Comparison of container formats

Comparison of container formats

This table compares features of container formats. To see which multimedia players support which container format, look at comparison of media players.

Information
Name and Proprietor/Developer file extension, if different License Support for B-frames Variable bit rate audio Variable frame rate Chapters Captions (Subtitles) Video formats supported Audio formats supported Metadata/Tags supported Menu Support (like DVD) Streaming Support Attachment Support 3D Support (codec) 3D Support at container level Supported by hardware players

[1]

3GP

3GPP H.263, MPEG-4 Part

AMR-NB, AMR-WB, AMR-WB+, AAC, ? Yes Yes Yes ? 3GPP Timed Text 2 and H.264/MPEG-4 HE-AAC and AVC HE-AAC v2 ? No ? ? ? ? ?

3G2

3GPP2

AMR-NB, AMR-WB, AAC, HE-AAC, H.263, MPEG-4 Part EVRC, EVRC-B, ? Yes Yes Yes ? 3GPP Timed Text 2 and H.264/MPEG-4 EVRC-WB, AVC 13K(QCELP), SMV or VMR-WB ? No ? ? ? ? ?

Advanced Systems Format (.asf, .wma, .wmv)

Microsoft

Proprietary, patent encumbered No Yes Yes Yes Yes DMO; H.264/AVC is problematic DMO; Vorbis is problematic Almost anything through VFW or Almost anything through ACM or Yes No Yes ? ? ? Yes

AVI

Microsoft

Almost anything Yes, via third No through VFW; Yes, via third party party modifications modifications Almost anything H.264/AVC is through ACM; Vorbis problematic due to is problematic the limited B-frame support Yes through No RIFF chunks Yes No ? No Yes

[2]

Yes

[3]

Yes

[4]

[6]

[5]

DivX Media

DivX, Inc.

? MPEG-4 Part 2 video Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes encoded to meet DivX profiles MP3, PCM, AC-3 ? Yes Yes ? ? ? Yes

Format (.divx)

EVO

MPEG

Patent MPEG-2 Part 2, encumbered Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes H.264/MPEG-4

AC-3, E-AC-3, Dolby TrueHD, Linear PCM, ? DTS, DTS-HD, AVC, VC-1 MPEG-2 Part 3 Yes ? ? ? ? ?

F4V (Flash Video)

Adobe Systems

Patent encumbered Yes ? Yes ? ? H.264/MPEG-4 AVC MP3, AAC, HE-AAC

[7]

Yes

No

Yes

FLV (Flash Video)

Adobe Systems

Patent encumbered Yes ? Yes No No

Sorenson, VP6, Screen Video, H.264/MPEG-4 AVC

MP3, Nellymoser, ADPCM, Linear PCM, AAC

[8][9]

Speex

[10] , [11]

Yes

No

Yes

Comparison of container formats

Matroska (.mkv, .mk3d, .mka, .mks)

CoreCodec, Inc.

[12]

Freely licensed

[13]
Yes

under

[14]

Yes

[15]

Yes

[15]

Yes

[16]

Yes

[17]

Virtually anything

Virtually anything

Yes

[18]

development by CoreCodec

[19]

Yes

[20]

Yes

[21]

Yes

[22]

Yes

[22]

Yes

[23]

MCF Community

[24]

BSD-style license for Yes specs, GNU for tools Yes Yes Yes

[25]

Yes

[25]

Not fully specified

Not fully specified

Yes

Possible

[26]

Yes

[27]

Yes

[25]

No

MP4

MPEG

Patent encumbered

1) In specially formatted text track (QuickTime); 2) In userdata atom Yes Yes Yes (started by Nero Digital) can't interact with the sceneDescription, or via segmentDescriptor ttxt, VobSubs with private objectTypeIndication not usable with the sceneDescription (started by Nero), BIFS MPEG-2Part2, III (MP3), AC-3, MPEG-4ASP, Apple Lossless, ALS, H.264/MPEG-4AVC, SLS, Vorbis(with H.263, VC-1, Dirac, others Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes ? Yes MPEG-2/4 (HE)-AAC, MPEG-1/2 Layers I, II,

