Last updated: 2026-10-15
Use a plain MP4 when people only need to watch the procedure. Use a SCORM package when the LMS must record that a named worker finished it, how long they took and what they scored. For an Alberta contractor, that line falls on the training you may have to prove: confined space, equipment, fall protection.
We build training libraries this way, as on LECM’s landscaping and snow-and-ice procedures, designed as a curriculum, approved by LECM and filmed on site at the real work hour. Our training video production in Calgary delivers captioned, chaptered files that upload to any LMS. Below: which format to pick, the comparison, cost drivers, upload steps, and how a library is filmed.
MP4 or SCORM: which should your training videos use?
Pick MP4 by default and add SCORM only where tracking is a requirement, not a nice-to-have. An MP4 is the video itself: any LMS, intranet, phone or tablet plays it. A SCORM package is a zipped folder that contains or points to that video plus a small file that talks to the LMS, so the LMS can record completion, score and where the learner stopped. The video inside is still an MP4.
The decision in three steps:
- Does anyone need to prove this training happened? Alberta’s OHS Code requires an employer to keep records of the training given to a worker assigned confined-space or restricted-space entry duties (Alberta OHS Code, AR 191/2021, s. 46(2)). More broadly, employers must ensure “workers have the skills and training needed to do their jobs in a healthy and safe manner” (Government of Alberta, employer responsibilities). If the video is part of that proof, you want a completion record attached to a name.
- Does your LMS already track plain video? Many systems mark a video module complete when it has been watched to the end, with no SCORM involved. Check before you pay to wrap anything.
- Will the video change? Procedures get revised. An MP4 is replaced in one upload. A SCORM package is republished and re-uploaded, and completion history may reset depending on the system.
In practice, a contractor’s library ends up mostly MP4, with SCORM reserved for the modules tied to a competency record.
MP4 vs SCORM: the comparison
An MP4 is simpler, smaller to manage and plays anywhere. A SCORM package is heavier but gives the LMS a reporting hook. The third option, xAPI with the cmi5 profile, tracks learning outside the LMS as well. For most trades companies in Alberta it is still SCORM 1.2 that the LMS asks for.
Use this table to match format to job.
| Factor | Plain MP4 | SCORM package | xAPI / cmi5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the LMS records | Usually view or “marked complete”, depends on the LMS | Completion status, score, bookmark; time spent in most LMSs | Detailed activity statements, inside and outside the LMS |
| Works outside an LMS | Yes: intranet, SharePoint, phone, USB on a site trailer | No, needs an LMS or SCORM player | Needs a learning record store |
| Updating a procedure | Replace one file | Republish the package, re-upload | Republish, re-upload |
| Captions | Sidecar caption file or burned in | Inside the package | Inside the package |
| Quiz attached | Only if the LMS adds it | Can be built into the package | Can be built in |
| Version to ask your LMS about | Not applicable | SCORM 1.2 or SCORM 2004 | cmi5 |
The specifics behind that table. SCORM has three released versions, each building on the last; SCORM 1.2 is the most widely adopted, and SCORM 2004 adds sequencing and navigation. A SCORM content object “can contain its own bookmark, score and completion status” (Rustici Software, SCORM explained). Wrapping a video in a package “allows progress tracking, such as completion, time spent, and scores”, and you should pick the standard “that your system supports” (iSpring, how to convert MP4 to SCORM). xAPI is the more flexible successor for tracking learning outside the LMS, and cmi5 is the xAPI profile used when activities launch from an LMS.
Captions are not optional in either format if you follow accessibility standards: WCAG 2.1 requires captions for all prerecorded audio in synchronized media at Level A (W3C, WCAG 2.1 SC 1.2.2). On a loud site, the captioned version is also the one that gets watched with the sound off.
At a glance, a training library from us:
- Typical length: one procedure per video, usually 2 to 6 minutes
- Shoot: filmed where the work happens, at the real hour, in batches
- Deliverables: captioned, chaptered video files in standard formats that upload to any LMS
- Timeline: varies by scope, set out in writing after the first call
- Tracking: completion and quiz scoring is handled by your LMS, not by us
What does it cost to deliver training videos through your LMS?
The cost of getting training videos into an LMS has two parts: producing the videos, and packaging them for tracking. The production cost is driven by the number of procedures, shoot days and locations. The packaging cost is driven by how many modules need SCORM, whether a quiz is built in, and who does the wrapping: your LMS admin, an authoring tool or a consultant. Plain MP4 upload adds nothing.
The drivers that move a training-library quote:
| Driver | Pushes the price up when | How to keep it down |
|---|---|---|
| Number of procedures | Every task gets its own video from the start | Map the curriculum first, film the top 20 by risk and frequency |
| Shoot days and sites | Procedures are spread across yards, shops and sites on different dates | Batch filming by location and by shift |
| Captions and chapters | Two languages, or re-captioning after every revision | One caption style, revise only the lesson that changed |
| SCORM packaging | Each module wrapped and quizzed, published to two SCORM versions | SCORM only for record-keeping modules, one version your LMS confirms |
| Revisions | Procedures change and the whole library is re-cut | One procedure per video so a change means one reshoot |
File size is a cost driver in a quieter way. There is no strict limit on how big an MP4 inside a SCORM package can be, but hosting capacity and network bandwidth set the practical ceiling (iSpring). A site trailer on a cellular connection will not stream a 2 GB module. A pointer-style package, where the package links to a video hosted elsewhere, keeps the upload small; Rustici Software’s hosted-video approach works this way and reports completion status, time, score and pass/fail (Rustici Software, convert video to SCORM).
