Music is no exception.  For years, MP3′s were the standard for music files.  Then that all changed as more extensions were developed and released.  Suddenly MP3′s weren’t the only things available.  One of the extensions that came around was MP4.

MP3 and MP4 sure sound similar, one might just assume MP4 is the next step for MP3, but that is not the case.  In fact, they are rather different, with distinct histories and uses.

Let’s examine the difference between mp3 and mp4 by looking at what each file extension is individually.

MP3

MP3 is short for MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3.  It is used for audio and uses a compression algorithm that introduces loss, meaning it is a “lossy” compression format.  It is one of the most commonly used audio formats available and has been the standard for quite some time.

Uncompressed audio files are rather large, just look at any WAV file.  This is because sound is very complex and the translation of it into a digital format that a computer can understand takes a lot of data.

MP3 works to make file sizes smaller by using what is called psychoacoustic models.  They get rid of data that most people would not hear because it is too low or high.  By doing this, files sizes can be greatly reduced.  A 128 kbit/s MP3 file is about 1/11^th the size of the corresponding file on an uncompressed CD.

MP4

MP4 is short for MPEG-4 Part 14.  MP4 is based on MPEG-4 Part 12 which was in turn based on Apple’s MOV file type.  MP4 is a container format, meaning it is used to store audio and/or video data, rather than to code the information.  MP4 video and audio can also be streamed over the internet.  This is also true of most other modern container formats.

Because MP4 is a container format, it does not have a standard method of coding the audio or video information.  Instead, codecs dictate how the audio or video will be coded and possibly compressed.  For audio, Advanced Audio Coding, or AAC, is the most popular codec for compressing audio for transfer on the internet.

So What’s the Difference Then?

From these two descriptions, we can note a few major differences.  First, MP3 is an audio compression format used to compress and store audio on a computer.  MP4 is a media container format used to store media of many possible types on a computer.

Therefore, an MP3 file is limited with regard to the method of compression and can only store audio.  MP4 on the other hand, can store video as well as audio.  It can even store subtitles for a video file.  Also, since MP4 is a container, it can store audio and video that have been compressed in different fashions.  In fact, an MP4 file could be audio that has been compressed as an MP3.

These differences make it so that a program that plays an MP3 cannot necessarily play an MP4 and vice versa.  The same goes for portable music players, though there are plenty of software options and portable players out there that can play both, for example Winamp.

Both formats have their uses and things that they are better at than the other.  Do you have any opinions on what each format does better?  Let us know in the comments below.

If you’ve cracked your PSP, you can get nearly all films working on your device, but otherwise, your movie watching is entirely limited to MP4 files.

Today we’ll have a detailed look at PSP movies, and lay out the different possibilities for obtaining them; download sources and convertion.

Downloading Free Movies For PSP Via Movie Portals

As a rule, the easiest thing to do is find like-minded people who have already gone through all the trouble. There are a number of PSP movie portals to be found on the internet, loaded with PSP-compatible films.

Depending on the content you download and the country you live in, these sites can be completely legal, or punishable by law. If you’re unsure about the content you’re about to download, you should check the laws in your country of residence.

At all times, you should watch out for fake websites offering downloads in exchange for your credit card number.

Daily PSP Video

Daily PSP Video frequently uploads new MP4 clips. These include funny shorts, wicked commercials and music videos. All content on the site ought to be legal, and hardly ever lasts longer than a few minutes.

The files are hosted on a local server, allowing direct download without an account on file sharing websites.

PSP Mafia