> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.probe.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Container Formats
> Complete reference of supported container formats
## Supported Container Formats
Container formats (also called wrappers or muxers) define how audio, video, subtitle, and metadata streams are stored together in a single file. Probe.dev supports analysis of all major container formats.
| Format | Description |
| ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| ac3 | Raw Dolby AC-3 |
| act | Actions Semiconductor Audio |
| adts | Raw ADTS AAC |
| aiff | Audio Interchange File Format |
| amr | 3GPP Adaptive Multi-Rate |
| ape | Monkey's Audio |
| asf | Advanced / Active Streaming Format |
| au | Sun AU |
| avi | Audio Video Interleaved |
| caf | Apple Core Audio Format |
| cavs | Raw Chinese AVS |
| cctv\_dat | CCTV DAT Video |
| cctv\_ivf | IFV CCTV DVR |
| dds | DirectDraw Surface |
| dhav | Video DAV |
| dirac | Raw SMPTE VC-2 / Dirac |
| dnxhd | Raw SMPTE VC-3 / DNxHD |
| dpx | Digital Picture Exchange |
| dsf | DSD Stream File |
| dts | Digital Theater Systems |
| dv | Raw Digital Video |
| ea | Electronic Arts Multimedia |
| eac3 | Raw Dolby E-AC-3 |
| flac | FLAC |
| flic | FLI/FLC/FLX animation |
| flv | Flash Video |
| gxf | General eXchange Format |
| h263 | Raw H.263 |
| h264 | Raw H.264 / AVC / MPEG-4 AVC / MPEG-4 part 10 |
| hevc | Raw HEVC |
| iv8 | IndigoVision 8000 video |
| ivf | On2 IVF |
| jpeg2000 | Raw JPEG 2000 |
| lvf | Liberty Variance Format |
| lxf | VR native stream |
| matroska | Matroska / WebM |
| mlp | Raw Meridian Lossless Packing |
| mp3 | MPEG audio layer 3 |
| mpeg | Raw MPEG Video |
| mpeg4 | QuickTime / MOV / MPEG-4 Part 14 |
| mpeg4video | Raw MPEG-4 part 2 / MPEG-4 Visual |
| mpegps | MPEG Program Stream |
| mpegts | MPEG-2 Transport Stream |
| musepack7 | Musepack SV8 |
| musepack8 | Musepack SV7 |
| mxf | Material Exchange Format |
| nsv | Nullsoft Streaming Video |
| nuppelvideo | MythTV NuppelVideo |
| ogg | Ogg |
| openmg | Sony OpenMG audio |
| pmp | Playstation Portable PMP |
| png | Portable Network Graphics |
| pva | TechnoTrend PVA |
| qcp | QCP |
| realmedia | RealMedia |
| rk\_audio | RK Audio |
| sami | SAMI subtitle format |
| scc | Scenarist Closed Captions |
| shockwave | ShockWave Flash |
| shorten | Raw Shorten |
| srt | SubRip subtitle format |
| tak | Raw Tom's lossless Audio Kompressor |
| truehd | Raw Dolby TrueHD |
| tta | True Audio |
| twinvq | Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) TwinVQ |
| ty | TiVo Ty |
| usm | Criware USM |
| vc1 | Raw VC-1 |
| wav | Waveform Audio |
| wave64 | Sony Wave64 |
| wavpack | Raw WavPack |
| yuv4mpeg2 | YUV4MPEG2 |
## Container Categories
**MP4 (MPEG-4)** - Universal container for web and mobile\
**WebM (Matroska)** - Open format optimized for web\
**HLS (MPEG-TS)** - HTTP Live Streaming segments\
**DASH** - Dynamic Adaptive Streaming
**MXF** - Material Exchange Format for broadcast\
**GXF** - General eXchange Format\
**DNxHD** - Avid's high-quality format\
**ProRes** - Apple's professional codec container
**AVI** - Audio Video Interleaved (Windows legacy)\
**MOV** - QuickTime Movie (Apple legacy)\
**MPEG-PS** - Program Stream for DVD/broadcast\
**ASF/WMV** - Windows Media formats
**FLAC** - Free Lossless Audio Codec\
**MP3** - MPEG audio layer 3\
**WAV** - Waveform Audio\
**OGG** - Open container for Vorbis
## Common Use Cases
### Web & Mobile Distribution
* **MP4** - Best compatibility across devices and browsers
* **WebM** - Optimized for modern web browsers
* **HLS (.m3u8/.ts)** - Adaptive streaming for live/VOD
### Professional Production
* **MXF** - Broadcast and professional video production
