MP4 Video Format Explained: Why It Is So Common for Online Videos

What Is So Special About The MP4 Format?

You've probably come across the abbreviation MP4 several times while using your phone or computer. It is almost everywhere- cameras, phones, editing software, social platforms, online software to edit or capture video, etc.

Although most people can identify an MP4 file as a video file format, that's as far as their expertise goes.

From a practical standpoint, it's good to know that MP4 files are universally filled and can be transmitted easily. Also, MP4 files combine video and audio information, unlike other file formats.

Being able to store video and audio information in one file makes the MP4 format very convenient for online video storage.

What Is An MP4 File?

MP4 stands for MPEG-4 Part 14.

MPEG-4 is a container format.

As the name suggests, a container holds various types of information. Therefore, an MP4 file can hold video information, audio information, subtitles, and various metadata.In practice, MP4 files can hold information about video and audio in combination.

That's the reason an MP4 file can represent a video with audio information.

Is MP4 The Same As Video Quality?

Video quality and the MP4 format are not the same.

Video quality is determined by factors such as resolution.

You might have video files with different resolutions. For example:

- A video file with a resolution of 480p.

- A video file with a resolution of 720p HD.

- A video file with a resolution of 1080p FULL HD.

- A video file with a resolution higher than 1080p.

 In all the above examples, the file format used to save the video is .mp4. Therefore, if a file with the extension .mp4 is given to you, you cannot conclude that the video is of a higher resolution or of HD quality.

 You have to look at the other video attributes and encoding as well.

 Why is MP4 so Popular?

The reason for MP4’s wide spread popularity is because of the range of devices on which videos can be played.

A video file which can be played on a personal computer but cannot be played on a mobile phone is of no use.

In comparison to other file formats MP4 has a wider range of playback devices.

Hence a file in MP4 format can be played back on a larger number of devices.

 Can MP4 Contain Audio Only?

Yes, it can.

An MP4 file can contain audio only. If you need to download a file only containing audio, like an audio book or a speech, you can look for an audio only file.

Generally speaking, an MP4 contains both visual and audio data, unlike an MP3.

MP4 vs. MP3? What's The Difference?

As you can tell from the resemblance in their names, these two file types are related. However, there is a big difference between the two.

MP3 files are used to represent audio data and, therefore, do not provide a means to include any type of visual data.

As a multimedia container, an MP4 file is used to represent a data source (audio-visual data) that may include a complete presentation, movie, or any other type of program.

For instance, you may have a video document that represents a presentation.

If you want to preserve the presentation in an formats that represents it in the original form and in an elearning module, for instance, you should use the MP4 file format.

On the other hand, if you want to preserve the presentation in the elearning module in an format that represents it in an audio-only form, you should use some other format that represents data in an audio-only form.

In short, the format you should use depends on the data you want to preserve.

Will An MP4 File Automatically Decrease The Size Of A File?

No. There are many other factors that affect a file's size, including: how long the file is, what the frame rate is, the resolution, the bitrate, the type of audio data, and how the data is compressed, to name a few.

For the same reason, two MP4 files that represent the same data, e.g. a presentation, may not have the same file size.

What Type Of Resolution Should I Use When Using The MP4 Format?

Again, this depends on your preferences.

More storage space or a smaller screen? If you answered yes to either, you might be interested in the lower resolution versions.

720p is a decent resolution for many video display needs.

1080p is better if the display is large enough to take advantage of the improved sharpness, and the video source is able to generate that level of detail.

Resolutions above 1080p are available, but significantly larger file sizes, bandwidth usage, and storage space become trade-offs to improved sharpness and detail.

Ultimately, MP4 video file resolution is a trade-off between file size and quality.

Is MP4 Format Video Improvement?

Not in and of itself.

Encoding a video in the MP4 format won’t increase the resolution or improve the image quality of the video if the source is low resolution.

So, the format of the video and its quality should be considered separately.

The format of a digital file just determines how the data is structured. The quality of a digital file is determined by the source of the data and how it is encoded.

Why is the Source of the Video Important?

A video downloader/converter is just that. It can’t create something from nothing.

 If a video source has multiple resolutions, a downloader/converter can let you choose from the multiple resolutions. If the source has only one resolution, a downloader/converter can’t make a higher or lower resolution version.

This is the reason why we at YTT Save use phrases like 'potential video quality' as opposed to 'all videos can be downloaded at 1080p/4k' on our platform.

It is to set appropriate expectations.

Checking Available MP4 Options

For videos that you are authorized to download, the process will be as follows:

Get the URL of the video in question.

Visit YTT Save and paste the URL in the given field. Click the Download button.

 Once the preparation process is complete, you will see the video preview. You need to check if the preview is of the video you want to download.

Click the link that you want to download, to access a list of available formats and qualities. Choose the format that you want to download and click the Download button.