
When watching a movie with pictures or an explanatory video, the idea of the video format usually plays a secondary role or even does not play any role. However, the format does get interesting when it comes to marketing, placement or embedding of the video across the various channels.
So get familiar with the top nine video formats from our article and become a video format expert in no time.

Container and Codec.
Before dealing intensively with individual video formats, two basic terms should first be clarified:
Video formats are so-called file containers that adapt to different content. In addition to audio and video files, menu structures or subtitles can also be integrated into a container. When the movie plays, the elements of the container are decoded.
Files are compressed within the container using codecs, which affects the quality and size of the file. If a video is played, the files contained in the container are decompressed again using the corresponding codec.
Understanding the functions of containers and codecs is critical to understanding the following nine video formats.
MPEG-1 (.mpg / .mpeg).
MPEG stands for Motion Picture Expert Group, a group of experts who dealt with the subject of video compression as early as the 1980s. MPEG is both a container and a codec. MPEG-1 is the Video CD standard and is therefore out of date. The high storage requirements and the fact that HD (high definition) is not supported mean that MPEG-1 cannot compete with the newer video formats.
Advantages: high distribution, wide acceptance of devices.
Cons: Very outdated, poor video quality (not suitable for HD).
MPEG-2 (.mpg / .mpeg / .vob / .m2p / .ts).
MPEG-2 is the further development of MPEG-1 and is the basis for DVDs. The codec for the MPEG-2 format is called H.262. The file extension on DVDs is .vob, while the MPEG format for camera recordings is usually a .ts file.
Advantages: wide distribution, DVD standard.
Disadvantages: low compression, large file size.
MPEG-4 (.mp4).
The successor to MPEG-2 is the MPEG-4 format. Mp4 files are designed for high HD image quality with low storage capacity. The most common codec is the H.264 standard. In rare cases, DivX and Xvid codecs are used. MPEG-4 is widely used on HD TV and Blu-Ray. At Apple, .mp4 files can generally be found under the abbreviation .m4v. Videos posted on the Internet are usually in .mp4 format.
Advantages: standard on the web, high compression, high quality, flexible use.
Disadvantage: intensive computing power for encoding and decoding.
QuickTime (.mov).
QuickTime is a standard developed by Apple. The QuickTime architecture is the basis for various video editing programs such as Adobe Premiere or Final Cut (Apple’s editing program). MOV files are mainly used for editing and less for actual use. Apart from QuickTime Player, the format is compatible with some multimedia player programs.
Advantage: Standard for professional video editing.
Disadvantage: low acceptance by end devices.
AVI (.avi).
Audio Video Interleave (AVI) files were Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s QuickTime architecture. In the early years of the format, good image quality cost high storage capacities, which could be improved a bit with new codecs like DivX. AVI is accepted and reproduced by a large number of end devices, but it turns out to be bulky with many technical details. Direct transmission is not possible, menus and chapters are not supported, and there is no automatic way to save the correct aspect ratio.
Advantages: widespread use, wide acceptance.
Disadvantages: inflexible, bulky.
WMV / ASF (.wmf / .asf).
ASF is the successor to the AVI format. However, it is known as the WMV (Windows Media Video) codec. The Microsoft codec is similar to MPEG-4, but it is less common. Unlike the previous AVI, the transmission is possible without problems.
Advantages: High compression, good video quality.
Disadvantage: less common.
MKV (.mkv).
Matroska is a container format with the file extension .mkv. Its namesake is the Russian matryoshka dolls, which can be stacked on each other to save space and look cool. This same principle is the goal of the container. The video format allows for different codecs and additional information. Depending on the device, this flexibility can also be a problem during playback.