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The 3GP Video file format

The 3GP format is known as a multimedia container created by the 3GPP project ("Third Generation Partnership Project") to use video and audio in a mode compatible with 3G mobile devices (eg iPhone). Non-3G phones (2G and 4G) are also capable of playing these files (with some limitations). 3GP files can be edited, transmitted and viewed on mobile devices with video capture capability. The Playstation 3 and Nintendo DSi game consoles are capable of playing and transferring these files to and from USB devices. 3G2 file is similar to 3GP, however there are differences in limitations and extensions.

Technical details of 3GP files

The 3GP format is based on the MPEG-14 structure. At the same time, the bandwidth and storage requirements for 3GP have been reduced, allowing phone users to transfer, edit and save files on the Internet. Video components are stored in MPEG-4 Part 2, H.263 or MPEG-4 Part 10 (AVC / H.264) format. In this case, the audio is stored in the AMR-WB, AMR-WB +, AMR-NB, AAC-LC, HE-AAC v1 or Enhanced aacPlus (HE-AAC v2) format. 3GPP files can use the AMR and H.263 codecs, which are stored in the ISO base media file, as they define the master record as well as the new boxes used by the codecs for reference. The Playstation 3 console can encode audio to the MPEG-4 AAC codec for transferring 3GP files to a USB device. The Nintendo DSi console also supports the use of 3GP files via SD cards.

More information about the 3GP file format

Contrary to popular belief, different media formats do not represent different technologies, but are so-called “containers”. File packages that contain slightly modified versions of the main types of media content - video, audio, and text.

Various layouts of media formats are required for correct display on different types reproducing players or for optimal provision of the data transfer protocol over local and global networks.

In this context, the 3GP format is a “product kit” for powering (from the English Feed) mobile devices with significantly lower processor power, limited disk space for data storage.

An important point is the high cost of Internet traffic. Video files are very heavy, reaching hundreds of megabytes. If you send an episode of the series on the worldwide network, this can significantly empty the user's balance.

Features of 3GP video format

To reduce the volume of video files, the visual series in the 3GP protocol contains a lower number of frames per second, a lower image resolution. Due to the introduction of such restrictions, the weight of a 3GP video file can be ten times less than a high-definition video.

For example, a full-length one and a half hour movie in HD quality would require approximately 1GB of disk space, while the same movie in 3GP would only require 150MB. Feel the difference, as they say.

It is quite natural that due to all these limitations, the quality of the image and soundtrack suffers greatly. And if the video in 3GP is played on the screen of a widescreen plasma TV, the impression will be the most lamentable.

But when a user watches TV series on a small screen of a smartphone or in a book format of a tablet, HD and six-channel stereo sound become overkill.

The limitations of the mobile devices themselves come into play. Even if you play HD video on a smartphone, all the riot of colors and the volume of sound is forcibly cut off. Otherwise, the low-power smartphone processor will simply freeze forever with the inscription "Not enough memory to complete the process."

Consumer benefits of 3GP format

Imagine embarking on a long journey through railroad... Alternatively - a weekend at the dacha.

Quite romantic, but modern man so used to the comfort of the high-tech world. Without a smartphone and the Internet, we feel like without trousers.

In a short time of rest, the summer resident will want to be distracted and relaxed. And in this situation, a mobile computer comes to the rescue. On an external memory card, you can load a whole film library and a collection of your favorite music albums. It is enough to plunge into the adventures of a brave and handsome detective from Nevsky Prospekt for the whole day (30 episodes, 45 minutes each).

What does 3GP stand for

There are two versions of the acronym decoding.

From the English Third Generation Partnership Project - the Partnership Project of the Third Generation - a working group engaged in the development of various useful "gadgets" for mobile devices.

And the popular name is 3dr Generation for mobile Phones - a protocol for third generation mobile phones.

Video format for dynamic users

Today even the cheapest Cell Phones almost always contain the function of playing video saved to an additional SD card. So the described format is simply irreplaceable for those who like watching movies and listening to music anytime, anywhere.

If there is a computer installed antivirus software can scan all files on the computer, as well as each file separately... You can scan any file by right-clicking on the file and selecting the appropriate option to scan the file for viruses.

For example, in this figure, file my-file.3gp, then you need to right-click on this file, and select the option from the file menu "Scan with AVG"... Selecting this option will open AVG Antivirus that will scan this file for viruses.

Sometimes an error can result from incorrect installation software , which may be due to a problem encountered during the installation process. It may interfere with your operating system link your 3GP file to the correct application software influencing the so-called "File extension associations".

Sometimes simple reinstalling VLC Media Player may solve your problem by linking 3GP with VLC Media Player correctly. In other cases, problems with file associations can result from poor software programming developer and you may need to contact the developer for further assistance.

Advice: Try updating VLC Media Player to latest version to make sure the latest patches and updates are installed.

It may seem too obvious, but often the 3GP file itself may be causing the problem... If you received the file as an attachment Email or downloaded it from a website and the download process was interrupted (e.g. power outage or other reason), the file may be damaged... If possible, try getting a fresh copy of the 3GP file and try opening it again.

Carefully: A damaged file can cause collateral damage to previous or pre-existing malware on your PC, so it is very important that you have an updated antivirus running on your PC at all times.

If your file is 3GP related to the hardware on your computer to open the file you may need update device drivers related to this equipment.

This problem usually associated with types of media files that depend on the successful opening of the hardware inside the computer, for example, sound card or video card... For example, if you are trying to open an audio file but cannot open it, you may need to update sound card drivers.

