All You Need to Know about WebM Format

WebM format was first introduced by Google in 2010. Since this video format is based on the Matroska container, it manages to support great video quality. As for the audio streams, it supports Vorbis audio. WebM format is initially designed for web as this format is supported in HTML5. The video streams of this format are compressed using VP8 or VP9 video codecs. Our support team receives many questions concerning WebM as it is the default output format in Icecream Screen Recorder. Therefore, we decided to write this review in an attempt to answer all of the most asked questions about WebM.

Why WebM?

WebM format provides excellent quality for video files. In addition to that, the playback of this video format is effortless, so the videos in this format can be easily played even on machines with low technical characteristics. This format is perfect for online streaming, and it’s free!

WebM support

WebM format is supported by Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Opera, and Microsoft Internet Explorer browsers. In addition to that, WebM video files can be uploaded to YouTube, which is one of the most important questions for plenty of users running a YouTube channel. Also, popular messengers such as Skype and ooVoo are compatible with this format. This is not a full list of the programs and services supporting this format; among others are CoreCodec, Grab Media, Sorenson media, Tixeo soft, Ffmpeg, Adobe Flash Player, Oracle Java, and many others.

WebM vs. MP4

The major difference between these two formats are the video codecs used. WebM uses VP8 or VP9 while MP4 is based upon H.264. Quality-wise, VP8 is better than H.264.

As for the size of the file, both formats provide relatively similar compression, so the difference in the sizes of the same files of MP4 and WebM formats is not that significant. However, WebM files tend to be a bit smaller than MP4 files.

Another big question is the difference between the total number of devices and programs that support WebM and MP4. There is no doubt that MP4 format is more popular today and it is supported by plenty of smartphones whereas WebM is only supported by Android. The same can be said about software for the playback and editing of the files.

WebM vs. MKV

MKV is a direct alternative to both MP4 and WebM, which means that we can’t really say that a WebM and an MKV file differ from each other a lot when it comes to quality for example, but there is still a difference between WebM and MKV.

MKV is an open-standard free format that supports all sorts of codecs. You most probably wouldn’t need to install any codec packs to work with MKV which you might have to do with WebM files, as those codecs that are used by MKV are way more popular with media programs. You won’t need a specific MKV player or converter. Another great superiority of MKV is that it supports AVC (Advanced Video Coding) also referred to as H.264, and this codec is used for HD.

Media players to open WebM format

WebM video files can be opened in the most popular media players:

• VLC;
• KM Player;
• Media Player Classic;
• Winamp;
• jetAudio Basic;
• Moovida Core;
• Perian; and
• XMBC.

Examples of video editing software to edit WebM files

• Free Video Editor by DVDVideoSoft;
• Filmora Video Editor; and
• Free Video Dub.

WebM is a great video format that offers high-quality videos, is relatively compact in size, and is perfect for video streaming and using with YouTube.