mpeg4 /mp4

TheBazman wrote: »

Hi folks

Are mpeg4 and mp4 the same format? I got a media player for my tv which supports a lot of file formats including mpeg4, however I tried an mp4 file (which I have a lot of for playing on my ipod) and it said "invalid file".

I read somewhere that mpeg4 is the best format (in terms of quality) for viewing these files. I tried Super to convert but the mpeg4 output format doesnt appear to be there, or at least it isnt obvious if it is

Cheers

Kind of. MP4 is an implementation of Mpeg4. Here is a useful comparison of all the container formats.

MP4 is a container file, so it depends what is inside it and whether your TV media player can play those files. Saying it is mp4 compatible is slightly misleading. If the mp4 contains an x264 video codec and your player doesn't support that then it will throw an invalid file format error.

mpeg4 is a set of standards, so saying it is the best quality is not necessarily true. It depends how it is implemented. MP4 is the container file and as you can see by the charts that container can hold a range of quality. You'll also notice it is inferior to its main rival mkv container. MKV would be considered the best format because it can hold greater quality files and has fast become known as the high definition format, usually holding 720p/1080p DTS files. But again it all depends, you have to look inside the container to see whats in there to guage the quality of it. And even then its no guarantee. I've seen some really badly ripped 1080p/DTS movies!!

TheBazman wrote: »

Cheers folks

first off it does work fine on the pc

20goto10 - Thanks for your response - I kind of grasp what you are saying. I suppose it effectively means that some of my mp4 files may work and some may not, depending on what codec it contains

The media player I got says it supports Video : Codec : MPEG-1, MPEG-2 (720p – 1080i), MPEG-4 (1080p), XviD, DivX 3/4/5/6 (HD) - Format : IFO, VOB, DAT, AVI, MPG, MPEG 2 TS, ISO, MP4. Based on these what do you reckon is my best option assuming I was starting from scratch? At the moment I have a chunk of avi, mwv, mp4, and vob files from DVDs. I use some of the vob files on another media player drive I have but as you know they are large. I'd prefer to use a compressed format and preferably one that will play on the ipod as well

Cheers again

There is software called "video inspector" which will tell you what codecs are in your container. Simply drag and drop the file onto it and it will show you the video and audio codecs. What is the media player? If it is an xbox360 then I know they only support stereo audio, anything else gives an invalid file format even though they claim to support mp4.

Personally I would not play an ipod compatible file on a TV. The resolution will make it look blocky, maybe even unwatchable I'm not sure, I haven't tried it. But it would be better to keep 2 separate formats.

Another freeware utility that will give you a lot of info

http://mediainfo.sourceforge.net/en