Understanding recording file formats in zoom App
Zoom records can be saved in MP4, M4A, M3U, TXT, CC.VTT, and VTT formats for both local and cloud storage.
Note:
The MP4 recording format is a single-resolution, fixed-framerate format that has been added to the 3.5 and higher versions of the software to ensure better compatibility with media players. As of version 3.5, files are created using individual MP4 files, creating a multi-resolution video with variable frame rates.
How to understand Zoom recording file formats
You will see some of the following file formats automatically when you find your local recordings or view your cloud recordings in the web portal after you have found your local recordings:
- Video format: MP4
- Video[random number].mp4 is the default name of the audio/video file.
As an example: video98796876.mp4 - Format: M4A
- The default name of the audio-only file is audio[random number].m4a.
For example: audio98796876.m4a - M3U:
- It is possible to play all individual MP4 files through a playlist file (Windows only) named playback[random number].m3u by default.
Here is an example: playback98796876.m3u. - TXT:
- Text file that is named chat.txt by default. It contains the text messages that were sent during the meeting as well as those that were received. It is important to note that a chat file saved locally will include chat messages sent to everyone as well as messages sent to and from the participant who saves the file.
- CC.VTT:
- A text file containing the closed captions for the cloud recording.
- VTT:
- A text file containing the transcription of the cloud recording.
By default, each participant’s audio track will be named audio[Name][random number].m4a if separate audio tracks are recorded (local recording only). Examples include audioJohnSmith98796876.m4a.
Note:
Video recording uses about 200MB of storage per hour while screen sharing uses about 20MB. The amount of storage used depends on the resolution and type of video or screen sharing content.