In the digital world that we are living in, there are so many video file formats out there. If you think about it, it's almost overwhelming. Some video formats are easy to deal with as they are highly compatible in differend devices, while others are not. 3GP is not a video formats that is considerd strange, but have you ever heard 3GPP? What is 3GPP? what are the difference between 3GP and 3GPP? and how to easily play the 3GP or 3GPP video files? That's what we are going to talk about today.

Part 1: Differences between 3GP and 3GPP

Before we get to know what exactly is 3GP file format, let's first start with its definer 3GPP which stands for Third Generation Partnership Project. 3GPP unites 7 telecommunications standard development organizations (ARIB, ATIS, CCSA, ETSI, TSDSI, TTA, TTC), known as "Organizational Partners", and provides their members with a stable environment to produce the Reports and Specifications that define 3GPP technologies.

Some Basic info of Those 7 Organizations Included in 3GPP

ARIB: stands for Association of Radio Industries and Businesses, was established to promote research and development (R&D) of new radio systems, and to serve as a Standards Development Organization (SDO) to advance the unification of international standards and related activities in the telecommunications and broadcasting fields. The establishment was also aimed at providing quick and accurate responses to such trends as the growing internationalization, the convergence of telecommunications and broadcasting, and the need to promote radio wave use in business.

ATIS: stands for The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions, is a standards organization that develops technical and operational standards and solutions for the ICT industry, headquartered in Washington, D.C. The organization is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). It is the North American Organizational Partner for the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

CCSA: stands for Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities, a forum that fosters good practices in the statistical activities of international organizations, in accordance with the Principles Governing International Statistical Activities.

ETSI: Stands for European Telecommunications Standards Institute, is the recognized regional standards body – European Standards Organization (ESO) – dealing with telecommunications, broadcasting and other electronic communications networks and services. ETSI has a special role in Europe. This includes supporting European regulations and legislation through the creation of Harmonised European Standards. Only standards developed by the three ESOs (CEN, CENELEC and ETSI) are recognized as European Standards.

TSDSI: stands for Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India, is an SDO that aims at developing and promoting India-specific requirements, standardizing solutions for meeting these requirements and contributing these to international standards, contributing to global standardization in the field of telecommunication.

TTA: stands for Telecommunications Technology Association of Korea, is a private voluntary organization(PVO) in the field of information and communication technology (ICT) that develops and establishes new ICT standards and offers internationally recognized one-stop testing and certification services for standard ICT products.

TTC: stands for Telecommunication Technology Committee, is a standardization organization established in 1985 and authorized by Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications to conduct research and to develop and promote standards for telecommunications in Japan. The TTC is a founding partner organization of the Global Standards Collaboration initiative and an organizational partner of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

As a home theater audio format, DTS (also referred to as DTS Digital Surround or DTS Core) is one of two (along with Dolby Digital 5.1) that got their start with the Laserdisc format, with both formats migrating to DVD upon that format's introduction.

Part 2: how to convert 3GP and 3GPP to each other

Now that we have some basic knowledges about the 3GP and 3GPP files, let's see how to deal with them. Although there are not much big differences between 3GP and 3GPP video files, sometimes we still only need one of the two and not the other. In this case, we need to know how to convert the video files to each other. How to convert 3GP to 3GPP or convert 3GPP to 3GP? The asnwer is using Leawo Video Converter.

Leawo Video converter is a professional video converting program that can convert more than 180 video formats to each other. With Leawo Video converter, you can easily convert 3GP and 3GPP to each other without any trouble. Just follow the guide below and you can do it within a few minutes.

Step 1: Add source files. On the home interface, click the "Video Converter" option. Then, directly drag and drop source source files into Leawo Video Converter. You can also click "Add Video" to import the video file.

add file

Step 2: Choose output format. Next to the “Add Photo” button, click the drop-down button and then choose “Change” button. Open “Format > Common Video” group successively and then choose “3GP Video” as output format.

Set output format

Step 3: Edit video (Optional). You can edit the video before you convert it via the internal video editor. Just right click the loaded file you want to edit and then choose the “Edit” option to enter the editing panel. You could trim video length, crop video size, add image or text watermark, change video effect, apply 3D effect, remove noise, etc.

Edit MOV files

Step 4: Set output directory and convert. After setting output profile, go back to the main interface. Click the big green "Convert" button and set output directory in the "Save to" box on the sidebar. Then hit the bottom "Convert" button to start converting. It will take you a few minutes to finish the conversion.

