Multimedia Formats
Multimedia Formats Multimedia elements like sounds or videos are stored in media files. The most common way to recognize the type of a file is to look at the file extension. So Pictures are recognized by extensions like .gif, .png and .jpg and Multimedia files are recognized by different extensions like: .swf, .wav, .mp3, .mp4, .mpg, .wmv, and .avi.
The Common Video Format supported by HTML5 is MP4
Video Formats
Format File DescriptionMPEG .mpg.mpeg MPEG developed by the Moving Pictures Expert Group. It is the first popular video format on the web which is supported by all browsers not by HTML5.AVI .avi AVI stands for Audio Video Interleave and developed by Microsoft. It is commonly used in video cameras and TV hardware. It can be plays well on Windows computers not in web browsers.WMV .wmv WMV stands for Windows Media Video and developed by Microsoft. It is commonly used in video cameras and TV hardware.QuickTime .mov QuickTime developed by Apple. It is commonly used in video cameras and TV hardware. It can be plays well on Apple computers not in web browsers.RealVideo .rm.ram RealVideo developed by Real Media to allow video streaming with low bandwidths. It is still used for online video and Internet TV.Flash .swf.flv Flash developed by Macromedia. It often requires an extra component called plug-in to play in web browsers.Ogg .ogg Theora Ogg developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation. It is supported by HTML5.WebM .webm WebM developed by the web giants, Mozilla, Opera, Adobe, and Google. It is also supported by HTML5.MPEG-4 or MP4 .mp4 MP4 developed by the Moving Pictures Expert Group. It is based on QuickTime. It is commonly used in newer video cameras and TV hardware .It is supported by all HTML5 browsers and recommended by YouTube.In short only MP4, WebM and Ogg Video are supported by HTML5.
Sound Formats
MP3 is the newest format for compressed recorded music. The term MP3 has become synonymous with digital music.MP3 is the best choice to use.
Format File DescriptionMIDI .mid.midi MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. It is the main format for all electronic music devices like synthesizers and PC sound cards. MIDI files do not contain sound, but digital notes that can be played by electronics. It plays well on all computers and music hardware not in web browsers.RealAudio .rm.ram RealAudio developed by Real Media to allow streaming of audio with low bandwidths. It does not play in web browsers.WMA .wma WMA stands for Windows Media Audio and developed by Microsoft. It is commonly used in music players. It plays well on Windows computers not in web browsers.AAC .aac AAC stands for Advanced Audio Coding and developed by Apple as the default format for iTunes. It plays well on Apple computers.WAV .wav WAV developed by IBM and Microsoft. It plays well on Windows, Macintosh, and Linux operating systems and it is supported by HTML5.Ogg .ogg Ogg developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation and supported by HTML5.MP3 .mp3 MP3 files are the sound part of MPEG files and it is the most popular format for music players. It combines good compression (small files) with high quality and at the same time supported by all browsers.MP4 .mp4 MP4 is a video format, but also be used for audio. MP4 video is the upcoming video format on the internet. This leads to automatic support for MP4 audio by all browsers.