Difference Between Mp4 and M4v

Mp4 vs M4v

Today’s entertainment heavily relies on multimedia. Innovations and further developments have made it more accessible without sacrificing playback quality. Multimedia is a very common resource on the web and it can be accessed through various gadgets as well. It comes in many formats and this article will attempt to differentiate two popular formats, the MP4 and M4V.

MPEG-4 Part 14 (Moving Picture Expert Group-4), or simply mp4, is a file format originally published in late 90s. It adapted all the valuable attributes of previous versions of MPEG with a few additions that made it even more practical for online use. The online community has benefited greatly because mp4 has provided a faster loading, higher quality broadcast media for average internet users.

In essence, mp4 is a compressed multimedia file type used particularly for moving picture and audio files. It is, for all intents and purposes, a container format for multimedia capable of storing video and audio streams, a commonly sought after type of information on internet.

Indeed, mp4 has become an immediate huge hit. It has set the bar and became the foremost standard for internet broadcast and streaming. Programmers have found it easy to integrate the mp4 format on various venues and applications particularly on websites. Its use for sales and marketing has been invaluable not to mention the entertainment and informational value it provides.

M4V, on the other hand, is a multimedia file format specifically designed for Apple products such as the iPhone, iTunes store, and iPod ‘“ being the original product where m4v is really made for. Apparently, apple products have become very popular and the m4v file format followed suit as well.

M4V, like the more general mp4, is also based on MPEG-4 but it uses AVC video compression. It can be said that m4v is also mp4 but the former is played by default on an iTunes player whereas the latter is opened by default using Quicktime player. Since m4v is deeply associated with Apple Inc., m4v files are more often than not protected by a copyright — Apple’s FairPlay DRM copyright protection. These files with the .m4v file extension could only be played on a computer authorized by iTunes. Then again, unprotected m4v files can still be opened using other players if one changes the extension into .mp4.

Nevertheless, because of m4v’s increasing popularity, it is now recognized by newer programs, players, and gadgets.

Summary:

1. Mp4 is developed to make multimedia applications on the internet faster and of better quality while m4v is specifically developed for Apple products such as the iPod, iPhone, and iTunes.

2. Mp4 and m4v are very similar in many ways but m4v is often copyrighted via Apple’s FairPlay DRM copyright protection.

3. Originally, M4v was only played on a computer via iTunes while mp4 is much more universally recognized and it can be played using a variety of players.

4. Mp4 came to the scene first while m4v was later popularized by the wave of the phenomenal Apple products.

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