MPEG-4

MPEG-4, typically abbreviated to .mp4, is a series of specifications defining a container format for digital audio and visual (AV) data. It is based on Apple's QuickTime file format.

History
The MPEG-4 specification was introduced in late 1998 and designated a for a group of  and  formats and related technology agreed upon by the / Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) (/SC29/WG11) under the formal standard ISO/IEC 14496 – Coding of audio-visual objects. Uses of MPEG-4 include compression of AV data for web and CD-ROM distribution, voice  and   applications. The MPEG-4 standard was developed by a group led by Touradj Ebrahimi (later the Joint Photographic Experts Group president) and Fernando Pereira.

Specification parts

 * MPEG-4 Part 2: Used in video DVDs; introduced in QuickTime 6.
 * MPEG-4 Part 3: Used in variations of AAC; also introduced in QuickTime 6.
 * MPEG-4 Part 10, also known as H.264: Used in Blu-ray Discs and video streaming; introduced in QuickTime 7.
 * MPEG-4 Part 12: Used in and ; the latter was superseded at Apple by ProRes.