There are a lot of file types floating around these days. One particularly thorny set is MPEG-4 and MP4. Although these might sound interchangeable, they are distinct. 

In the sections below, we will explain these differences and what makes each file type unique. When it comes time for you to convert MPEG to MP4, you will have a thorough understanding of the components.

What is MP4?

Let’s start out by looking at what exactly MP4 is. MP4 is widely recognized as being the most universal video file type used today. Both in terms of devices and operating systems, people everywhere can use it.

MP4 is not the actual video; rather, it is a digital container file. Within any given digital container file, there are both compressed video components, as well as other file components that enable the video to be played.

One of the reasons for MP4’s popularity is that it compresses audio and video separately. This helps to ensure that quality is not lost in the compression process as often happens with other types of conversions.

MPEG and MPEG-4 

It can be easy to assume that MP4 and MPEG-4 are the same thing. As mentioned above, MP4 is the digital container file. MPEG-4, on the other hand, is the encoding mechanism for the content of the files. It was originally considered a class of standards and was developed by the Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG) for the purpose of compressing audio and video content.

MPEG

MPEG as a category of standards represents a very interesting history. It includes standards for coding knowledge and the representation of a whole range of content types, including audio, video, 3D graphics, and even genomic data. The association is now worth several hundred billion dollars.

The reasons for MPEG’s popularity are because the TV and film industries have a need to create standards for their content so that material can be broadcast, played, and viewed widely by diverse audiences. Now that new platforms such as the Internet have also joined into the mix, the need for standardization is even more acute. 

Encoding processes

The encoding process is where a file gets optimized for different devices and programs. It consists of two primary parts:

  • Compression of files to make them more compact
  • Transcoding, which changes the format of the video

MPEG-4 is a standard that allows the video content within an MP4 to be converted. As part of the larger MPEG group, it is the component that applies to video files. 

The difference between MPEG-4 and MP4 

The difference between MPEG-4 and MP4 is basically one of container and substance. It is similar to the difference between food packaging, for example, and the actual food inside the package. They go together but are not interchangeable. Just as MPEG standards of other sorts apply to other forms of video, so too does MPEG-4 to MP4.

MPEG-4 has particular coding techniques that it tends to use, including H.264 and MPEG-4 Visual. Any given MP4 video could possibly contain both MPEG-4 encoded components, as well as components that use other compression techniques. In other words, it is not a standard that is incompatible with other ones.

Conclusion

MP4 is the most popular video format in the world. It functions in all manner of devices, on different operating systems and within programs all over the world. MPEG-4 is an encoding tool that allows MP4s to be contained. While they work together, they are distinctly different things. Any given can contain both MPEG-4 and non-MPEG-4 components.