Common Video Formats
- AVI (Audio Video Interleave). Developed by Microsoft.
Supported by all computers running Windows and most web browsers. Very common - perhaps most common. Won’t always work on Macs. Extension is .avi.
- Windows Media Format. Developed by Microsoft. Common format, but does not work at all on Macs. Extension is .wmv.
- MPEG (Moving Pictures Expert Group). Very popular on the internet. Works on Macs and Windows, and most web browsers. Visitors can play your movie without downloading additional software. Can't create this format on a Mac with iMovie without additional software. Extension is .mpg or .mpeg.
- QuickTime. Developed by Apple. Common, but can’t be played on Windows computer with an extra component installed. Extension is .mov.
- RealVideo. Developed by Real Media. Allows streaming of video with low bandwidths. Quality is usually reduced to accommodate bandwidth needs. Won't run in Windows or Mac without downloading extra software. Extension is .rm or .ram
- Shockwave (Flash). Developed by Macromedia. Requires an extra component to play (preinstalled on latest versions of Netscape and Explorer). Extension is .swf.
- MPEG-4. Very small file sizes. Windows users must install QuickTime to play. Easy to use with iMovie.
