EYUSUITS™
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File formats explained

A file format decides where a file plays, how big it is and how much detail it keeps. This is every format EYU SUITS reads and writes, what each one is good for, and which to pick.

Video

A video file is a container holding a picture track, one or more sound tracks and sometimes subtitles. EYU SUITS opens MP4, MKV, MOV, AVI, WEBM, M4V, MPG, WMV and FLV, and writes MP4, MKV, WEBM, MOV and AVI.

  • MP4 plays on nearly everything: phones, televisions, browsers, social platforms and editing software. If you are not sure what to choose, choose this.
  • MKV can hold many sound tracks, subtitle tracks and chapters in one file, which makes it a favourite for films and archives. Some phones, televisions and editors will not open it.
  • MOV is Apple's container. Phones and cameras often record it, editing software handles it well, and the files tend to be large.
  • WEBM is an open format made for the web. Current browsers play it, so it suits video on a website.
  • AVI is old. It plays on most Windows computers, but the files are big and it lacks what newer formats can do. Convert it to MP4 before you share it.
  • M4V, MPG, WMV and FLV are older or narrower formats. EYU SUITS reads them so that you can turn them into something current.

Audio

EYU SUITS opens WAV, MP3, FLAC, M4A, AAC, OGG, WMA, OPUS and AIFF, and writes MP3, WAV, FLAC, M4A, OGG and OPUS.

  • WAV is uncompressed: an exact copy of the sound, at about 10 MB for every minute of CD-quality stereo. The right choice for editing.
  • FLAC is lossless compression. It sounds the same as WAV and takes roughly half the space, so it is the one to keep a music collection in.
  • MP3 is lossy and small, and plays on everything made in the last twenty years. Good for sending a recording or filling a phone.
  • M4A holds AAC sound, which usually sounds better than MP3 at the same size. It plays on Apple devices and most current players.
  • OGG and OPUS are open lossy formats. Opus is especially good for speech at small sizes.
  • AAC, WMA and AIFF are the plain AAC file, Microsoft's older lossy format and Apple's uncompressed equivalent of WAV.

Images

EYU SUITS opens PNG, JPG, WEBP, GIF, BMP, TIFF, AVIF and HEIC, and writes PNG, JPG, WEBP, TIFF and BMP.

  • JPG is the format for photographs: lossy, small and understood by everything. It cannot be transparent.
  • PNG is lossless and can be transparent, so it is the one for screenshots, logos and anything with text. For photographs it is much bigger than JPG.
  • WEBP is smaller than JPG or PNG at similar quality and can be transparent. Current browsers and many apps open it.
  • AVIF is newer and often smaller still, but some older software cannot open it.
  • HEIC is what recent iPhones save photographs as. The files are small, but Windows needs an add-on to show them, so convert to JPG before you share.
  • GIF, BMP and TIFF: GIF has 256 colours and simple animation, BMP is uncompressed and huge, and TIFF is lossless and used for print and archives.

Which one should I choose?

  • A video to share anywhere: MP4.
  • A video with several languages, subtitles or chapters, kept for good: MKV.
  • A video on a website: WEBM, or MP4.
  • A recording to send or to put on a phone: MP3 or M4A.
  • Music to keep without losing anything: FLAC. Sound to edit: WAV.
  • Photographs to share: JPG. Screenshots, logos and anything transparent: PNG.
  • Pictures for a website, as small as possible: WEBP.
  • iPhone photographs to use on Windows: convert HEIC to JPG.

Convert once, from the original

A lossy file (MP4, MP3, JPG) loses a little more detail every time it is saved again, so convert from the original when you have it, and convert once. Going from a lossy file to a lossless one, such as an MP3 to FLAC or a JPG to PNG, makes the file bigger but cannot bring back what was already thrown away.

To change a format, use Convert format. To make a file smaller and keep its type, use Compress. Both run on your own computer, and nothing is uploaded.