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Poll

Which one is your extension MP4 or M4a?

MP4
[ 93 ] (49.7%)
M4a
[ 94 ] (50.3%)

Total Members Voted: 258

Topic: MP4 or M4a (Read 26891 times) previous topic - next topic
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MP4 or M4a

Nnow that Itunes is for Winamp also, so i was wondering what file extension are you all using now.

MP4 or M4a

Reply #1 –
i hate the .m4a extension, .mp4 is much cooler 

but of course i am aware of the windows problem how to seperate audio-only from audio+video files
i guess to solve this we would need a mp4 version of the great oggprak tool, which can pass .ogg files with either audio-only or audio+video content to different players
grap the sources of oggprak here

maybe one of the great developers around can adopt this tool for mp4
I know, that I know nothing (Socrates)

MP4 or M4a

Reply #2 –
The reason why Apple used M4A for audio-only streams is not Windows, but they disrecommend using anything but extensions for identifying file types on Mac OS X - for reasons of interoperability.

If you want a reliable way to distinguish your AAC files from your MPEG-4 videos and have them open in different applications on Mac OS X, they must have unique extensions. Luckily, this is pretty much the same way it is on every other OS out there

MP4 or M4a

Reply #3 –
M4A.

Simply because you know what this is, imho, it should be something like this:

.M4A = MPEG 4 AAC Audio
.M4V = MPEG 4 Video
.MP4 = MPEG 4 Video + Audio


That way you'll atleast know what your getting..

In the case of just .MP4 - it can be a video file, it can be a audio file and it can be both video and audio in the same file, with the same extension. This will also be a problem for Audio/Video players, and associated file extensions.
myspace.com/borgei - last.fm/user/borgei

MP4 or M4a

Reply #4 –
Hi,

Yes, you're describing exactly the problem that Apple has run into because of the file extensions.

You can read a thorough and excellent explanation here:
http://www.arstechnica.com/reviews/01q3/me...metadata-1.html

In short, the "file extension" idea is a very bad design choice. File type metadata should be separated from file name metadata.

It's very sad to see Apple going the wrong route just because "everyone else is doing it"...

Cheers.

MP4 or M4a

Reply #5 –
Quote
In short, the "file extension" idea is a very bad design choice. File type metadata should be separated from file name metadata.


hehe, Just change .mp3 to .ogg or just delete the extension under Linux,
It will still tell u that .ogg you've renamed is MPEG layer-3

but if under Windows.....................  u know what will happen

MP4 or M4a

Reply #6 –
wtf does this mather?
get a life people.

MP4 or M4a

Reply #7 –
I think .M4A is the best choice (used to think MP4) as it clearly differentiates to the various players that it is an MPEG 4 Audio (AAC) file. No video and no guessing on the part of the audio player app. Is M4A a registered international or MIME type standard anywhere (anybody know)?

MP4 or M4a

Reply #8 –
Quote
wtf does this mather?
get a life people.



Gooood point.

MP4 or M4a

Reply #9 –
hm yes you are right

i will rename my mp4/m4a... damn all my files, it doesnt matter anyways, to .xyz now

anyone who knows a nice mass file extension changer which can change all extensions on my hd automatically

I know, that I know nothing (Socrates)

MP4 or M4a

Reply #10 –
Quote
anyone who knows a nice mass file extension changer which can change all extensions on my hd automatically

ren *.mp4 *.xyz /s

MP4 or M4a

Reply #11 –
Quote
wtf does this mather?
get a life people.

Pardon me, but I think it DOES matter. File extensions are a real problem nowadays.

If you turn off the display of file extensions in Windows, you can be fooled by VBS viruses that try to disguise as another type of file. And you'll be very confused when rogue software (like Real Player) steals your associations and changes their name.

If you turn them on for greater transparency, you run the risk of wiping them unintentionally when renaming a file. The problem is worse still if don't know/remember the original file extension, because then you won't be able to figure out how to open the file unless you identify it manually (or by trial and error).

We wouldn't have this problem with file extensions if file type metadata was stored in a different location and not shared with file name metadata.

Macintosh users are being forced into a problem that shouldn't have existed in the first place.

Cheers.

MP4 or M4a

Reply #12 –
my god the bullshit continues.
Where did i state that extentions are unimportant??
I didn't.

I said it doesn't much shit weither people use .MP4 or .M4A.
Nothing you said makes a difference in that.

