The VP4 codec is a video compression format developed by On2 Technologies (later acquired by Google). It was primarily used for streaming video over the internet, particularly in the early 2000s. VP4 offered a balance between compression efficiency and computational complexity, making it suitable for encoding and decoding video on a range of devices, including those with limited processing power. While VP4 was a proprietary codec, On2 made it available for licensing, and it saw adoption in various video players and streaming platforms. However, it has largely been superseded by newer, more efficient video codecs like VP6, VP8, VP9, and H.264/AVC. Due to its age, support for VP4 is becoming increasingly rare in modern software and hardware. Finding compatible players and encoders may require legacy software or specialized codec packs. The VP4 codec was designed to provide good video quality at relatively low bitrates, making it a popular choice for streaming video over dial-up or early broadband connections.