What Are the Most Common Video Formats?

Livepeer Studio Team

4 min read

Video formats determine file size, image quality, and compatibility – choosing the optimal format is essential for production workflow.

Here is a quick overview explaining what video formats are and the most common types available.

What is a video format?

A video format is a type of file format used to store audiovisual data - it affects file size, image quality, and device compatibility. A video format consists of two main components: a video container and video codec.

Video container: a “digital box” that contains video, audio, metadata, and sometimes subtitles. Video containers are often referred to as video file extensions. When you see a few letters or numbers following a file name (like .MP4), you are looking at a video container.
Video codec: an algorithm that compresses video files, so they can be more easily stored or shared. There are two kinds of codecs: lossless and lossy. Lossless codecs retain maximum video quality, but are larger file sizes. Lossy codecs offer lower video quality, but are smaller file sizes.

The most common video formats and use cases

Here are some of the most popular video formats, and their most frequent uses.

MP4

Full Name: MPEG-4 Part 14
Video container: .mp4, m4v
Supported Video Codecs: H.265/HEVC, H.264/AVC, AV1, VP9, VP8
Supported Audio Codecs: AAC, MP3, Dolby Digital, DTS

MP4 is the most common video format used today, and is supported by most devices and websites. This video format has a good balance between file size and video quality.

Unless you have a specific atypical use case, MP4 is likely your best choice. MP4 is one of the most popular choices for video sharing and livestreaming today.

MOV

Full Name: Quicktime File Format (or QTFF)
Video container: .mov, .qt
Supported Video Codecs: H.265/HEVC, H.264/AVC
Supported Audio Codecs: AAC, Dolby Digital, ALAC

MOV uses a lossless codec, which results in higher quality, but larger file size. MOV is supported by most devices and websites.

Because file sizes are larger, MOV is not ideal for livestreaming. However, MOV is a popular choice for TV viewing because of its higher quality.

AVI

Full Name: Audio Video Interleave
Video container: .avi
Supported Video Codecs: H.265/HEVC, H.264/AVC, VP9, VP8
Supported Audio Codecs: MP3, Dolby Digital, DTS

AVI barely uses any compression, and file sizes are larger than many other video formats. Also, AVI isn’t as widely supported as MP4.

AVI offers exceptional audio fidelity. If you’re editing a short movie or advertisement, AVI could be a good option.

WebM

Full Name: WebM
Video container: .webm
Supported Video Codecs: VP9, VP8, AV1
Supported Audio Codecs: Opus, Vorbis

WebM is a web-friendly, open-source video format that supports HTML5 video and audio elements. WebM is highly compressed, and file sizes are quite small.

WebM videos can load quickly and stream easily. However, there is significant quality loss that makes it unsuitable for most use cases outside of websites.

FLV

Full Name: Flash Video
Video container: .flv, .f4v
Supported Video Codecs: MPEG-4 Visual (Part 2)
Supported Audio Codecs: AAC, MP3

FLV was primarily used for Adobe Flash Player, a freeware computer software popularized in the early 2000s. FLV is not supported by iOS devices, and is one of the least popular video formats on this list.

Unless you plan to use Adobe Flash Player, you should not use FLV.

AVCHD

Full Name: Advanced Video Coding High Definition
Video container: .m2ts
Supported Video Codecs: H.264/AVC
Supported Audio Codecs: Dolby Digital

AVCHD is a video format normally used on Sony and Panasonic camcorders. File sizes tend to be quite large, making this video format unsuitable for livestreaming and most websites. However, they can be compressed without losing much definition.

AVCHD is a popular choice amongst professional videographers and video editors. However, it is suboptimal for general use.

WMV

Full Name: Windows Media Video
Video container: .asf, .wmv
Supported Video Codecs: H.265/HEVC, H.264/AVC, VP9, VP8
Supported Audio Codecs: MP3, Dolby Digital, DTS

WMV was developed for Microsoft’s Windows Media Player. File sizes tend to be large, but videos maintain high quality.

Unless you’re planning to use Windows Media Player, you should opt for a more widely-supported video format, like MP4.

Conclusion

If you plan to share videos or livestream, selecting the right video format is important because it determines file size, image quality, and compatibility.

If simplicity and ease of use is paramount, MP4 is right for you. It offers the best balance between file size and quality, and is supported by virtually all websites and devices. If you want higher quality and don’t mind longer upload time, choose MOV. If you work in professional video production, you should consider AVI.