What are MP4 files?

MP4 files are an international standard file type for video compression.  The most commonly accessed MP4 files are those on YouTube and other video sharing sites – it’s simply a file type that allows people to view and share videos in a standardized way.  Though it’s possible that almost every video type you have on your computer is MP4.

History

MP4 is a relatively new file type, introduced sometime pre 2000, and accepted as an international standard around the same time, but before that videos had to be created and designed using common codec sets. Post 2000, the MP4 file type has meant that video files can be shared and played in several standardized, common players, along with less well known ones.

How do I open them?

You can view MP4 files in everything from iTunes to Windows Media player – they will play in DVD players with functions that support MP4 (which happens to be most standard DVD players made today) alongside potentially playing in both PS3 and Xbox360 (depending on the encoding you’ve used). And as they play in iTunes, they will also play on your iPod (with video capability), iPod Touch, or iPhone, alongside any other MP4 players.

It’s important to note that most of the top range personal MP3 players are also MP4 players – but aren’t labelled as such because the companies don’t want people to compare them to other (possibly cheaper) products – both Zune and the iPod video/Nano etc. systems play MP4 files easily. Cheaper players may also open them, but may not be able to access proprietary files from either Microsoft or iTunes.

How do I edit them?

You can edit MP4 files in most video editing software types – but you need to remember to save the files as MP4’s to access them in non proprietary players, or if you’re sure you’ll only access them in the proprietary players, you can save them in any accessible way you like. Editing them in any software will also allow you to package and upload anything you have copyright to, to YouTube and other video playing sites.