We don’t publish prices on this blog because the number depends on the list above. The training video production in Calgary page explains how a library is scoped, and a fixed written quote follows the first call. For the return side of the calculation, see measuring training video ROI.
How to upload training videos to your LMS without breaking them
Upload the MP4 first, test it on the device your crew actually uses, and only then wrap anything in SCORM. The most common failures are not format arguments. They are a package the LMS player cannot play, a video too large for the connection, and a caption file nobody attached. The steps below are the order we hand to a client’s LMS admin with every library.
For plain MP4:
- Name files by lesson, not by date. “03-ladder-inspection-v2.mp4” survives five years of revisions. “FINAL_edit2.mp4” does not.
- Upload the caption file with it. Most LMSs accept a sidecar caption file. If yours does not, ask for a burned-in caption version of that lesson.
- Set the completion rule. Many LMSs let you mark a video complete at a percentage watched. Set it and test it with a real account.
- Test on the worst device. A foreman’s phone on a site trailer’s Wi-Fi, not the HR manager’s desktop.
For SCORM:
- Ask the LMS which version it wants. SCORM 1.2 or SCORM 2004. Publish only that one.
- Decide: embedded or pointer. Embedded packages carry the video inside the zip. Pointer packages link to a hosted video and stay small. Pick based on the connection where people will watch.
- Build the quiz in the package only if the record needs a score. A completion flag is enough for most procedures.
- Test in a SCORM test environment before the live LMS. Confirm it launches, plays, records completion and resumes at the bookmark.
- Keep the source MP4 and caption files. The package is a wrapper. The library is the files.
One caution from the field: some authoring tools convert the embedded video to a streaming format the LMS player cannot handle, so a package that worked on the author’s laptop fails for the learner. Test in the real system. Our guide to training video filming covers the chaptering, naming and export checks that make the upload clean in the first place.
Filming an LMS-ready training library in Calgary
An LMS-ready library starts with the curriculum, not the camera. We map the lessons first, you approve every procedure in writing before filming, and we film where the work happens, on the real shift. That is how LECM’s library was built: landscaping and snow-and-ice procedures designed as a curriculum, approved by LECM, and filmed on site at the real work hour, including snow removal at 2 a.m.
What that looks like for a Calgary contractor:
- Lesson map first. You receive a list of procedures with the order they are taught, so the LMS folder structure is decided before shoot day.
- Approval in writing. Each procedure is signed off before it is filmed. The LMS version is the approved version, every time.
- Filmed in batches. Shop procedures on one day, yard procedures on another, site procedures around the crew’s schedule so nobody is pulled off the job.
- Delivered ready to upload. One procedure per video, usually 2 to 6 minutes, captioned and chaptered, in standard formats that upload to any learning system that accepts video. Completion and quiz scoring is handled by your LMS rather than by us.
Storimatic Studio is at 118 Waterfront Ct SW, Calgary, and films across Alberta. Calgary shoots carry no travel fee. Travel elsewhere in Alberta is quoted up front. Site orientation and PPE for the crew are arranged before call time. For what goes into the modules themselves, see safety training videos and employee onboarding videos.
Training videos in your LMS: FAQ
What is the difference between MP4 and SCORM? An MP4 is a video file. A SCORM package is a zipped folder that contains or links to the video plus files that let an LMS record completion, score and bookmark. The video inside a SCORM package is normally still an MP4.
Can I upload an MP4 directly to my LMS? Yes, if the LMS accepts video uploads, and most do. The LMS then tracks viewing by its own rules, often a percentage watched, without any SCORM involved.
Do I need SCORM for training videos? Only when a named learner’s completion, score or time must be recorded in the LMS, such as training you keep records of under Alberta’s OHS Code. For everything else, MP4 is simpler to update and plays anywhere.
SCORM 1.2 or SCORM 2004, which should I choose? The one your LMS supports. SCORM 1.2 is the most widely adopted; SCORM 2004 adds sequencing and navigation. Ask your LMS vendor and publish only that version.
Does Storimatic deliver SCORM packages? We deliver captioned, chaptered video files in standard formats that upload to any learning system that accepts video. Completion and quiz scoring is handled by your LMS rather than by us, and your LMS admin or authoring tool wraps the modules that need a record.
Get more out of one shoot day
Book a free 15–30 minute call and bring your LMS name and the list of procedures you have to keep records for. We will tell you which modules need SCORM, which can stay MP4, and how many shoot days the library takes. Storimatic Studio is at 118 Waterfront Ct SW, Calgary, and films across Alberta. See video production in Calgary for how one shoot day becomes a library.
