If you want to put video on your website, you need to know about the most common types of video files. What type of video file should I use? what are the good and bad things about each type of file? These are just some of the questions you should ask yourself before putting videos on your websites.
On the internet, there are three main types of video files. Mpeg, AVI and Quicktime. I think the most popular file type is Quicktime because a lot of big entertainment and news sites only use it on their websites.
The AVI file type is the oldest of the three main ones. It's a video format for Windows, but it's not the most popular because the sound and video don't always work well together. The AVI video file type is becoming less popular every day because QuickTime can be used on both Windows and Mac computers.
The mpeg format is a popular type of video file. It has become more popular than the QuickTime format because its output quality is better. Mpeg is used on video games, CD-ROMs, and other media that need high output quality. One problem with MPEG is that it gives up file size in order to improve digital quality. Most of the time, mpeg video files are big.
Another problem with the mpeg format is that converting plain video to mpeg takes a lot of time and complicated hardware and software. And don't forget that apple and macintosh don't support the mpeg format. This means that if you put mpeg video on your website, macintosh users won't be able to watch it.
Quicktime is by far the most popular type of video file. It was made by Apple for Macintosh users, but it also works with IBM-compatible machines and Windows. Compared to the mpeg format, the hardware and software you need to digitise video into the Quicktime format are very cheap. So, using the Quicktime format makes it much easier and cheaper to make video and put it on your website.
