The phrase "incompatible formats" refers to when two or more things, like devices or files, cannot work or interact with each other because they are not designed to understand or use each other's language or structure. Full definition
The issue of incompatible formats and the difficulty of organizing books that you buy from different e-book sellers are two things that you should consider before committing to a specific e-book platform. (pcworld.com)
But the chore of reconciling those databases — terabytes of information, often in incompatible formats — can clog the gears. (fortune.com)
Virtualization is a technology for translating various unrelated data «languages» into a common one that allows previously incompatible formats to work together seamlessly. (educationnext.org)