Advice: If, when you try to open a 3GP file, you get SYS file related error message, the problem could probably be related to damaged or outdated device drivers that need to be updated. This process can be facilitated by using driver update software such as DriverDoc.

If the steps did not solve the problem and you are still having problems opening 3GP files, it may be related to lack of available system resources... Some versions of 3GP files may require a significant amount of resources (eg memory / RAM, processing power) to open properly on your computer. This problem occurs quite often if you are using fairly old computer hardware and at the same time a much newer operating system.

This problem can occur when the computer has a hard time completing a task, as the operating system (and other services running in the background) can consume too many resources to open 3GP file... Try closing all applications on your PC before opening 3GPP Media File. By freeing up all the available resources on your computer, you will provide the best conditions for trying to open the 3GP file.

If you completed all the steps above and your 3GP file still won't open, you may need to run equipment upgrade... In most cases, even with older hardware versions, the processing power may still be more than adequate for most custom applications (unless you're doing a lot of CPU-intensive work like 3D rendering, financial / scientific modeling, or heavy multimedia work) ... Thus, it is likely that your computer does not have enough memory(more commonly referred to as "RAM", or random access memory) to perform the task of opening a file.

A natural and logical stage in the development of mobile communications is the ability to transmit and watch videos on mobile phones. Currently, almost all mobile devices are equipped with built-in cameras with the ability to record and play video files. The video format used in this case is based on the MP4 / 3gp protocol, but this does not mean at all that modern phones cannot understand other formats for presenting video data. Videos take up much more space than audio files or pictures. This leads to the fact that the video has to be highly compressed.

Mobile video usually has the following resolutions:

Also in many modern devices there is a possibility of recording and playback of Full HD format.

Examples of mobile video formats:

MP4

Is an abbreviation for MPEG-4 Part 14. This format can also be referred to as MPEG-4 AVC, where AVC stands for Advanced Video Coding. As the name suggests, it is designed to work with video files and was first proposed in 1998. MP4 is a container format that allows you to combine audio, video, subtitles and pictures in one file. Video files of this standard have the extension * .mp4 and * .3gp. All players capable of playing MP4 can play 3GPP and vice versa.

3GP

* .3GP (3GPP file format) is a multimedia container defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) for 3G UMTS multimedia services. Many modern mobile phones (not necessarily 3G) have the functions of recording and viewing audio and video in 3GP format.

This format is a simplified version of the ISO 14496-1 Media Format, which is similar to the MOV used by QuickTime. The finished video clips in 3GP have a small size compared to similar videos in other formats, however, this is justified by a rather low quality, for example, often many frames are presented in the form of colored squares. 3GP is a special case of MP4 Video. This standard has come into use relatively recently, thanks to Philips, which has made a lot of efforts to adapt the MPEG-4 standard for streaming.

The 3GPP standard has become the main standard in camera phones with the ability to record video. Initially, it was the basic one in SonyEricsson smartphones; for them, a special software for viewing was even developed by PacketVideo - PVPlayer, which allows you to play video in full screen. Currently, this player is available for almost all smartphones based on Symbian and Windows Mobile operating systems, as well as for PocketPC-class PDAs.

The advantages of the format include the fact that if the size of the original picture does not match, it is automatically converted to the size supported by the phone. However, the quality of the videos is very low. initially, this format was intended for quick recording of video material using the built-in camera, subsequent viewing and sending as an attachment in MMS (limited to 100 Kb).

Poor video quality is due to low resolution picture, which can be either QCIF (176 × 144) or sub-QCIF (128 × 96), low frame rate - no more than 15 per second, and features of sound recording. The sound accompanying the video fragment can be recorded in AMR format (maximum stream 12.2 kbps), or WB AMR (stream 23.05 kbps).

Comparative characteristics of MP4 and 3GP formats

As you can see from this table, MP4 seems to be better than 3GP, which is true. Videos recorded in this format are of much higher quality. The only advantage of these formats is the small size of the resulting video, which, most likely, will be obtained by converting from other, higher quality formats.

Other formats

Output

Thus, we can say that a modern mobile device is so versatile that it replaces a camera, mp3 player, and video playback device. But, nevertheless, you need to be aware that video for mobile phones should weigh much less than video for a computer. In this regard, the question arises of converting video into formats that are more convenient for use on mobile devices. For example, these can be 3GP and MP4 formats.

Have a problem opening .GP files? We collect information about file formats and can explain what 3GP files are. Additionally, we recommend the programs that are most suitable for opening or converting such files.

What is the 3GP file format for?

Files with extension .3gp are multimedia containers for creating, storing and delivering audio and video data on mobile devices. They reduce the size of the original media files and thus minimize the use of bandwidth and storage space.

The 3GP file extension refers to the "third generation" of high-speed communication networks, which allows rich multimedia content to be transported quickly and efficiently. As the extension itself indicates, files .3gp used mainly on wireless devices third generation, although they are also supported by some 2G and 4G phones.



Unlike some popular video formats, 3GP allows you to save audio and video streams in a single file. Typically, video is stored in MP4 format and audio is in AMR format.

If you are looking for a way to open those created with mobile phone video .3gp on a computer, or vice versa, to copy your favorite DVD movies to a 3GP-compatible phone, you can install a special software player or video converter.

Software to open or convert 3GP files

You can open 3GP files with the following programs: 

File extension	.3gp
File category
Example file	(1.6 MiB)
Related programs	Adobe Flash Professional Windows Media Player QuickTime Player VLC Media Player Nokia Suite