3GP vs MP4
Use MP4. 3GP is a cut-down version of the same file structure, designed for the small screens and slow networks of early camera phones; it plays in fewer places and was usually recorded at a very low resolution. Converting 3GP to MP4 makes old phone videos play everywhere.
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Choose 3GP when
- Sending video to a very old feature phone.
- Keeping an archive of old phone clips untouched.
Choose MP4 when
- Playing old phone videos on a computer, TV or current phone.
- Uploading them to a video site, social media or a cloud album.
- Editing them.
What 3GP actually is
3GP is a cut-down MP4 built for phones that had very little memory and networks that had very little bandwidth. It uses low resolutions and heavily compressed audio, which is why old phone recordings are small, and why they look the way they do.
Converting a 3GP does not improve it. The detail was never recorded, and upscaling only makes the file bigger.
What MP4 actually is
MP4 is a container: it holds a video stream, usually H.264, an audio stream, usually AAC, and any subtitles or chapter data, and describes how they line up. Almost every device made in the last fifteen years plays that combination in hardware, which is why MP4 became the default.
Two MP4 files can behave completely differently depending on the codecs inside. A file that will not play is usually an unusual codec in an ordinary container, not a broken file.
3GP and MP4 side by side
| 3GP | MP4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Extension | .3gp | .mp4 |
| Media type | video/3gpp | video/mp4 |
| Inside the file | H.264 Baseline video with AAC sound at 96 kbps | H.264 video with AAC sound |
| Compression | Lossy | Lossy |
| Carries sound | Yes | Yes |
| Plays on | old feature phones, VLC, and most modern players | every phone, laptop, TV, browser and messaging app |
| We can write it | Yes | Yes |
Questions
Is 3GP the same as MP4?
Closely related. Both are built on the same ISO media file structure, and 3GP is a restricted profile of it for mobile phones, which is why converting between them is quick.
Why do my 3GP videos look so blurry?
They were usually recorded at 176 × 144 or 320 × 240 pixels. Converting to MP4 makes them play everywhere, but cannot add detail that was never recorded.