MP3 vs MP4

As digital media continues to develop and become the standard format, more questions are being asked about what certain file types are and how they are used. Two types of digital format that are frequently confused with each other are the MP3 format and the MP4 format. These two formats are similar in that they are both compression technologies that allow for small file size with high quality audio. Read on to know the exact difference.

The MP3 format

Making its public debut in the mid-1990s, the MP3 file format was slow to pick up as a sound file format. As people and companies started to realize the potential of MP3 to provide near-CD quality at small file sizes, the format started to become a standard for audio files. Today, there are literally thousands of software and hardware that make use of MP3 technology. The only problem with this huge boom in the digital audio world is that the distribution of MP3 files was unregulated, leading to numerous cases of music piracy and copyright infringement, which still occurs today.

The MP4 format

The MP4 format, which was released to the public in the early 2000s, is the supposed successor of the MP3 format. Sometimes referred to as Advanced Audio Coding, or AAC, the MP4 format offers a means of regulating how songs were used through an embedded digital rights management (DRM) system. Today, the Apple iTunes store and some other major media retailers and distributors use the MP4 format, as it offers higher quality than the MP3 format while offering security from piracy. The MP4 format can also be used as a video format, while MP3 is strictly for audio.

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