The STL, or Standard Triangle Language, file format has been around since the '80s and is supported by most modern 3D modelling applications. In particular, the STL format has become something of a standard format within the area of 3D printing, despite the rise of more modern formats such as 3MF.
STL files come in two flavours: binary or text format. The text format is human-readable, making it easy to perform manual edits, but can lead to very large file sizes. As you can imagine, the binary format is much more compact and represents the majority of the STL files you are likely to encounter.
The format itself is very simple; the 3D model is represented by a sequential list of triangles, with each triangle defined with 3 points consisting of their X, Y, and Z positions, along with an additional vector that contains the face normal (the direction the face is pointing). There is an additional attribute block for each triangle; however, this is largely unused and thus unsupported.
STL Converter Capabilities
When converting 3D model or mesh files using our STL converter, we will attempt to convert colour materials into a suitable format for use in the converted file.
| Extension | MP4 |
| Full Name | MPEG-4 |
| Type | Video |
| Mime Type | video/mp4 |
| Format | Binary |
An MP4 file is a modern standard format for storing high-quality motion video in a highly compact and efficient file size. The specific compression algorithm used within an MP4 file can vary from file to file; however, they all enable what would otherwise be a large amount of uncompressed data to be reduced to a fraction of the original size with little or no noticeable difference in playback quality.
Due to their widespread support, MP4 files can be loaded into most video editing applications and played with most video playback software with no additional drivers. Most video sharing sites, such as YouTube, support MP4 as a format when uploading, and most tablets and smart phones can record in the MP4 format.
Audio stored within an MP4 file is usually stored in the MP3 format, taking advantage of that format's high quality and compression capabilities.
