Thread: MP4 FAQ
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Old 3rd November 2011, 14:56   #15  |  Link
Laraul
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 8
This page has been out of date and contains some misleading information. Like that .m4a/.m4v are incorrect extensions. It also says that .MP4 containers store data differently than .MOV containers which isn't true the containers are identical. You can replace .MP4/.M4A/.M4V/etc .with .MOV and will always still play.

Microsoft didn't include support for AVC with Windows until Windows 7, which is why it can play .MP4 and some .MOV files (it doesn't support either container completely yet...). They we're trying to gain acceptance of their WMV and WMA containers... and AAC containers like MP4 and M4A were competitors. This resulted in the MKV format... though the MKV format doesn't do anything other containers can't (well MOV, OGM, FLV).

Now the MP4 extension is used almost exclusively to denote AVC (h.264) enocded video thanks to the success of Apple's iPod and iOS devices.
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