Different multimedia video formats have varying levels of popularity based on their specifications. AVI and MPEG are popular for desktop use, while FLV, WMV, and 3GP are common for mobile devices and online streaming. Other formats include MOV, MKV, RM, DivX, and Ogg. AVI was developed in 1992 for simultaneous video and audio playback with compression capabilities. MPEG was developed in 1993 for video compact discs and has since improved in quality and compression. FLV and WMV are preferred by video sharing websites for faster streaming, while 3GP is commonly used for mobile phones due to its small file size.
Multimedia video files can be of different formats, each of which possesses a level of popularity based on different specifications. Depending on availability and usage, the most popular types of multimedia video formats are Audio Video Interleave (AVI) and Moving Pictures Expert Group (MPEG). Mobile devices and online streaming services often use Flash video (FLV), Windows Media Video (WMV) and the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GP). Other common multimedia video formats include QuickTime® Movie (MOV), Matroska (MKV), and RealMedia® (RM). DivX® and Ogg are also popular among users.
AVI was first developed in late 1992 as a means to allow video and audio to be played simultaneously. Its file compression capabilities made it a popular choice among users who had limited space in their hard drives. Advances in compression techniques and information sharing technology have allowed AVI to maintain its popularity for years as the file format continues to be one of the most downloaded multimedia video formats. AVI videos have the file extension .avi.
MPEG, on the other hand, was developed in 1993 and was mainly used to hold video and audio information for video compact discs (VCDs). The first version of the format, MPEG-1, needed to scale images to meet bitrate limitations, resulting in relatively lower quality video than was then available. Updates to the format allow for scalable, high-definition resolutions and improved file compression. The audio data contained in MPEG files is usually compressed in the MPEG Audio Layer III (MP3) format, one of the most popular multimedia audio formats available. Commonly used file extensions for MPEG multimedia video formats include .mpeg, .mpg and .mp4.
Video sharing websites like YouTube often use FLV and WMV as their preferred media video formats. The formats allow for faster and smoother streaming of data over the Internet than other formats, albeit with a loss of video quality. Updates to the technology allow users to opt for high-definition video, but streaming speeds become significantly slower as a result. File extensions include .flv and the more advanced .f4v for FLV and .wmv for WMV.
3GP is most commonly seen in video taken by third generation (3G) mobile telecommunications phones. The format, while poor in quality compared to other file types, boasts much smaller file sizes, making it an ideal format for the smaller disk space found in cell phones. 3GP is typically shared via Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS) and storage device transfers, but is also uploaded and downloaded over the Internet.
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