[28]

private objectTypeIndication), others

[28]

MPEG Video File (.mpg, .mpeg)

MPEG

Patent encumbered Yes Yes Yes No No MPEG-1, MPEG-2

MPEG-1 Layers I, II,

[29]

III (mp3), other formats only in private streams: LPCM

No

No

Yes

Yes

[30]

MPEG program stream PS (.ps)

MPEG

Patent encumbered Yes Yes ? in VOB files on VOB files on DVDs DVDs Only in private Only in private streams used streams used in MPEG-1, MPEG-2,

MPEG-1 Layers I, II, III (mp3), other MPEG-4 Part 2

Only in private streams used No in VOB files on DVDs ? ? ? ? Yes

[29] , VC-1, [31]

H.264

formats only in private streams: AAC, AC-3, LPCM, DTS

[30]

MPEG transport stream TS (.ts)

MPEG

Patent encumbered possible via ETSI Yes Yes Yes No EN 300 743

MPEG-1, MPEG-2 Part 2, MPEG-4 ASP, H.264, other formats in private streams: VC-1, Dirac

MPEG-1 Layers I, II, III (mp3), AAC, other formats in private streams: AC-3, LPCM, DTS No No Yes ? ? ? Yes

[32]

[32]

BDAV MPEG-2 transport stream

Blu-ray Disc Association

Proprietary AC-3, DTS, LPCM, MPEG-2 Part 2, Yes ? Yes Yes Yes H.264, VC-1 DTS HD, Dolby Lossless Dolby Digital Plus, ? ? ? ? Yes ? Yes

[33]

(.m2ts)

MXF

SMPTE

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Virtually anything

Virtually anything

Yes

No

No

Ogg

Xiph.org

Patent-free, Free software implementations available

Theora, Dirac, OggUVS, MNG and Yes

Vorbis, FLAC, Speex, CMML, Ogg CELT, OggPCM

[2]

Yes

Yes

Yes

Ogg Writ, Ogg Kate

others

[34][35]

[34][35]

Skeleton, , Vorbis

No

Yes

Yes

almost anything through VFW

almost anything comment through ACM

[36]

Quicktime (.mov, .qt)

Apple

Proprietary

Limited to what is Limited to what is available to the Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes QuickTime codec Manager or CoreAudio manager available to Sound Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

RMVB

RealNetworks

Proprietary Yes

? Yes

? Yes RealVideo 8, 9, 10

(HE)-AAC, Cook Codec, Vorbis, RealAudio Lossless ? No Yes ? ? ? ?

Comparison of container formats

3
AC-3, Linear PCM, MPEG-2 Part 2,

VOB+IFO

DVD Forum

Proprietary Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes MPEG-1 Part 2

DTS, MPEG-2 Part 3, MPEG-1 Layer II

No

Yes

No

No

No

No

Yes

WebM

WebM Project

perpetual license grant to patents Yes, but unused

[37]

Yes

Yes

No

No

VP8

[38]

Vorbis

No

No

Yes

[39]

No

No

Yes

Yes

[40]

Proprietor/Developer

License

Support for B-frames

Variable bit rate audio

Variable frame rate

Chapters

Captions (Subtitles)

Video formats supported

Audio formats supported

Metadata/Tags supported

Menu Support (like DVD)

Streaming Attachment Support Support

3D Support (codec)

3D Support at container level

Supported by hardware players

Formats supported
Audio formats supported
Lossy compression MP3 WMA RealAudio Vorbis Lossless compression MLP / DTS-HD Dolby TrueHD No No

Musepack AAC AC-3 DTS PCM APE FLAC ALAC WavPack

QuickTime Yes AVI Yes

Yes

No

Yes not officially

No

Yes Yes [41]

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

Matroska Yes MP4 Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes not officially

Scheduled Yes [42]

