The reason for this is because the audio compression is handled differently from the video compression with the video compression being done using MPEG-4 whilst the audio compression uses AAC which actually helps to improve the audio quality. In other words, they were small in size but still retained the quality of the audio and video elements. MP4 files were the file type of choice for Apple’s iTunes mainly because of how efficient they are. MP4 files are clever in their design in that they combine compression technologies which means they tend to be small in size which is another reason for their popularity.Īn MP4 file is often known as a container format because of the way it is structured. As well as iTunes causing a major increase in use, the Internet has also been behind its increased popularity as when a user downloads a video on the Internet it tends to be in the MP4 format.

This is because it is the standard format for the majority of iTunes downloads. When iTunes launched in 2001 the MP4 file format saw a major boom in use.

An MP4 file is often called an MPEG4 file and it is used to store video and/or audio data.

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