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MPEG vs MP3: What’s the Difference and Which Format Is Better?

MPEG stands for Moving pictures experts group. MP3 stands for MPEG-1 Audio layer 3. The majority of people are very familiar with the file format MPEG and MP3. As the formats for encoding them, these two are utilised in media players. The kind of media they are used is the primary difference between MPEG and MP3. MPEG is a standard that deals with both audio and video and how they are compressed or modified in order to obtain a desirable balance between size and quality. In contrast, MP3 only works with audio, more specifically, lossy audio files, which quickly gained popularity with the advent of portable music players, also known as MP3 players. Now let us have deep insight into the comparison and difference between MPEG and MP3.


What is MPEG?

The moving pictures experts group called MPEG was founded in 1998. It had only 500 members at first, but as MPEG's popularity grew, the group's membership grew as well. Compressing and sending media files of the audio and video variety was their primary goal. Audio and video files were compressed using MPEG to make them more portable on storage devices. However, the quality of the file is unaffected by the file's size compression. It's still there. It appears that CDs and VCDs are where these compressed files are kept.

Key Features of MPEG:
  • It supported both audio and video. 
  • It offers high compression with good quality. 
  • It is used in streaming services, DVDs, cameras, and mobile devices. 
  • It is more flexible and advanced than older formats. 

What is MP3?

A more compact version of the large-format MPEG is MP3. Its abbreviation is MPEF-1 audio layer 3. The primary objective of the MP3 introduction was the compression of audio files only. This is the MPEG-1 component that handles audio-only media files separately. Lossy audio files are compressed and managed using MP3 for storage in media players. The portable media players that were well known at the time MP3 was introduced could only store compressed files in this format. Other formats, like AAC and WMA, have taken their place.

Key Features of MP3:
  • It is only audio format.
  • It is small file sizes.
  • It is supported by all devices and media players.
  • It is lower quality than modern formats like AAC or FLAC. 

MPEG Vs MP3 | Difference between MPEG and MP3

Meaning

MPEG stands for Moving pictures experts group. MP3 stands for MPEG-1 Audio layer 3 and is a part of the larger MPEG format.

Released Date

MPEG was released in 1998, and MP3 was released in 1991.

Aim

The main aim of MPEG was to set a standard for audio and video compression for ease in the portability of these files through VCDs and DVDs. The file size was reduced such that they could fit in the file size of CDs.

Deal with

Both MPEG and MP3 deal with audio files. The difference between the two arises since MPEG also deals with video files but that is not possible for MP3. On the other hand, MP3 was aimed at patented encoding format of transmission and compression of audio files.

Main usage

MPEG was widely used for media file management and compression so that the files could be managed to a desired size without sacrificing the media file's quality. While lossy audio files that became popular during the era of portable music players were compressed using MP3.

Popularity

MPEG still has widespread use even if there have been many advanced compression to take over the job. While MP3 has been replaced by more recent versions like MP4 and has been put on hold, MPEG is still widely used for the compression of media files.

Thank you for reading this article. Still, if you have any questions or queries in your mind on the MPEG Vs MP3 then please ask us in the comment section below.

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