Do you know the .3GP file extension? Have you heard about it, but don’t know what type of documents it represents or what its characteristics are? Do not worry, because in this post we are going to inform you of all this and solve all your doubts.
This container format was initially designed to be able to convert and transmit audio and video through 3G type mobile phones creating what was expected to be a standard of global communication system. In addition, it corresponds to a format used so that mobile phones with cameras can also capture videos and pass them between devices in a simple way.
The creator of this third generation format was 3GPP, or what is the same, 3rd Generation Partnership, an association of telecommunication groups of great importance throughout the planet.
What is and what are files with the .3GP extension used for?
The .3GP is a container which is used to create a type of multimedia files on 3G mobilesalthough we currently see that it can also be used in some 2G and . In addition to audio and video, it can include simple text, capable of being played with a text editor.
The audio inside this container will be saved in formats such as AAC-LC or AMR-NB. The video, for its part, is stored in H.263 or MPEG-4. For those in the know, this type of file is, in fact, a reduction or simplification of . Even on some occasions there are devices and software that detect them and call them mp4 in order to be read. The result, if you are an Apple user, is really similar to the one generated by Quicktime.
Videos in .3GP format have two different resolutions. On the one hand, 176 x 144 pixelswhich is used in mobiles that only support 3G format and, on the other hand, 320 x 240 pixelswhich is used on devices with WideScreen capable of playing the MP4 format.
Among its specifications we find the use of GSM networks, especially W-CDMA, EDGE or GPRS, fully standardized capabilities of said global communication system. In addition, it is notable for storing values of interest such as big-endian values.
The Benefits that presents to use the .3GP format are several. The space occupied by these videos is less to that generated in other formats. The data packets necessary to transmit these videos are much more little ones. This has given a tremendous gain in terms of the users who use it, currently being a very popular container for low-weight content, so necessarySecondly, on mobile devices.
By againstamong its disadvantages we have that the quality of your images is too short. There aren’t too many programs or software that are capable of reproducing this type of files (although one is enough for us and there are options). Finally, it is not as useful as .avi, the default transmission medium for desktop computers.
How to open and listen to .3GP files on my smartphone or computer?
If you have a video mounted in a .3G container format and you can’t see it on your device, you need to download specific programs that support it.
Next, We indicate some of them depending on the system you are going to use to enjoy the content:
on Windows
is the player that comes pre-installed in the Windows operating system, so in order to see in .3GP you just have to resort to it.
In order to open a file with .3GP with any of the programs available in this operating system and From the file itself we must follow the following steps:
- With the right button mouse, click on the file.
- Next, you must click on the option “To open with”.
- Windows presents you with software to open the file, in this case, you will surely have Windows Media Player itself by default. If you do not want to use any program from the list offered or you are looking to set one as default, click on “Choose another app”.
- Clicking now on “More options” you can choose the player program you want and that, logically, you have previously installed.
- you will see a square unchecked just below the list of softwares. Check it (“Always use this app to open .3GP files”).
- Finally, you accept on the corresponding button.
- You will see that the icon of the file changes and that when you double click on it, the program you have selected is executed and it opens the file with the .3GP extension without having to do anything else, playing automatically.
You can also do the opposite action, which is open the file once inside the software:
- At the top of the player, go to the taskbar and click on the menu “File, Archive”.
- select the option “Open”.
- Next, navigate between folders until find the file that you want to read in the location where you have saved it.
- Click on the option “To accept” from the frame and it will play without problems (provided, as we say, that the player has support for this type of file).
on macOS
Using any of the programs compatible with MacOS and with .3GP you can play files of this type on your MAC computer. You just have to follow the steps indicated below:
- open the player of files.
- Click, in the toolbar, on the option “File, Archive”.
- Choose “Open”.
- All your team’s locations will be displayed. Navigate through them until find the file what do you want.
- Pick it and click on the button “To accept”.
- You can mark the option “Use this program as default when opening files with this extension”. In this way, all .3GP type files will always be opened with this software.
