store MPEG-4 files and hence has a lower overhead than other formats. It also offers a lot of flexibility in storing data in files.
Because most platforms and devices use MP4, many people get asked to change MOV to MP4. These video conversions happen often, so make sure to learn how to convert video.
Choosing the Best Video Formats
Now you know how to choose between these video formats. So, which is better, MOV or MP4?
Choose the video format that best works with the operating system and the media player you will be using.
We hope you got all your video formatting answers. If you want to learn more, check out the rest of our posts.
