What are file formats known to be unsafe?

Hey guys, can anyone please explain me how file formats work?

• i was wondering how different file formats are created, why do some devices support some formats but not others and how do devices tell what kind of file format it is. i would like a bit of detail in the answer please.

• Answer:

  just in case you're a true beginner, the format is written on the end of the file (ex: if I right click on a music file and choose properties and it read oasis_wonderwall.mp3, then the format of that file is mp3) when things are taken from a medium (say your ripping a video file from a dvd) the software you use will code it it different ways. you might want to rip it as an iso, which will keep all the quality but take up a lot of space. you may want to use xvid to use a very small amount of space sacrificing quality. or you might not care and just use whatever format is available in the software you already have like wmv or avi. now say you want to play the file back. you'll have to use a player that is capable of "reading" said format. for instance if you have flash video you'll have to use a flash player like realplayer. if you have a vod file you'll use a progam that reads that format like VLC. basically the device has nothing to do with what it can or can't read. it's all in the software that the device uses. if I want to watch divx on windows I could search for "divx codec" in google, download and install the codec, and then it would play in windows media center because the software has been upgraded. if I wanted to watch the same video on my iPhone I'm screwed because Apple wants you to pay Apple for the video so it will only play the kind of video you download from iTunes. if I want to watch it on my Palm I'm screwed because the OS doesn't support foreign codecs (in most of their phones). if I want to use my Blackberry, I can just search for the codec and play it because Blackberry OS does let you download and install codecs. the same goes for phones with Windows Mobile. so if your device can install codecs, you can use them to watch whatever format you want on the device. if it doesn't, you'll have to go with the slightly more annoying file conversion route. find out A) the file format you have, B) the file format that your device reads, and C) go to a safe site like CNET's download.com and search "format A to format B converter". you usually will have to pay for the software and you'll have to convert every file you want to play on the device. the process will be slightly varied depending on the software you grab.