On Android mobiles
Those mobile devices that wear Android where they want to play videos with the .3gp extension will only be able to use one program (for the moment).
In this case, it is the application known as vlc for androidwhich only requires a simple installation and is nothing more than a video player that supports a large number of formats.
To be able to use it we do not have to follow too many steps:
- Once the application is downloaded, it is necessary to open it, clicking on it (an access will have been created on the desktop of the mobile device).
- Next, look for the option “Files” or “Folders”.
- Then hit “Videos”.
- By clicking on it, the system folders that include video will be accessed and we only have to go to the one that includes the file to reproduce.
- By the time we have it located, click on the file and it will begin to reproduce without major inconvenience.
On iPhone devices with iOS
We also have special applications to download to Apple mobile phones, so if you have an iPhone you can enjoy those videos in .3GP format without any problem. OPlayer HD It is a really recommended option because it has HD quality, which is useless in this case, but it will allow you to enjoy other high-resolution audiovisuals.
The operation of this application (as well as that of the vast majority of players) is like the one that we have previously downloaded for an Android mobile device. Opening a file with this format is something simple through any application; it only requires its location and clicking on it to hit it.
What are the best programs and applications to play 3GP files on desktop and mobile?
From my point of view, there are several programs that can be used to play 3GP files, both on desktop and mobile, considered top both for their ability to do so and for their compatibility with other file extensions or for their functionalities.
The logical thing to do would be to use more well-known players, since they support a very large number of formats and they will not make us have to download any extra codec, as is the case with basic players that, from the start, include support for playing very few formats and , to complete this support, we have to manually search for compatible codec packages.
On a computer with operating system windows We have several programs that can be used to open files with the .3GP extension. Some of them are 3GP PlayerAdobe Flash Professional, ALLPlayer, Any Audio Converter, DRM Media Converter, DVD Ripper + Video Converter Ultimate, Final Media Player, Free 3GP Converter, Free Studio, KMPlayer, Microsoft Windows Video, Quicktime Player (although it is from Apple, you can use ), Real Player, VLC Media Player and Personal Video Converter.
As you can see, most of them are not really known but, as we had anticipated, we can always resort to a couple of basic ones that do not fail.
For the apple operating system we have some programs that, once they have been installed, can be used without any problem. The applications most used by all the people who have a Mac are Adapter, Adobe Flash Professional, Any Video Converter Pro, FVL Crunch, iVI – iTunes Video Importer, MPlayer, Prism, Quicktime Player, RealPlayer, Toast 11, VLC Media Player and Xilisoft iPhone Ringtone Maker.
for both platforms we can stand out:
- Quick Time Player. Free application very easy to use to be able to interact with this type of files. In addition, it helps you to use it as an online video viewer in many other formats. Initially it is for Mac but it is also now available to make it work on Windows operating systems.
- 3GP Player. This is another free program that works with a large number of video codecs although, as its name indicates, it couldn’t be more ideal for .3GP. In addition, it takes up very little space on our computer.
- PowerDVD. It is a very powerful and complete video player, which is suitable for a much more general use, including a large number of file formats to play. Furthermore, it offers you the possibility of converting 3GP files to another format or vice versa. It is a paid program, but if you are not convinced you can always use the trial version they offer to get to know the product.
- VLC Media Player. It is able to decode the container if it includes audio but for files that include AMR.
How to convert videos with 3GP extension in MP4 or .AVI format?
Another of the most interesting options in the case of having a video in .3G format lies in converting it to other more popular and easy to play formats such as, for example, the . We can use desktop programs or web applications that can do it online in a few minutes. For example:
- https://video.online-convert.com/en/convert-to-mp4
- https://convertio.co/es/3gp-mp4/
The method to do it is always the same:
- Open the program or web page to be used for the conversion.
- import the files in .3GP format that you want to convert. To do this, you can do it by clicking on the “Import file”, “Add file” or similar button. Some applications offer you the possibility of importing several files with the same format. Remember that files with…
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