What is a MPEG file
There is little difference between MPEG and MPG. MPEG is a newer format, and branches off into standards MPEG-1 through MPEG-4, MPEG-7, and MPEG-21. The lossy compression allows for ease of downloading and uploading with smaller file sizes while retaining high quality. These file containers for audio and visual elements allow the two pieces to remain in sync. Many digital broadcasting styles utilize MPEG-1 files for the audio elements and the video/audio elements for cable and satellite broadcasts. The MPEG system gave birth to the MP3 file. Mac and Windows alike can utilize MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 files due to various programs supporting the files.
MPEG-1 is for the coding of video and associated audio for storage up to 1.5 Mbits/s (ISO/IEC 11172), but it is capable of higher bit rates. This allows encoding to a CD or low-quality DVD video. MPEG-2 is used for broadcast-quality television supporting high definition. MPEG-3 deals with the standardization of scalable and multi-resolution compression for HDTV but later merged with MPEG-2 due to high similarities. MPEG-4 achieves higher rates of compression than MPEG-2 with more efficient coding methods and eventually became useful for rendering computer graphics. MPEG-7 falls under the ISO-IEV 15938 standard, and the MPEG-21 falls under ISO/IEC 21000 standard, defining multimedia frameworks and allows for intellectual property rights.
Here's a small, but not exhaustive list of programs that can open MPEG documents:
- Windows Media Player
- Windows Movie Maker
- VLC Video Player
- Apple iTunes
- Quicktime Player
- Adobe Flash
- Roxio
- Cyberlink video editing software
- Xilisoft Video Converter
