ISO base media file format
The ISO base media file format (ISOBMFF) is a container file format that defines a general structure for files that contain time-based multimedia data such as video and audio. It is standardized in ISO/IEC 14496-12, a.k.a. MPEG-4 Part 12, and was formerly also published as ISO/IEC 15444-12, a.k.a. JPEG 2000 Part 12.
| Developed by | ISO, IEC |
|---|---|
| Initial release | February 2004 |
| Latest release | ISO/IEC 14496-12:2022 January 2022 |
| Type of format | Container format |
| Container for | Audio, video, text, data |
| Extended from | QuickTime File Format |
| Extended to | MP4, 3GP, 3G2, .mj2, .dvb, .dcf, .m21, .f4v, HEIF |
| Standard | ISO/IEC 14496-12 |
| Open format? | No |
| Free format? | No |
| Website | www |
It is designed as a flexible, extensible format that facilitates interchange, management, editing and presentation of the media. The presentation may be local, or via a network or other stream delivery mechanism. The file format is designed to be independent of any particular network protocol while enabling support for them in general.
The format has become very widely used for media file storage and as the basis for various other media file formats (e.g. the MP4 and 3GP container formats), and its widespread use was recognized by a Technology & Engineering Emmy Award presented on 4 November 2021 by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.