mp4 vs flv

[Paramjit]

hii
i would like to know more about mp4 files and flv files
can any one post some thing informative regarding this topic ....

[Sam.D]

FLV is the format for Flash video files. Supported from version 7, FLV is now the preferred format for delivering video clips via Flash.MP4 is short for ‘MPEG-4’. the shortened name MP4 MPEG-4 technology has been developed to provide DVD quality audio and pictures in an extremely small file size – ideal for playing on portable MP4 players such as the iPod Video

basically two ways to create FLV files
by converting your existing files to the Flash format using an encoder (AKA converter) or Export FLV files directly from applications such as Adobe After Effects.

The Flash format uses two types of file to deliver video SWF and FLV.
* SWF is the standard Flash file format used in web pages and other delivery media.
* FLV : A special file type used for Flash video. This file type is not played back directly — it must be embedded in (or linked from) an SWF file.

Flash Video files contain video bit streams which are a variant of the H.263 video standard, under the name of Sorenson Spark (FourCC FLV1). Flash Player 8 and newer revisions also support the playback of On2 TrueMotion VP6 video bit streams (FourCC VP6F or FLV4). On2 VP6 can provide a higher visual quality than Sorenson Spark, especially when using lower bit rates. it is computationally more complex and therefore will not run as well on certain older system configurations.Flash Player 9 Update 3, also includes support for the H.264 video standard (also known as MPEG-4 part 10, or AVC) which is even more computationally demanding, but offers significantly better quality/bitrate ratio.[3] Specifically, Flash Player now supports video compressed in H.264 (MPEG-4 Part 10), audio compressed using AAC (MPEG-4 Part 3), the MP4, M4V, M4A, 3GP and MOV multimedia container formats (MPEG-4 Part 14), 3GPP Timed Text specification (MPEG-4 Part 17)

Common Flash FLV Encoders
*Flash Video Exporter
A plug-in that enables third-party video editing applications to export FLV files. the Flash VIdeo Exporter only uses 1-pass encoding, so the quality is not much good. this plug in comes along with Macromedia
*Sorenson Squeeze
which also a third party compression program which can convert files from many formats into FLV.
*Flix
The suite of converters available from On2 Technologies


Codec support

* H.264
* VP6
* Sorenson H.263

[chroma]

Two different file extensions for naming audio-only MP4 files has been a source of chaos among users and multimedia playback software. Since MPEG-4 Part 14 is a container format, MPEG-4 files may contain any number of audio, video, and even subtitle streams, making it impossible to determine the type of streams in an MPEG-4 file based on its filename extension alone. In response, Apple Inc. Software capable of audio/video playback should recognize files with either .m4a or .mp4 file extensions, as would be expected, as there are no file format differences between the two. Most software capable of creating MPEG-4 audio will permit the users to choose the file name extension of the created MPEG-4 files.
The codec helps the Windows Media Player program handle moving pictures sent over the web. the Real Player will also play the MP4 file format as long as you have the current version .

High-profile recent MP4 Player launch is the Zune Player by Microsoft. sonn you may find The MP4 file format on web based videos and portable media player videos. It is a global multimedia standard, every increasing in popularity.