Understanding Video Formats: MP4 vs MOV vs AVI

Video formats can be confusing, but understanding them is crucial for creating and sharing content effectively. Let's break down the most common formats and their use cases.

MP4 (MPEG-4 Part 14)

Pros: Universal compatibility, good compression, widely supported

Cons: Limited editing capabilities

Best for: Web sharing, social media, streaming, final delivery

MOV (QuickTime Movie)

Pros: High quality, excellent for editing, professional standard

Cons: Larger file sizes, limited web compatibility

Best for: Video editing, professional work, Apple ecosystem

AVI (Audio Video Interleave)

Pros: Simple structure, good quality preservation

Cons: Large file sizes, limited compression

Best for: Archiving, Windows systems, simple playback

WebM

Pros: Excellent web compatibility, good compression

Cons: Limited device support outside web browsers

Best for: Web videos, HTML5 video, online streaming

MKV (Matroska Video)

Pros: Supports multiple audio tracks, subtitles, high quality

Cons: Limited compatibility, larger files

Best for: Movie collections, multi-language content

Choosing the Right Format

For social media: Use MP4 with H.264 codec

For editing: Use MOV or ProRes

For web: Use MP4 or WebM

For archiving: Use AVI or MKV

Quality vs File Size

Always balance quality with file size. Higher quality means larger files, which can affect upload times and storage requirements.