The Shockwave (Flash) Format
The Shockwave format was developed by Macromedia.
The Shockwave format requires an extra component to play. This
component comes preinstalled with the latest versions of Netscape and
Internet Explorer so most people have this on their home computers.
Videos stored in the Shockwave format have the extension .swf.
The Windows Media Format
The Windows Media format is developed by Microsoft.
Windows Media is a common format on the Internet, but Windows Media
movies cannot be played on non-Windows computer without an extra (free)
component installed. Some later Windows Media movies cannot play at all
on non-Windows computers because no player is available.
Videos stored in the Windows Media format have the extension .wmv.
The MPEG Format
The MPEG (Moving Pictures Expert Group) format is the most popular
format on the Internet. It is cross-platform, and supported by all the
most popular web browsers.
Videos stored in the MPEG format have the extension .mpg or .mpeg.
The QuickTime Format
The QuickTime format is developed by Apple.
QuickTime is a common format on the Internet, but QuickTime movies
cannot be played on a Windows computer without an extra (free) component
installed.
Videos stored in the QuickTime format have the extension .mov.
The AVI Format
The AVI (Audio Video Interleave) format was developed by Microsoft.
The AVI format is supported by all computers running Windows, and by
all the most popular web browsers. It is a very common format on the
Internet, but not always possible to play on non-Windows computers.
Videos stored in the AVI format have the extension .avi.