Two types of Audio files M4A and MP4, M4A is usually audio only, whereas MP4 contains audio and video streams, It is not enough to know what the acronyms mean and what they stand for; you also need to know what they do and how they work, let's look at the difference between M4A and MP4.
Learn more about AAC Vs M4A
What is M4A?
Songs purchased from the iTunes store are typically stored in audio files with an M4A extension apple, android, and windows devices all readily accept M4A files. M4A files can be played by most media players on all platforms. They are therefore a preferred format for songs to be stored on mobile devices. Despite similarities, M4A and MP4 files are not the same. Although they both make use of the MPEG4 codec, M4A files can only contain audio data, additionally, M4A files use the AAC lossy compression algorithms to reduce their file size compared to MP4 files.
Learn more about M4A Vs MP3
What is MP4?
The abbreviation MP4 stands for MPEG-4, a format that typically stores audio and video but also allows for the storage of images and subtitles. One of the most adaptable video file formats is MP4. You can post MP4 files to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, youtube, and other social media platforms. Almost all media players, including windows media player, VLC, Quicktime, iPhone, iPad, and Android, can play MP4 files. Since MP4 files can be viewed almost anywhere and even with high-quality video their file size are still manageable, and sharing them is simple.
Learn more about M4A Vs FLAC
M4A Vs MP4 | Difference between M4A and MP4
- M4A is a highly compressed format because it makes use of MPEG-4 technology, whereas MP3 uses less compression. Even at lower bitrates, M4A file sound superior to MP3 files.
- M4A is developed by ISO, However, MP4 is developed by Fraunhofer society
- The files are encoded by M4A using the lossy AAC codec. This enables the format to offer the same bitrate while achieving tighter compression than MP3, Because of this, you can play high-quality sounds with smaller files.
- The file extension of M4A is .m4a, while the MP4 extension is .mp4.
- M4A files are less compatible than MP3 files because M4 A is a more recent format. Finding MP3 music is fairly easy, and you can instantly access it on a variety of devices. Both the MPEG-DASH and HLS streaming protocols are supported.
- M4A is extended to a quick-time file format, But MP4 an extended from MP2.
- MP4 is primarily used by Apple for iTunes songs, whereas MP4 is used for existing standards for audio files.