MPEG-4

MPEG-4, typically abbreviated to .mp4, is a series of specifications defining a container format for compressed 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 standard for a group of audio and video encoding formats and related technology agreed upon by the ISO/IEC Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) (ISO/IEC JTC1/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 (streaming media) and CD-ROM distribution, voice (telephone, videophone) and broadcast television applications. The MPEG-4 standard was developed by a group led by Touradj Ebrahimi (later the JPEG 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 * MPEG-4 Part 12: Used in 3GP and Motion JPEG 2000; the latter was superseded at Apple by ProRes.