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes [43] Yes No

Yes

No

No

No

Yes

No

No

No

MXF Ogg

Yes Yes

No No

No No

? Yes

? No

Yes No

Yes No

Yes Yes

No No

No Yes

No No

No No

Yes No

Yes No

Video formats supported

MPEG-1 MPEG-2 MPEG-4 (A)SP Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes H.264/MPEG-4 AVC VC-1/WMV RealVideo Theora Microsoft MPEG4 V2 ? Yes ? Yes ? ? VP8 MVC

QuickTime AVI

Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Problematic, limited [5] B-frame support Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes Yes Yes Yes [45] Yes Yes

? Yes ? Yes No No

Yes Yes Yes Yes No ?

? Yes ? Yes ? ?

? ? ? Yes [44]

OGM Matroska MP4 MXF

Yes Yes Yes Yes

Yes ?

Comparison of container formats

Caption (Subtitle) formats supported

QuickTime AQTitle JACOSub [46] MicroDVD MPEG-4 Timed Text MPSub Ogg Kate Ogg Writ Phoenix Subtitle PowerDivX RealText [48] SAMI Structured Subtitle Format SubRip ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? AVI No No No No No No No No No No ? ? Yes, via third party modifications OGM Matroska MP4 MXF ? ? ? ? ? Yes Yes ? ? ? ? ? Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Yes [47] ? ? ? Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Yes ? Yes ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

? ? ? ? ? ? Yes ? Yes ? Yes Yes [49]

Gloss Subtitle (Advanced) SubStation Alpha

No Yes, via third party modifications

SubViewer Universal Subtitle Format VobSub XSUB

? No ? ?

Notes and references

[1] The ability to hold additional files such as fonts for subtitles etc. [2] B-frames are not natively supported so bitstream processing or "packing" is needed. Details on this can be found in MPEG-4 B-frames in AVI/VFW description (http:/ / forum. doom9. org/ showthread. php?s=& threadid=80430). [3] ACM cannot handle VBR audio streams in AVI files. Thus, software using ACM to read audio from AVI files will not be able to handle VBR audio streams correctly, even though such files are compliant to the AVI file specification. This is a limitation of the ACM, not of the AVI file format. [4] Although AVI is not designed for variable framerates, it is possible to use them without creating a non-standard file by using 0-byte chunks for skipped frames. However it requires framerate to be set to Least common multiple of all framerates used, and produces slight overhead compared to true VFR. [5] Through an updated x264/ffdshow filter it is possible to view H.264 in an AVI file. [6] Although FFmpeg has introduced a solution to put Vorbis audio into AVI files, this "extension" is not compatible with existing Vorbis decoders for DirectShow and ACM. Putting Vorbis in an AVI container is very problematic. The way Nandub stored Vorbis audio streams in AVI files occasionally caused desychronisation when seeking. [7] Adobe Systems Incorporated (November 2008) (PDF). Video File Format Specification, Version 10 (http:/ / www. adobe. com/ devnet/ flv/ pdf/ video_file_format_spec_v10. pdf). Adobe Systems Incorporated. p. 33. . Retrieved 2009-08-03. [8] H.264/MPEG-4 AVC support is available in Adobe Flash Player 9 Update 3 (version 9.0.115.0 from December 2007) press release (http:/ / www. adobe. com/ aboutadobe/ pressroom/ pressreleases/ 200712/ 120407adobemoviestar. html) [9] H.264/MPEG-4 AVC What just happened to video on the web? (http:/ / www. kaourantin. net/ 2007/ 08/ what-just-happened-to-video-on-web_20. html)

