Multimedia comes in a variety of formats and can encompass nearly anything you can hear or see, such as images, music, sound, videos, recordings, films, animations, and more.
Web pages frequently incorporate multimedia elements in various types and formats.
The initial web browsers only supported text, restricted to a single font and color.
Subsequently, browsers were developed that supported colors, fonts, images, and multimedia!
Multimedia elements, such as audio and video, are stored in media files.
The most common way to identify the type of a file is by looking at its extension.
Multimedia files come in various formats with different extensions, including .wav, .mp3, .mp4, .mpg, .wmv, and .avi.
There are numerous video formats available.
HTML supports MP4, WebM, and Ogg formats.
YouTube recommends the MP4 format.
|
Format |
File |
Description |
|
MPEG |
.mpg |
MPEG, developed by the Moving Pictures Expert Group, was the first widely used video format on the web. It is no longer supported in HTML. |
|
AVI |
.avi |
AVI (Audio Video Interleave), developed by Microsoft, is commonly used in video cameras and TV hardware. It plays well on Windows computers but is not compatible with web browsers. |
|
WMV |
.wmv |
WMV (Windows Media Video), developed by Microsoft, is commonly used in video cameras and TV hardware. It plays well on Windows computers but is not supported by web browsers. |
|
QuickTime |
.mov |
QuickTime, developed by Apple, is commonly used in video cameras and TV hardware. It plays well on Apple computers but is not supported by web browsers. |
|
RealVideo |
.rm |
RealVideo, developed by Real Media, allows video streaming with low bandwidths. It is not compatible with web browsers. |
|
Flash |
.swf |
Flash, developed by Macromedia, often requires an additional plug-in to play in web browsers. |
|
Ogg |
.ogg |
Theora Ogg, developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation, is supported by HTML. |
|
WebM |
.webm |
WebM, developed by Mozilla, Opera, Adobe, and Google, is compatible with HTML. |
|
MPEG-4 |
.mp4 |
MP4, developed by the Moving Pictures Expert Group, is widely used in video cameras and TV hardware. It is supported by all browsers and recommended by YouTube. |
| Note: The HTML standard supports only MP4, WebM, and Ogg video formats. |
MP3 is widely considered the best format for compressed recorded music and has become synonymous with digital music.
If your website is dedicated to recorded music, MP3 is the ideal choice.
|
Format |
File |
Description |
|
MIDI |
.mid |
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is the primary format used by electronic music devices such as synthesizers and PC sound cards. MIDI files consist of digital notes that can be interpreted and played by electronic instruments. While MIDI files do not contain actual sound, they are compatible with most computers and music hardware, though they typically do not play directly in web browsers. |
|
RealAudio |
.rm |
RealAudio, developed by Real Media, enables streaming of audio content over low bandwidths. However, it is not compatible with web browsers for playback. |
|
WMA |
.wma |
WMA (Windows Media Audio), developed by Microsoft, is optimized for playback on Windows computers but does not support playback in web browsers. |
|
AAC |
.aac |
AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), developed by Apple as the default format for iTunes, performs well on Apple computers but does not natively support playback in web browsers. |
|
WAV |
.wav |
WAV, developed jointly by IBM and Microsoft, is compatible with Windows, Macintosh, and Linux operating systems. It is also supported by HTML for playback across various platforms. |
|
Ogg |
.ogg |
Ogg, developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation, is compatible with HTML for widespread support across different platforms. |
|
MP3 |
.mp3 |
MP3 files, derived from MPEG files, contain audio data and are the most widely used format for music players due to their effective compression, which balances small file sizes with high audio quality. MP3 is universally supported by all web browsers. |
|
MP4 |
.mp4 |
MP4 is primarily known as a video format but can also store audio content. It is supported by all web browsers. |
| Note that according to the HTML standard, only MP3, WAV, and Ogg audio formats are supported. |
