Which multimedia container format should I use?

Question

I have to write code for a CCTV(video surveillance system) to store an elementary stream on hard drive in a container format.

But there are too many choices, I don't know which format should I use.

What format will cost less CPU cycles and permit replay by popular media players?

Answer 1

It's generally not the container that matters so much as the codec you use to compress the data. Container formats such as MP4 and ASF permit many types of encoded data to be added to them.