File formats explained
What each image, video and audio format is good at, what opens it, and how to convert it.
Image formats
- JPGJoint Photographic Experts Group — photos you want to share, upload, email or print
- PNGPortable Network Graphics — screenshots, logos, graphics with text and anything that needs a transparent background
- WebPWebP — images on websites, where smaller files mean faster pages
- HEICHigh Efficiency Image Container (HEIF) — storing photos on Apple devices without filling up the storage
- AVIFAV1 Image File Format — the smallest possible web images with high quality
- GIFGraphics Interchange Format — short looping animations, reactions and simple graphics
- BMPWindows Bitmap (Device Independent Bitmap) — old Windows software, embedded devices and tools that need raw pixels
- TIFFTagged Image File Format — scans, printing, publishing and archiving at maximum quality
- SVGScalable Vector Graphics — logos, icons and illustrations that must stay sharp at any size
- ICOWindows Icon — website favicons and Windows application or shortcut icons
- PDFPortable Document Format — documents, forms, receipts and multi-page scans you send or print
Video formats
- MP4MPEG-4 Part 14 — sharing, uploading and playing video anywhere
- MOVApple QuickTime File Format — recording and editing on iPhone and Mac
- MKVMatroska Multimedia Container — movies and TV episodes with several audio and subtitle tracks
- AVIAudio Video Interleave — old camcorders, DVD players and legacy Windows software
- WebMWebM — video embedded in websites and screen recordings
- WMVWindows Media Video — old Windows Movie Maker projects and archives
- FLVFlash Video — nothing today: convert old Flash videos to MP4
- 3GP3GPP multimedia file — videos from old mobile phones
- MPGMPEG-1 / MPEG-2 Program Stream — DVDs, VCDs and older camcorders
- M4VApple MPEG-4 video — videos exported from Apple apps
- TSMPEG Transport Stream — TV recordings, AVCHD camcorders (MTS/M2TS) and streaming segments
- OGVOgg Theora video — old open-source and Wikipedia videos
Audio formats
- MP3MPEG-1 Audio Layer III — music and podcasts that must play anywhere
- WAVWaveform Audio File Format — recording, editing and mastering without quality loss
- M4AMPEG-4 Audio — music on Apple devices and voice memos
- AACAdvanced Audio Coding — efficient lossy audio, the successor to MP3
- OGGOgg Vorbis — games, open-source projects and Android
- FLACFree Lossless Audio Codec — archiving music and listening without any quality loss
- OPUSOpus Interactive Audio Codec — voice messages, calls and streaming at low bitrates
- WMAWindows Media Audio — old Windows music libraries
- AIFFAudio Interchange File Format — professional audio work on a Mac