WHAT VIDEO FORMAT TO USE WITH 4K ON THE M2P

[Joe Herrera]

When switching my Mavic 2 Pro to shoot in 4K, what format is better? MOV or MP4? I shot at a park that is lit well at night and switched between 1080P HD and 4K, but stayed with the MOV format for both. Should I change a setting on my 4K television to see the difference between HD and 4K?

 

[GFields]

I use MP4

 

[mavic3usa]

I primarily use a mac so I go with MOV.

 

[slup]

...what format is better? MOV or MP4?

Both MOV and MP4 do not have any real effect on the encoded video qualities. They act like containers. So the choice between MOV and MP4 is simple, provided you know the application area. Based on the place where you need to play the resulting videos, you can choose between MOV and MP4 or convert one into another.

So if using MAC, MOV is safe & efficient... in case of any non-Apple devices, MP4 usually creates less compatibility issues.

Should I change a setting on my 4K television to see the difference between HD and 4K?

Check the user manual for your TV.

 

[BobaFut]

MOV is an Apple codec, so some devices may not support it (though less of an issue these days). The primary difference with MP4 is the level of compression. The HD vs 4k setting on your TV is unrelated to the codec though, so not sure what you mean. Depending on the manner of transmission, the TV will usually just display whatever resolution the external feed it's getting is. So if you are using an Apple TV, the HD vs 4K setting is there and your TV just displays whatever resolution the box sends to it.

 

[Droning on and on...]

MOV is an Apple codec, so some devices may not support it (though less of an issue these days). The primary difference with MP4 is the level of compression.

You're mistaken, my friend. MP4 and MOV (and MKV, AVI, others) are containers. They provide a way to have separate channels – streams – for different components of a multimedia presentation.

For example, in our case with DJI the container will have a video stream encoded with h.264 or H.265 compression, possibly and audio stream compressed with MP3 (DJI FPV has an on-board mike).

An MP4 file with a high quality movie will probably have an h.265 video stream, multiple AAC encoded audio streams for different languages, subtitle streams, etc. You get the idea.

The container is nothing more than a specification for structure, describing how the data is laid out, indexed, etc.

 

[Dave Maine]

As said earlier, both mov and mp4 are containers. They have nothing to do with the CODEC inside. The CODEC choices (typically h264 or H265) and their selected resolution solely determine image quality. Either can be used inside either container.