Common Gnutella Network video file formats: __ (see fuller list of video extensions here): Video File Formats (look under .m for variations of mpeg extensions.)

Recommended formats in blue:

mpg/mpeg/mpe (MPEG Video File), __ mp4 (MPEG-4 or H.264 Video File), __ dvx/divx (DivX-Encoded Movie File), __ xvid (Xvid-Encoded Video File), __ avi (Audio Video Interleave File - a containor file), __ mkv (Matroska Video containor),
mov (Apple QuickTime Movie), __ wmv (Windows Media Video File), __ rm (Real Media File), __ 3gp (3GPP Multimedia File), __ swf/flv (Macromedia ShockWave/Adobe Flash Movie),
amv (Anime Music Video File), __ m4v (iTunes Video File & is H.264 format)


* Both AVI & MOV & mkv extensions are 'containers' & can represent videos that have been formatted differently including encoded via DivX, XviD, Matroska, etc.
* MPG can represent mpeg 1 or 2 or 4 formats, but generally mpeg1 or 2.
* MOV files sometimes represent H.264 format videos, since .mov files encoded using QuickTime may represent any of the multiple QT formats.
* MOV files might not have been encoded with QuickTime, but a windows program that uses their own odd version of the file extension (such is commonly used for porn spam).


Movies should usually be 500 MB or larger. Short shows, between 150 MB or higher (generally 350 MB+).

Best Quality video formats in order of encoding efficiency & quality: (1) H.264, (2) DivX, (3) MPeg 4, (4) MPeg 2, (5) MPeg 1.
(Note: These are all 'Lossy' video formats which means saving them into these formats results in throwing away information to help them save & reduce in file size. Only as a last resort would you wish to re-save them into another lossy video format, and best to choose the highest quality option when doing so. XviD & 3ivx range in quality between standard MPeg 4 & DivX. _ DVD video uses MPeg 2 format. VCD uses MPeg 1 format & SVCD uses MPeg 2 format. Blu-ray Disc uses H.264 format. Lots of users would like to see maintaining of the original video dimensions where possible; eg: 720 x 480 (ntsc), 720 x 576 pixels (pal), or higher for HDD/widescreen. _____ VCD dimensions are much smaller; 352 x 288 Pal, 352 x 240 ntsc. SVCD = 480x480 ntsc, 480x576 pal. ___ Note: Whilst some video formats might be better than others, obviously it depends on quality settings when encoding the video as to how good the actual resultant video file is. For those encoding videos nowadays from originals, please choose original video view dimensions (eg: 720x480), a good HQ video format (eg: H.264/X.264) and high quality settings with VBR & preferably 2-pass encoding. Most people have fast speed internet connections nowadays & can download the extra larger size of higher quality videos! 1 GB plus in size no problem ... don't be shy to give it the quality it needs. ) Nowadays, a video can be converted to X.264 format at half or 1/3 the size MPeg2 could do, yet still be better quality.

If using an older DivX encoder, I'd instead recommend using MPeg Streamclip (Free) & encoding into H.264. It does a far better job than DivX. And, do not use mp3 for audio in DivX video encoding. (Besides, I've seen so many highly pixelated DivX videos, not to mention with mp3 audio which is difficult for converters to extract since mp3 is not a regular video audio format.)


Commonly spammed via formats (generally porn or rubbish): wm/wmv, _ asx (Microsoft ASF Redirector File), __ asf (Advanced Systems Format File), __ mov (those less than 150 MB in size), __ rm
(These files are generally less than 120 MB (120,000 KB) in size & not a bad idea to put this collection of extensions in word filter to remove them from search results, else be aware of their size & likely true spammed content.)


More about H.264 here _ (Click on blue link);
H.264 file extensions:
.avi -> Yes, people use .avi for H264 videos too!
.mp4 -> Nero Recode, Quicktime & MPeg Streamclip use this format. Better than AVI as you can store AAC audio as well. _ (.mp4 is also the default extension for MPeg 4 when saved via Quicktime Pro.)
.mov -> Quicktime also commonly uses this for H.264
.mkv -> Matroska container - can support many video and audio formats. Have a look here for more info. (An mkv file could contain 'any' video or audio format within, similar to avi & mov.)
.m4v -> used by various programs. This is a generic MPeg 4 format file extension. QuickTime can convert to iPod compatibility using this file extension. Handbrake exports MPeg 4 X.264 using this extension.
.h264 -> This extension is not commonly used. Maybe in the future.

Where to get H.264 codec? Check H.264 converters for encoders. By the way, X.264 = H.264. The x264 Encoder is highly regarded & presently has more advanced abilities than H.264. H.264 is already supplied for QuickTime Pro users. ___ MPeg Streamclip (Free) is a great program for converting to H.264 with more parameter control than Quicktime Pro (I suspect MPeg Streamclip actually uses X.264 due to its B-Frame abilities.) ___Handbrake (Free) is also an excellent X.264 converter if you wish to convert DVD's, etc. to X264. Just be careful, some of the advanced X264 ability encoding options are not fully compatible with all H264 players/codecs. VLC plays fine however. This is a much more advanced program than MPeg Streamclip.


Meaning of CODEC: (a) CODEC, __ (b) wikipedia definition of CODEC
No picture or sound on video playback? Check the list for Codec pack updates or players with in-built codecs to help with reliable playback (click on blue link)