Comparison of container formats

[10] AAC support is available in Adobe Flash Player 9 Update 3 (version 9.0.115.0 from December 2007) press release (http:/ / www. adobe. com/ aboutadobe/ pressroom/ pressreleases/ 200712/ 120407adobemoviestar. html) [11] Adobe Systems Incorporated (November 2008) (PDF). Video File Format Specification, Version 10 (http:/ / www. adobe. com/ devnet/ flv/ pdf/ video_file_format_spec_v10. pdf). Adobe Systems Incorporated. p. 6. . Retrieved 2009-08-03. [12] Although CoreCodec holds the copyrights and trademarks for the Matroska specification, the specifications are open to everybody. The source code of the libraries developed by the Matroska team is licensed under the LGPL and BSD licenses. [13] Anyone can use it or modify it for their own needs without paying any license or patents. http:/ / www. matroska. org/ info/ legal/ index. html [14] Matroska supports B-frames. http:/ / www. matroska. org/ technical/ specs/ index. html#ReferenceBlock [15] Matroska is designed to store VBR and VFR content. http:/ / www. matroska. org/ technical/ guides/ faq/ index. html [16] Matroska supports simple chapters and nested chapters. http:/ / www. matroska. org/ technical/ specs/ chapters/ index. html [17] Matroska subtitle specification. http:/ / www. matroska. org/ technical/ specs/ subtitles/ index. html [18] The tagging system of Matroska http:/ / www. matroska. org/ technical/ specs/ tagging/ index. html [19] http:/ / www. matroska. org/ technical/ menu/ index. html [20] For Matroska, there are two different kinds of stream: file access and live streaming. http:/ / www. matroska. org/ technical/ streaming/ index. html [21] Matroska can store any type of file. http:/ / www. matroska. org/ technical/ specs/ index. html#Attachment [22] http:/ / www. matroska. org/ news/ stereo_3d. html Specification http:/ / www. matroska. org/ technical/ specs/ index. html#StereoMode [23] Companies producing Matroska-supporting hardware include Asus ( ASUS Digital Media Player (http:/ / www. asus. com/ ProductGroup2. aspx?PG_ID=deBXUzMkKnQuGLGK)), OPPO Digital ( Oppodigital.com (http:/ / www. oppodigital. com/ blu-ray-bdp-83/ ) OPPO BDP-83 Blue-ray Disc Player), Panasonic ( Gizmodo.com (http:/ / gizmodo. com/ 5120212/ samsungs-2009-hdtv-lineup-leaked), Samsung's 2009 HDTV Lineup Leaked), and LG ( Asia.cnet.com (http:/ / asia. cnet. com/ how-to-select/ tvs/ lg/ ) How to select the right LG HDTV) [24] http:/ / mcf. sourceforge. net/ [25] MCF Specifications http:/ / mukoli. free. fr/ mcf/ mcf. html [26] Menu is possible, but not specified yet. http:/ / mukoli. free. fr/ mcf/ index. html [27] Streaming for MCF http:/ / mukoli. free. fr/ mcf/ stream. html [28] mp4ra.org MP4 Registration authority. "Registered types Codecs, MPEG-4 Registration authority" (http:/ / www. mp4ra. org/ codecs. html). . Retrieved 2009-07-28. [29] ISO (2000-12-01) ISO/IEC 13818-1 : 2000, Second edition (http:/ / neuron2. net/ library/ mpeg2/ iso13818-1. pdf) Retrieved on 2009-07-25 [30] dvd.sourceforge.net DVD Resources for Open Source Development, DVD MPEG differences (http:/ / dvd. sourceforge. net/ dvdinfo/ dvdmpeg. html), Retrieved on 2009-07-28 [31] "The VC-1 and H.264 Video Compression Standards for Broadband Video", by Jae-Beom Lee and Hari Kalva. ISBN 978-0387710426 [32] SMPTE Registration Authority, LLC registration authority for MPEG-2 format identifiers (http:/ / smpte-ra. org/ mpegreg/ mpeg. html) Retrieved on 2009-07-06 [33] https:/ / secure. wikimedia. org/ wikipedia/ en/ wiki/ . m2ts#Software_support [34] "MIME Types and File Extensions" (http:/ / wiki. xiph. org/ index. php/ MIME_Types_and_File_Extensions). XiphWiki. . Retrieved 2009-10-24. [35] "RFC 5334 Ogg Media Types" (http:/ / tools. ietf. org/ html/ rfc5334). IETF. 2008-09. . Retrieved 2009-10-24. [36] "Ogg Metadata" (http:/ / wiki. xiph. org/ Metadata). Xiph Wiki. 2005-12-20. . Retrieved 2007-08-31. [37] Supported by the container, but unused due to the artificial limitation to VP8. [38] WebM limits support to VP8 and vorbis. http:/ / www. webmproject. org/ about/ [39] WebM is focused on addressing the unique needs of serving video on the web. http:/ / www. webmproject. org/ about/ [40] Rockchip demonstrated full WebM hardware playback. http:/ / blog. webmproject. org/ 2011/ 01/ availability-of-webm-vp8-video-hardware. html [41] There is a value in the stream headers, called dwSampleSize, which is 0 in order to trigger VBR stream seeking. This is officially documented in the MSDN and not a hack, bug or whatever. The way MP3-VBR and AAC are stored in AVI are specified and completely compliant with the AVI file specification. [42] Possible, but not implemented at this date. The developers are awaiting the release of Musepack 8.x, as this version will completely change the bitstream. [43] According to "ETSI TS 102 366 v1.2.1 - Digital Audio Compression (AC-3, Enhanced AC-3) Standard, Annex F" [44] Stereo 3D in Matroska can be handled with codecs like MVC. http:/ / www. matroska. org/ news/ stereo_3d. html [45] As specified by SMPTE Recommended Practices 20252007, "VC-1 Bitstream Storage in the ISO Base Media File Format." [46] http:/ / unicorn. us. com/ jacosub/ jscripts. html [47] https:/ / www. bunkus. org/ videotools/ mkvtoolnix/ doc/ mkvmerge. html#mkvmerge. subtitles [48] http:/ / service. real. com/ help/ library/ guides/ realtext/ realtext. htm [49] The requirement for muxing VobSub into matroska is v7 subtitles. http:/ / www. matroska. org/ technical/ specs/ subtitles/ images. html

Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors

Comparison of container formats Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=471596989 Contributors: Aldnonymous, Alexander No, AlistairMcMillan, Anomie, Arabani, ArchMageZeratuL, Batjohan, Becksguy, Ben Ben, Berrinam, Biasoli, Blackboxxx, Blaisorblade, Brother-John, CPES, Cantonesejim, Caravena, Ceyockey, ChristianHJW, Claunia, Cory Kohn, Crashmatrix, Crosstimer, CyberSkull, Daniel.Cardenas, Defragged, DonDiego, Donhalcon, Dooly00000, EdC, Eraser, Ermey, Fcjohn, Gamester17, Gerbrant, Giandrea, Gudeldar, Haakoo, HairyWombat, Hanjifi, Hdante, Hhielscher, HiEv, Huwr, Hymek, Idleloop, Indolering, Infinitelink, Inwind, J. M., JLaTondre, Jhartmann, Jnoring, Jth299, Kamasutra, Kappa, KeyJ, Keyser Sze, Kjoonlee, Kl4m-AWB, Lee Carre, Leolaursen, LilHelpa, Lmatt, Lnatan25, Logixoul, Madmaxx, Manabu, Mephistophelian, Metalim, MichaelStanford, Mikus, Misteror, MrTroy, ONEder Boy, Paul1337, Phil412, Pmsyyz, Qutezuce, R'n'B, RandomWalker, Regression Tester, Reisio, Richard Sotke, Rufus210, Sbo, Someoneinmyheadbutit'snotme, Soulsbane, Squids and Chips, Ssfreitas, Starcheerspeaksnewslostwars, Stefanor, Steppres, Stibbons31, Suoerh2, Tawal, Techtoucian, Tentacle Monster, Ttam, Tweenk, Vadmium, Vegaswikian, Warren, Woohookitty, Xpclient, Yourmanstan, Zephyrxero, 250 anonymous edits

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