Video Format Comparison

MP4 vs FLV: The Only Rational Choice Is MP4

FLV was the undisputed king of web video from 2005 to 2015. YouTube, Vimeo, and every streaming site ran on Flash Video. Adobe Flash Player's death certificate was signed when Steve Jobs banned Flash from the iPhone in 2010. Adobe officially ended Flash Player on December 31, 2020. FLV has been dead since then — convert your FLV files to MP4 and move on.

MP4vsFLV

Quick Verdict

Use MP4 when…

Use MP4 for everything. Always. There is no modern use case for FLV.

Use FLV when…

FLV is a legacy-only format. Convert all FLV files to MP4. Do not create new content in FLV.

MP4 vs FLV: Feature Comparison

Feature	MP4	FLV
Browser support	HTML5 video — universal	Requires Flash Player — dead
iOS / Android	Native support	Not supported
Smart TVs	Universal	Not supported
Video codecs	H.264, H.265, AV1, VP9	Sorenson H.263, VP6, H.264 (limited)
Upload to platforms	Accepted everywhere	Rejected everywhere
Status	Active standard	Dead format

When MP4 wins

✓Browser support: HTML5 video — universal
✓iOS / Android: Native support
✓Smart TVs: Universal

When FLV wins

✓Browser support: Requires Flash Player — dead
✓iOS / Android: Not supported
✓Smart TVs: Not supported

Frequently asked questions

How do I play FLV files in 2024?

VLC Media Player (free, all platforms) plays FLV files. FFmpeg can also decode FLV. For a 2024 workflow, convert all FLV to H.264 MP4: ffmpeg -i input.flv -c:v libx264 -c:a aac output.mp4

What replaced FLV?

MP4 with H.264 video replaced FLV for on-demand video. HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) replaced RTMP Flash streaming for live video. The HTML5 <video> element with MP4 and WebM support made Flash/FLV completely unnecessary by 2015.