* **MOV** - High-quality production (especially Apple ecosystems)
* **AVI** - Legacy production workflows
### Archival & Storage
* **Matroska (.mkv)** - Open format with extensive codec support
* **MP4** - Long-term compatibility and wide support
* **MXF** - Professional archival standard
## Format Selection Guide
### For Web Streaming
```
MP4 (H.264 + AAC) - Universal compatibility
WebM (VP9 + Opus) - Modern browsers, smaller files
HLS (MPEG-TS) - Live streaming and adaptive delivery
```
### For Professional Workflows
```
MXF - Broadcast and enterprise
MOV (ProRes) - High-quality production
DNxHD - Avid/professional editing
```
### For Long-term Storage
```
MP4 - Best long-term compatibility
MKV - Open format, extensive codec support
AVI - Legacy compatibility (not recommended for new content)
```
## Technical Characteristics
### Streaming Support
| **Format** | **Live Streaming** | **Adaptive** | **Subtitles** | **Chapters** |
| ------------ | ------------------ | ------------ | ------------- | ------------ |
| **MP4** | Limited | No | Yes | Yes |
| **HLS (TS)** | Excellent | Yes | Yes | Limited |
| **WebM** | Good | Limited | Yes | Yes |
| **Matroska** | Limited | No | Excellent | Excellent |
### Codec Compatibility
| **Format** | **Video Codecs** | **Audio Codecs** | **Max Streams** |
| ---------- | ----------------- | ---------------- | -------------------- |
| **MP4** | H.264, H.265, AV1 | AAC, MP3, AC3 | Unlimited |
| **WebM** | VP8, VP9, AV1 | Vorbis, Opus | Multiple |
| **AVI** | Most codecs | Most codecs | 2 (1 video, 1 audio) |
| **MKV** | All codecs | All codecs | Unlimited |
## Container Analysis Examples
### Basic Container Detection
```bash theme={null}
curl -G https://api.probe.dev/v1/probe/file \
--data-urlencode "token=${PROBE_API_TOKEN}" \
--data-urlencode "only=mediainfo" \
--data-urlencode "url=https://example.com/video.mp4"
```
### Detailed Stream Analysis
```bash theme={null}
curl -G https://api.probe.dev/v1/probe/file \
--data-urlencode "token=${PROBE_API_TOKEN}" \
--data-urlencode "only=ffprobe" \
--data-urlencode "url=https://example.com/video.mkv" \
--data-urlencode "ffprobe[show_format]=true" \
--data-urlencode "ffprobe[show_streams]=true"
```
## Best Practices
### Container Selection
1. **Choose based on distribution method** - Web, broadcast, or production
2. **Consider codec compatibility** - Not all containers support all codecs
3. **Think about future needs** - Expandability and format longevity
4. **Account for target devices** - Player/device compatibility
### Quality Considerations
* **Overhead** - Some containers add more metadata overhead
* **Seek performance** - Index structure affects scrubbing/seeking
* **Streaming efficiency** - Fragmentation and structure impact streaming
* **Error resilience** - Some formats handle corruption better
## Troubleshooting
### Common Container Issues
| **Issue** | **Cause** | **Solution** |
| ------------------ | ----------------------- | --------------------------------- |
| Playback fails | Unsupported container | Check device/player compatibility |
| Poor seeking | Missing index | Re-mux with proper indexing |
| Large file size | Inefficient container | Choose more efficient format |
| Streaming problems | Non-streaming container | Use streaming-optimized format |
### Container Validation
```bash theme={null}
# Check if container is streaming-optimized
ffprobe -show_format video.mp4 | grep "start_time\|duration"
# Verify container integrity
ffprobe -v error -show_entries format=format_name video.mp4
```
Container format choice significantly impacts compatibility, streaming performance, and file size. Choose the appropriate format based on your specific use case and target platforms.