What is MIME type "video/ufmf"?

A MIME type is a string that tells browsers and other tools how to handle a particular kind of file.

video/ufmf is the MIME type for Micro Fly Movie Format videos. Files using this format carry the extension UFMF.
This format is built to capture rapid sequences of images in a compact, efficient way. It helps record high-speed events, often in laboratory experiments or specialized research settings.
Key functions and use cases:

Main use: Recording and storing fast-motion video data for scientific analysis.
Efficiency: Organizes long image sequences to reduce file size.
Application: Used in experiments where precise timing and frame-by-frame analysis matter.

Although not common in everyday media playback, specialized software can process these files effectively.
For more on MIME types and multimedia formats, check out MIME Types on MDN.

Associated file extensions

.ufmf

Usage Examples

HTTP Header

When serving content with this MIME type, set the Content-Type header:


    Content-Type: video/ufmf

HTML

In HTML, you can specify the MIME type in various elements:


    <a href="file.dat" type="video/ufmf">Download file</a>

Server-side (Node.js)

Setting the Content-Type header in Node.js:


    const http = require('http');    
    
    http.createServer((req, res) => {    
      res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'video/ufmf');    
      res.end('Content here');    
    }).listen(3000);

Associated file extensions

.ufmf

FAQs

How do I open a file with the .ufmf extension?

You cannot open .ufmf files with standard media players like VLC or Windows Media Player. This format is designed for scientific tracking software, most notably Ctrax (The Caltech Multiple Fly Tracker) or via Python scripts using the motmot library. Visit our file-extension/ufmf page for more details on the extension.

Can web browsers play video/ufmf files directly?

No, modern web browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Safari do not support the video/ufmf MIME type natively. To display these videos on a webpage, you must convert them to a standard web-compatible format like video/mp4 or video/webm.

How do I configure my web server to serve UFMF files correctly?

You need to manually add the MIME type to your server configuration to prevent download errors. For Apache, add AddType video/ufmf .ufmf to your .htaccess file. For Nginx, add video/ufmf ufmf; inside your mime.types file or types block.

Why use video/ufmf instead of standard video formats?

The Micro Fly Movie Format is highly optimized for scientific experiments involving static backgrounds and moving subjects. It saves significant disk space by compressing the background separately from the moving objects, making it far more efficient than uncompressed AVI for long-duration high-speed recording.

How can I convert a UFMF file to MP4 or AVI?

Conversion usually requires using the specific analysis software that created the file or a custom script. Users often utilize Python with the ufmf package to read the raw frames and write them out to a standard video container using OpenCV or FFmpeg.

Is video/ufmf a standard IANA registered MIME type?

No, video/ufmf is not a standard type registered with the IANA. It is a specialized, application-specific identifier used primarily within the scientific research community to distinguish Micro Fly Movie Format data from other video files.

General FAQ

What is a MIME type?

A MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) type is a standard that indicates the nature and format of a document, file, or assortment of bytes. MIME types are defined and standardized in IETF's RFC 6838.

MIME types are important because they help browsers and servers understand how to process a file. When a browser receives a file from a server, it uses the MIME type to determine how to display or handle the content, whether it's an image to display, a PDF to open in a viewer, or a video to play.

MIME types consist of a type and a subtype, separated by a slash (e.g., text/html, image/jpeg, application/pdf). Some MIME types also include optional parameters.

How do I find the MIME type for a file?

You can check the file extension or use a file identification tool such as file --mime-type on the command line. Many programming languages also provide libraries to detect MIME types.

Why are multiple MIME types listed for one extension?

Different applications and historical conventions may use alternative MIME identifiers for the same kind of file. Showing them all helps ensure compatibility across systems.