Although there is a huge range of video formats out there, you’ve probably noticed that some are much more popular than others. That is a good thing, because as impossible as it would be to know every single video format out there – focusing on a few that are popular is far more feasible.

In fact as things stand there are really three video formats in particular that businesses may need to use:

• MP4 with H.264
For the last several years, MP4 with H.264 has grown to be the most popular video format. It is used practically everywhere nowadays, and is the format of choice for streaming videos, distributing them, and even for mobile devices. In short, it is the format that businesses may need to use to upload videos online or distribute them to others.

The reason why MP4 with H.264 enjoys the popularity that it does right now is mostly the fact that it has widespread support and can be played on almost any device or platform. It was able to acquire that support largely because at the time it was released the H.264 codec had one of the most efficient types of compression available.

It should be noted that H.264 goes by several names, including MPEG-4 Part 10, and MPEG-4 AVC – and is used in the AVCHD format as well which is very similar to MP4 with H.264.

•MPEG-2
Although it is dated, businesses still frequently find that they need to use the MPEG- 2 format due to the fact that it is the format that is used for DVD videos. Suffice to say if you need to create a video DVD from any business video, it will have to be encoded in MPEG-2.

Aside from creating video DVDs however there are very few cases in which any business would need (or want) to use MPEG-2. In fact nowadays many new DVD players are starting to support other formats (such as MP4 with H.264), and Blu-ray is starting to slowly but surely gain popularity.

In short the days of MPEG-2 are definitely numbered, but for the time being it is still relevant.

• HEVC (H.265)
As the successor to the immensely-popular H.264 codec, it was expected that HEVC would eventually supplant it. Unfortunately its adoption has been slow, mostly due to its complex licensing and royalty structure.

At its core however, H.265 is an improvement on its predecessor and it is able to reduce the file sizes of H.264 videos by up to half. Recently it has started to be supported more widely, which makes it a realistic option for businesses.

More often than not H.265 is paired with either MP4 or MKV. Its long-term viability as a format for businesses will largely depend on other formats that are emerging to challenge it – most notably the AV1 format that was recently released by the AOMedia consortium.

As you can see despite the fact that there are many other formats out there, the three listed above are the ones that businesses will invariably need to use most frequently. In many cases you may even need to convert your videos between the formats listed above, and for example you can use Movavi Video Converter ( www.movavi.com/videoconverter/ ) to do that.

Naturally as newer formats are released it is likely that they will take the place of some of the formats that were mentioned. As things stand however the only new format businesses really need to keep a close eye on is the AV1 format – and if its adoption continues as planned it very well take the place of MP4 with H.264 within a few years.