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MPEG-4 Bitstream Format

Not to be confused with MPEG-4 Video, the MP4 Bitstream format is a wrapper format (similar to AVI/OGM/Matroska).

The format was licensed from Apple's QuickTime by the MPEG group as the official file format for MPEG-4 content. It should become more popular as commercial entities start shipping more MPEG-4 content.

Currently, you have two free choices for reading MP4 files:

  1. The Haali Media Splitter (which can also be used to open Matroska and OGM files).
  2. The Gabest Open Source MP4 Splitter.

With the Haali Media Splitter installed, the Gabest Open Source MP4 Splitter can not be used. So it's not advisable to have both installed on your system at once.

The most common encoding used in MP4 files is MPEG4 (video), AAC (audio), H.264 (video), AC3 (audio). Make sure to have the decoders installed, otherwise you may encounter problems playing back this format, even if you have the Gabest/Haali splitters installed. To decode MPEG4 video, your best choice is FFDShow.

For the best compatibility with QuickTime content, you should also install FFDShow with "SVQ1", "SVQ3" and "H264" codecs enabled (within FFDShow's Video Decoder Configuration page).

Download the Gabest Open Source MP4 Splitter v1.0.0.3 (Windows XP/2000/2003/Vista):
Mirror 1, Mirror 2.
MD5: CCADA3D81B201CBFC81F83C88F4BFBBE

Download the Gabest Open Source MP4 Splitter v1.0.0.3 (Windows 95/98/ME):
Mirror 1, Mirror 2.
MD5: 88393533E8A6508B2CAFB3830240D4CE