MP3 is a technology that virtually every modern computer user has used or has at least heard about. It is the most popular form of audio encoding, producing small yet high-quality audio files that can be easily transmitted over the internet or distributed on portable media like cdrom-s or USB drives. But not everyone knows about MP4, which, as its name suggests, is the successor to and improvement over MP3.

If you thought portable multimedia players were only good for music, you need to think again. For nowadays it seems like audio isn’t enough. People want visuals too. Audio players are old-fashioned. What you need is a video player that you can carry with you to work, to the park, on the bus, to the rail station, the pub or coffee shop, and even on short flights. Now wherever you go, your favorite collection of movies will always be with you. Yes, I’m talking about MP4 players, the revolutionary new crop of gadgets for carrying and streaming media, a technology that finally makes it possible to distribute paid video online quickly and painlessly.

MP4 uses high-quality, intensively researched codecs to achieve great compression while retaining video quality, which can be as high as the quality experienced in DVD movies. So though the screen of the average portable MP4 player is quite small, usually between 1.5 inches and 2.5 inches diagonally, the high resolution and color capacity, combined with the enviable quality of most well-encoded MP4 videos, ensures that you shall have a satisfactory personal video-watching experience.

In order to be successful, an MP4 player must achieve the right balance between portability and functionality. You need to have all the features that make it an enjoyable experience to watch video on it, yet if it becomes too bloated in terms of size or weight it will no longer be useful as a portable multimedia companion. The average MP4 player has a disk capacity to hold around four to six full length movies, and enough battery to allow you to play video non-stop for more than a couple of hours. Yet they are small and light enough to be carried around easily in your pocket or handbag, or hung from a chain around your neck.

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