Today’s digitized videos come in an array of file formats. Let’s take a look at three of the most popular, and briefly discuss their differences.

.AVI files. AVI stands for audio/video interleaved. This file format is the most popular computer video format, and it is defined by Microsoft. The file sizes tend to be large compared to some of the other formats. These files will play in most of the popular media players. Generally, they are used to edit video or when a high resolution version of the video is needed.

.MPG, .M1V, .M2V files. MPG (or MPEG) stands for Moving Picture Experts Group. This file type utilizes standards that have been, and are being, developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group. They are a common file type and are generally much smaller in size than .AVI files.

.MPG most commonly denotes a file with MPEG-1 compression. The most common resolution for this file type is 352x240, but other resolutions may be used (the MPEG-1 files produced by WorshipFilms are 640x480). .M1V usually denotes a video with MPEG-1 compression that does not contain any audio. MPEG-1 files will play in almost any media player. They are generally used when limiting the file size is the main objective.

One confusing element is that .MPG can also denote a file that utilizes MPEG-2 compression. These files are generally higher in resolution (most commonly 720x480), and are often used in the creation of DVDs. .M2V generally denotes a video with MPEG-2 compression that does not contain any audio. The file size of MPEG-2 files is generally larger than MPEG-1 files. MPEG-2 files will only play in media players that have a MPEG-2 video codec installed.

.MOV, .QT files. These files extensions denote a Quicktime media file. Apple Computer developed this file type for the creation and viewing of multimedia content. Generally, most media players will play a Quicktime file that is version 2.0 or earlier, but later versions require player software that is proprietary to Apple. File sizes are generally comparable or slightly larger when compared to MPEG-1 files (depending on compression settings).

In our next article, we will conclude our discussion of file formats by examining .WMA, .RM, .ASF and .MP4 files.