M4V and MP4 files are the two file formats dealing mainly in the field of video, audio files, images, and subtitles, but there is a huge difference between both of them. With the points below, we will discuss the differences that they have in comparison to one another.
M4V
This file format is developed by Apple for encoding videos, movies, music, and many other things. All these files are encoded in Apple’s Itune store. The videos that are stored on the iTunes store are protected by the device called FairPlay DRM. Once the files are protected one could only see them on iPad, iPhone, iPod, etc, which simply means that these files could only be seen on Apple’s devices. If one wishes to see these files on devices that are opted using Android then they need to search for the DRM removed files. This implies that you can easily watch M4V videos on Mac OS.
MP4
MP4 stands for MPEG-4, which is actually a standard of MPEG. The best part of this file format is that is used for the streaming of videos on an online platform. The developers for this file format are Moving Picture Expert Group and it is a universal file format that could be used for all the platforms. When we talk about video streaming through this file format, then one should keep in mind that all the popular websites could be supported by this format. The basic purpose of this format is to store videos, audio files, and images.
Now, let us see the differences between these two formats in detail.
- The first and foremost thing that we are focusing upon is the video codec. If we talk about the MP4 file then it will either support H.264 or HEVC, whereas the M4V file will support H.264 codec only. There is a lot of difference between the video format that is produced using the H.264 codec and that with an HEVC The quality of the one H.264 one is higher than the later.
- If we talk about the compatibility of both the files, then MP4 is compatible with all the devices and is called a universal file format. If we talk about the M4V file format, then it could only be used on the Apple devices. All the videos that are produced as M4V files are saved on iTunes and special protection called DRM is done on the files. If that protection is removed then only one could see the files on Android or other devices.
- Another major difference between the two file formats is of the developers. The M4V file format is designed by Apple and the MP4 device is developed by Moving Picture Expert Group. Both the developers are completely different from one another.
In a nutshell, we could say that both the file formats are very different in nature. With the points mentioned here, one could get the exact idea about both the formats.
