This research was sponsored by Plotaverse, an innovative NFT creator kit that provides a suite of iOS mobile, desktop and web applications to help artists create in the field of Motion Art.

2021 has been a year of previously obscure technologies becoming buzzwords. An estimated 200 million people became first time cryptocurrency users and the word “NFT” was the Collins Dictionary’s Word of the Year for 2021.

Having trouble keeping up? We understand. In this blog, we dive into another technology that is about to make waves. It’s actually older than you think, but don’t be surprised if it’s the buzzword of 2022 in the world of digital art and NFTs.

You probably recall MP3 audio files from the dawn of the iPod and its competitors in the early 2000s. Now let’s talk about MP4 technology.

What Is an MP4 File?

Simply stated, an MP4 file is a file that ends with an .mp4 file extension. MP4 files are suited for storing video and audio data, and can also be used to store other data such as subtitles and still images. MP4 files can also be used for other types of content such as 3D graphics, menus and user interaction.

This makes it a really useful digital storage container format and also gives it multiple abilities such as streaming or playback.

This format was first used back in 2001 and is based off of a similar format used on Apple QuickTime, which was a video file format used between 1991 and 2018.

It’s in The Data

MP4 files are generally rich in metadata, as compared to JPEG files, which usually have very little.

What is metadata? It actually has nothing to do with “Meta”, the new name of Facebook, or the so-called “metaverse”. “Meta” in this case refers to something that is behind, after or beyond. In the case of the metaverse, this would be a virtual world beyond our world. In the case of metadata, this would actually be the data behind or beyond the data.

Metadata is “data that provides information about other data”, but not the content of the data, such as the text of a message or the image itself. In relation to computer files, this would be all the data about the file.

Under The Hood

• MP4 files are an open standard that can be used by everyone. They are supported by numerous different types of operating systems, which makes the file format very compatible and versatile, something that is unique in the field of video and audio formats.
• MP4 files are compatible and used with Mac, Windows and Linux operating systems.
• The MP4 format is ideal for capturing high motion content without showing any sort of motion blur, making it suitable for all types of video recording.
• The file format has a high degree of compression so it produces files with smaller size when compared to other formats. This reduced file size also doesn’t immediately translate into quality loss, and the format retains almost the same quality as the original.

A Better Way to Make NFTs?

Digital Art JPEGs that are minted (created) as non-fungible tokens or NFTs have become a worldwide phenomena in the past year. However there is one big problem — anyone, anywhere can copy a JPEG with a right click and immediately impersonate an artist. This has been a massive debate all year, and is not likely to stop anytime soon.

While the blockchain technology programming side has its own problems and solutions, from a file protocol side, MP4 technology is simply superior to JPEGs. They are far more secure from the metadata perspective.

All motion art files in the Plotaverse application are MP4 files, so they cannot be right-clicked and copied.

Plotaverse

Plotaverse is an NFT creative kit and ecosystem with over 11 million downloads on its iOS applications. Plotaverse was created by world-renowned visionary photographer Troy Plota and is an advance in the field of motion art. It aims to ignite the technologies of digital art, NFTs and MP4 technology, adding a layer of security to digital art not available with JPEGs.

Plotaverse recently re-launched its iOS mobile app, and is in the process of adding support to convert your own art into NFTs and enable buying and selling with cryptocurrency in the coming weeks.

Download the Plotaverse iOS mobile app here.

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This content is for educational purposes only. It does not constitute trading advice. Past performance does not indicate future results. Do not invest more than you can afford to lose. The author of this article may hold assets mentioned in the piece.