MP4 or M4a

Reply #13 –
OK. Sorry, I misunderstood you. I thought you were referring to file extensions in general.

Regards.

MP4 or M4a

Reply #14 –
Quote
ren *.mp4 *.xyz /s

thanks rjamorim, once again, what would i do without you 
I know, that I know nothing (Socrates)

MP4 or M4a

Reply #15 –
Quote
thanks rjamorim, once again, what would i do without you 

I don't know, but you could always try growing up

MP4 or M4a

Reply #16 –
I know, that I know nothing (Socrates)

MP4 or M4a

Reply #17 –
Quote
If you want a reliable way to distinguish your AAC files from your MPEG-4 videos and have them open in different applications on Mac OS X, they must have unique extensions.

No, OS X doesn't need file extensions at all, as long as the application writes the metadata info. Even without an extension or metadata, the OS has ways of determining filetypes.

The reason Apple chose M4A is to maintain the naming convention of MPEG2.
M2A = MPEG2 audio
M2V = video
MP2 = audio + video

Makes sense, no? And it's a much more valid reason than picking extensions because they're "cool."

MP4 or M4a

Reply #18 –
Quote
MP2 = audio + video

MP2 = MPEG audio layer 2.

The extension for audio+video MPEG2 streams is MPG or MPEG, same as MPEG1

MP4 or M4a

Reply #19 –
Quote
No, OS X doesn't need file extensions at all, as long as the application writes the metadata info. Even without an extension or metadata, the OS has ways of determining filetypes.

I know that you can specify file type and creator, and I also know that this method - along with resource forks - is no longer used by Apple. They recommend that others move on as well, since they don't mesh well with other operating systems, other file systems and the BSD layers of Mac OS X. Thus my emphasis on reliable

Mac OS X, HFS and HFS+ supports files with two forks, and some metadata. In addition HFS+ supports an arbitrary amount of forks per file, and a good deal of metadata. However, since almost no other systems and file systems do this, and there isn't room for it within the standardised UNIX environment, it should be avoided.

Quote
The reason Apple chose M4A is to maintain the naming convention of MPEG2.
M2A = MPEG2 audio
M2V = video
MP2 = audio + video

Makes sense, no? And it's a much more valid reason than picking extensions because they're "cool."

Ah, if only it were so simple  The convention seems to be:
  • M2A = MP2 = MPEG-1 layer 2 audio
  • M2V = raw MPEG-2 video
  • MP4 = MPEG-4 file containing any combintion of MPEG-4 video, audio and systems tracks
  • M4A = MPEG-4 file containing nothing but AAC
  • M4V = raw MPEG-4 video

MP4 or M4a

Reply #20 –
Ah, yes. I forgot MP2 is layer 2 audio, as rjamorin said.

Well, now we have the opportunity to clean up this mess with MPEG4. Let's get it right and use M4A for audio-only MPEG4 files.

MP4 or M4a

Reply #21 –
Is it wise to restrict oneself to audio and video? What about video+subtitles or audio+chapters or, uhm,  subtitles+chapters (is it even possible?)... 

MP4 or M4a

Reply #22 –
I agree with you negritot.

We should be using:

.M4A = MPEG 4 AAC Audio
.M4V = MPEG 4 Video
.MP4 = MPEG 4 Video + Audio
.M4P = DRM (Protected) content version of MPEG 4 Audio (Apple iTunes flavor)

I personally have had too many problems trying to play .MP4 audio files with various media players. Many of the them think it's a movie and try to play it as a video and error out. Thats why I like the .M4A extension.

I really believe in standards and using them to achieve broad compatibility between various hardware and software devices. Just like .MP3 is widely accepted and popular, .M4A/.MP4 should be broadly accepted and popular very soon.

With all the announcements in the last few days from Apple, HP, RealNetworks and IBM, it looks like MPEG 4 Audio will be with us for a while 

MP4 or M4a

Reply #23 –
Quote
Is it wise to restrict oneself to audio and video? What about video+subtitles or audio+chapters or, uhm,  subtitles+chapters (is it even possible?)... 

The extension is .mkv

Anyway extensions are a good idea because they maximize interoperability between OSes which is infinately more important/useful than worring about file system esthetics.

MP4 or M4a

Reply #24 –
What about something like:
.audio.mp4
.video.mp4
or something similar?
Juha Laaksonheimo