JW Player Video Format

The JW Player supports video in the formats listed here, with file extensions listed between braces. Please note that if a format is not on the list (e.g. WMV or AVI), the JW Player does not support it.

MP4 ( .mp4, .m4v, .f4v, .mov )

Files in the MP4 container format, containing video encoded with the H.264 codec and audio encoded with the AAC codec. This is today’s format of choice, supporting the best video quality and hardware accelerated playback on a wide range of browsers and devices:

Internet Explorer 6/7/8 Flash mode
Firefox Flash mode (not in HTML5)
Chrome Flash, HTML5 modes
Internet Explorer 9 Flash, HTML5 modes
Safari Flash, HTML5 modes
Opera Flash mode (not in HTML5)
iOS (iPad/iPhone) HTML5, Download modes
Android Flash, HTML5, Download modes
BlackBerry Download mode

If you having troubling seeking within an MP4 file before it completely downloads, the cause of your problem is that the so-called MOOV atom (which contains the seeking information) is located at the end of your video. Check out this little application to parse your videos and fix it.

Both H.264 and AAC support different profiles, different levels of sophistication for encoding the video or audio. We strongly recommend you use the most basic profiles when encoding your content, since these allow for maximum compatibility with older iPhone, Android and BlackBerry devices:

  • For H.264, use the Baseline profile.
  • For AAC, use the LC (Low Complexity) profile.