Aw Shit Here We Go Again Mp4 Twotter

Sound is 1 of the many motivators of our twenty-four hours, whether it's that vocal that powers you through an actress rep at the gym or that podcast you like to unwind to after a long twenty-four hour period at work. Every bit audio has connected to evolve, then have digital file formats. Although it isn't the but file format, the term MP3 has go synonymous with digital music in the aforementioned way that Google has with a spider web search — not surprising, given that the file format is now more than twenty years old. In that time, information technology has been surpassed by other file formats, one of which is MP4. Simply fifty-fifty though the increase from iii to 4 in the name suggests that an MP4 is simply the next generation of MP3, there's more to it than that.

Is an MP4 file better than an MP3? Should y'all stop using MP3s? And what exactly are the differences anyhow? All splendid questions, which we volition strive to answer using as little geek-speak as possible.

What is an MP3?

Before we can tackle the differences between MP3 and MP4, let'southward practice a quick recap of an MP3 file and its uses. MP3 is a short form for MPEG-one Audio Layer 3. It was developed to give us a mode to shop audio information in digital form, but with a smaller file size than the format used by CDs at the fourth dimension. MP3s do this using a psychological trick — they commencement past taking an original, uncompressed digital sound file (like a track on a CD), and and then they selectively remove chunks of data in a way that the human ear is unlikely to notice. It's a process known as "lossy compression." Information technology's the same trick used by JPEG files to shrink the size of photos without affecting the key details that make it wait equally good as the original. The same is true for MP3 files: Though they but take upward about a 10th of the storage size as a CD sound track, most folks find them to be an adequate listening experience.

Are all MP3s the aforementioned?

Compressed vs Uncompressed Audio — Bowers & Wilkins

No, and the differences can be noticeable. When creating an MP3 from a source, whether information technology's CD or fifty-fifty vinyl, you choose a bitrate and a sample rate — these 2 values volition determine how big your MP3 volition be in terms of file size, but more importantly, how skilful information technology will sound when compared to the source you're using. Most MP3s are created with a 44.1 kHz sample charge per unit — especially when converting from CD because it'due south the same sample rate used for creating CD sound. The bitrate, on the other hand, tin be set anywhere from 8kbps to 320kbps. The difference betwixt these 2 is huge — at 8kbps, your music volition sound a little meliorate than an AM radio with poor reception. At 320kbps, virtually people will find it impossible to tell the difference between an MP3 and a CD. If file size is a large consideration — as it was when the MP3 became popular — you can go away with equally low as 128kbps earlier sound deposition becomes noticeable. 128kbps was preferred in the early on days of the MP3 format because it was compatible with near MP3 playback devices similar iPods. Still, today it would exist rare to find a digital music player that can't handle all MP3 bitrates — fifty-fifty VBR (or variable bitrate) MP3s that use dissimilar rates during different parts of the music track equally the complexity of the audio increases or decreases.

What is an MP4?

MP4 is a short form for MPEG-4 Office 14. Unlike the MP3, which is exclusively used for audio, an MP4 is a container file used to store audio, video, or other data like subtitles. This makes it a bit tricky to know exactly what an MP4 is. If you find 1 called "Rocky.mp4," is information technology the movie Rocky, or is information technology the flick's theme song? Or is it something else? To help reduce the defoliation, Apple tree decided to start using the .m4a file extension for MP4 files that only incorporate audio, while .m4v is sometimes used to indicate that it'southward a video. But since these are conventions, not rules, the only real style to know is to endeavor opening the file using an MP4-compatible media player or examining the file'south contents.

Merely what does this have to practice with MP3s, you might be wondering? An MP3 is both a file format and a codec — which means that information technology tin can simply handle audio using the lossy compression described above. Because MP4 files are containers, you can choose from several different sound codecs depending on your needs. Typically, people will use the AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) codec. It's a lossy compression codec like MP3, with the aforementioned bitrate options for quality, but information technology does a better job of preserving details and nuances in music at the aforementioned file size as an MP3. However, Apple tree'south hello-res capable lossless audio codec, ALAC, is besides an pick for MP4 files, which preserves all of the detail of a CD, or a vinyl anthology, while still keeping file sizes smaller than the original — making it a good choice for archiving music.

Which one is amend?

MP3 vs. MP4: What's the difference and which one is better?

Virtually experts would argue that an AAC-encoded MP4 audio file sounds better than a similarly sized MP3. That makes sense as AAC is a newer compression technology. However, it would assist if you lot kept in mind where and how you plan to play your music files. There are even so folks out there holding on to some pretty former portable music players that however work just fine — just these may not be uniform with the MP4/AAC format. An MP3 file is near guaranteed to piece of work on any device that plays digital music. It'due south likewise worth noting that at 320kbps, an MP3 will probably sound identical to a 320kbps MP4/AAC.

If, equally nosotros've suggested earlier, you intend to annal your digital or analog music, an MP4 using ALAC is far superior to the MP3. As a lossless format, ALAC not just preserves all of the detail of your source cloth, it even so lets you create MP3s (or MP4/AACs) anytime you like if y'all need a smaller, more portable version. The same is not truthful in contrary: In one case an MP3 has been created (and parts of the original audio data discarded in the compression process), you tin't get it back by converting it to MP4/ALAC. Doing so creates a larger file of the same quality equally the MP3.

So which 1 should I use?

If you already have a massive collection of MP3 audio files, and they've been created at 256kbps or higher, proceed 'em. The odds are adept that you lot wouldn't notice much improvement in sound quality by re-encoding your CDs using an MP4 file unless you're using some high-cease audiophile gear. On the other hand, if you're thinking of ripping new CDs from scratch, or converting analog sources to digital, an MP4 — especially 1 that uses the lossless ALAC codec — is the way to become. You lot'll have an essentially perfect digital file, which can then exist converted to your choice of lossy formats after — including MP3 if you're concerned about backward compatibility with older devices. Lossless MP4 files take up a lot more room, but if you've got the available hard drive space, they're worth it.

More than resources

If this discussion of the differences between MP3 and MP4 files has piqued your curiosity almost digital music and its many formats, nosotros've got some great resources to dive into: