Multimedia Video Format

Videos can be stored in various formats.

AVI format

The AVI format (Audio Video Interleave) was developed by Microsoft.

The AVI format is supported by all computers running Windows, as well as the vast majority of the most popular browsers. It is a very common format on the Internet, but it is not always playable on non-Windows computers.

Videos stored in AVI format have the file extension .avi

Windows Media format

The Windows Media format was developed by Microsoft.

On the Internet, Windows Media is a very common format, but videos in Windows Media format cannot be played on non-Windows computers unless an additional component (free) is installed. Due to the lack of available players, some later Windows Media videos cannot be played on all non-Windows computers.

Videos stored in Windows Media format have the file extension .wmv.

MPEG format

The MPEG (Moving Pictures Expert Group) format is the most popular format on the Internet. It is cross-platform and supported by all the most popular browsers.

Videos stored in MPEG format have the extensions .mpg or .mpeg.

QuickTime Format

The QuickTime format was developed by Apple.

QuickTime is a widely used format on the Internet, but QuickTime format movies cannot be played on Windows computers without installing additional components.

Videos stored in QuickTime format have the suffix .mov.

RealVideo Format

The RealAudio format was developed by Real Media for the Internet.

This format runs video streams under low bandwidth (online video, Internet TV). Due to its priority of low bandwidth, the video quality is often weakened.

Videos stored in RealVideo format have the suffix .rm or .ram.

Shockwave (Flash) Format

The Shockwave format was developed by Macromedia.

The Shockwave format requires additional components to play. This component is pre-installed in the latest versions of Netscape and Internet Explorer.

Videos stored in Shockwave format are saved with the extension .swf.