What are F4V files?

[Tomkate68]

What are F4V files? Can I safely rename them to MP4? Is F4V extension used by Adobe Flash Player only?

[Selur]

What are F4V files?
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flv/

Can I safely rename them to MP4?
nope,.. it's a different container than mp4, but Yamb (mp4box) can remux the files to .mp4 if the content is mp4 compatible.

Is F4V extension used by Adobe Flash Player only?
F4V = Flash 4 Video, most people prefer the .mp4 container for Video&Audio since it's easier to handle,..

[Dark Shikari]

F4V = Flash 4 Video, most people prefer the .mp4 container for Video&Audio since it's easier to handle,..Wrong, that's FLV4. F4V is just, AFAIK, a renamed MP4 file (or maybe it's a renamed FLV file? I can never remember which).

[Tomkate68]

Through google I found there are two different video file formats defined by Adobe Systems and supported in Adobe Flash Player: FLV and F4V. The audio and video data within FLV files are encoded in the same way as they are within SWF files. The latter F4V file format is based on the ISO base media file format and is supported starting with Flash Player 9 update 3.

[Selur]

@DarkShikari: afaik f4v files are renamed flv files and not renamed mp4 files.

[ffmpeg]

From Adobe:

"The F4V format is based on the format specified by ISO/IEC 14496-12: ISO base media file format."

[audiohominis]

I think it's an mp4 but it contains some flash-specific embedded meta data like ActionScript commands or cue points, etc but I may be wrong. One possible example of how it was utilized would be the way the "thumbs up/down" icons appeared on the side bar in sync with critics issuing their verdicts in the video review.

[alexnikle]

F4V is a kind of FLV videos of course. Mostly it is downloaded from sites. You can play it directly with some players like Storm