Edit MOV files

Part 3: The best 3GP and 3GPP player

In the above we introduced how to convert 3GP and 3GPP to each other. You can easily convert them if you strictly need on of the two formats. However, if you only need to play the video on your Windows or Mac PC, there is no need to convert the videos. All you need to do to play 3GP or 3GPP videos is to get a qualified media player that is powerful enough to handle both files. We have done some researchs on that, and got you the overall best 3GP and 3GPP video player program for both Windows and Mac: Leawo Blu-ray Player

Leawo Blu-ray Player

Though its name might make you think that this tool has been made exclusively for playing Blu-ray discs, Leawo Blu-ray Player is actually can be used as a simple video player that can play more than 180 digital video formats in lossless quality. And it can also capable of playing videos from DVD discs, from ISO images, from local disc folders, and from local standalone multimedia files as well. Furthermore, though it's a free tool, it's also comprehensive and powerful, being capable of playing up to 1080P HD videos. Selecting specific subtitles and tweaking the parameters of the video and audio streams are also possible. It's also worth mentioning that this feature-rich tool supports playlist, custom skins, and a large variety of video file formats. This free DTS player is also a low-CPU occupying media player.

blu-ray-player

Leawo Free Blu-ray Player 

☉ 100% free movie player for Mac users to play Ultra HD 4K, 1080P and 720P video for free.

☉ Free Blu-ray disc player to play 4K Blu-ray disc and 1080P Blu-ray disc, regardless of disc protection and region code.

☉ Support multiple audio decoding systems like Dolby, DTS, AAC, TrueHD, DTS-HD, etc.

☉ Adjust subtitles, video and audio during media playback.

Leawo Blu-ray Player is a free media player software for both Windows and Mac OS. It contains all media playback solutions you need for your leisure entertainment, including Blu-ray, DVD, CD, HD (4K), ISO file with AVI, MPEG, WMV, ASF, FLV, MKV/MKA and other popular formats supported. Besides, Leawo Blu-ray Player's practical bonus features including useful power manager, custom skin / language / background, snap screenshots, especially virtual remote controller make it a better choice for all playback choice. When it comes to 3GP or 3GPP playback, Leawo Blu-ray Player is more than capable of doing it perfectly.

If you want to know more about the player, here are the detailed steps showing how to play 3GP or 3GPP files using Leawo Blu-ray Player.

Step 1: Download Leawo Blu-ray Player and launch it.

Step 2: Associate .3GP file in File Associations tab located on the left so this player will play 3GP file automatically next time when you click the 3GP file to play. You can always change the association file later by returning to this associations tab to make the changes.

3gp player

Step 3: Import the 3GPP file by clicking the "Open File" button or directly double click the 3GPP or 3GP file in your computer.

3gp player

Video guide on Leawo Blu-ray Player

Part 4: Other player for 3GP and 3GPP

Free 3GP Player

Free 3GP Player is a simple player exclusively for 3GP video and audio files. The Free 3GP Player supports 3GPP and 3GPP2 format, no need install other codecs, this software can easily play all 3GP files from your mobile phone or Internet (file extension is *.3gp or *.3g2). In 3GP or 3GPP playback wise, the program is easy to use, there is no need other codecs, its upports full-screen playback and is a completely freeware. It has all the basic functions you need for a normally functional media player, but you can only play 3GPP files with it so it's not recommend that you install this software and expect it to be an all-inclusive media player like Leawo.

3GP Player

As another player designed exclusively for 3GP and 3GPP, 3GP Player is a windows tool to play .3gp and .3g2 video files. It supports zoom 0.5x/1x/2x mode, full screen mode, playback progress control, volume control. 3GP Player provides file association and drag-and-drop support, so you can double-click or drag and drop .3gp or .3g2 files to the program to play them. You can also use it to create and manage playlists. The small functions like zooming are practical, but the player only supports Windows and doesn't have a support for any other video formats, same drawback as the Free 3GP Player introduced above.

UMPlayer

UMPlayer is an open-source media player that supports all kinds of video and audio files, including 3GP or 3GPP. With millions of music fans out there, everyone wants a player that can handle quality media content with ease. UMPlayer has proved to be a universal media solution for both video and audio files. Being different from the two 3GP players above, whether you want to listen to music, or need to search a video file for an important work project, UMplayer is the ultimate solution. Besides the regular media player options such as customizable toolbars and audio search options, and CS/DVD/VCD play options. Although it doesn't support DVD and Blu-ray across region playback like Leawo Blu-ray Player does, it's also a good player if you want an ultimate media solution.