MOV (Apple QuickTime Movie)

MOV is Apple's multimedia container based on the QuickTime framework. It supports high-quality ProRes, H.264, and HEVC video with rich metadata. MOV is the native recording format for iPhones and the standard intermediate format in professional video editing on macOS.

MIME Type

video/quicktime

Type

Binary

Compression

Lossless

Advantages

+ Native support for ProRes — the industry editing codec
+ Rich timecode and metadata for professional workflows
+ High-quality iPhone recordings in HEVC/H.265
+ Seamless integration with Final Cut Pro and Motion

Disadvantages

− ProRes MOV files are very large (designed for editing, not delivery)
− Less compatible than MP4 on non-Apple devices
− Some Windows players require codec packs for certain MOV variants

When to Use .MOV

Use MOV for professional video editing on macOS, especially with ProRes; convert to MP4 for web distribution.

Technical Details

MOV uses the same ISOBMFF atom structure as MP4, with Apple-specific extensions for timecode tracks, ProRes codec, and rich metadata. The moov atom can be placed at the beginning for fast-start streaming.

History

Apple introduced QuickTime and the MOV format in 1991. The MPEG-4 container (MP4) was later derived from QuickTime's atom-based structure. MOV remains central to Apple's Final Cut Pro and iOS camera.

Convert from .MOV

.mov → .3gp .mov → .aac .mov → .avi .mov → .flac .mov → .flv .mov → .gif .mov → .jpg .mov → .m4v .mov → .mkv .mov → .mp3 .mov → .mp4 .mov → .mpeg .mov → .mpg .mov → .mts .mov → .mxf .mov → .ogg .mov → .ogv .mov → .png .mov → .vob .mov → .wav .mov → .webm .mov → .webp .mov → .wmv

Convert to .MOV

.3gp → .mov .aac → .mov .avi → .mov .flac → .mov .flv → .mov .gif → .mov .jpg → .mov .m4v → .mov .mkv → .mov .mp3 → .mov .mp4 → .mov .mpeg → .mov .mpg → .mov .mts → .mov .mxf → .mov .ogg → .mov .ogv → .mov .png → .mov .vob → .mov .wav → .mov .webm → .mov .webp → .mov .wmv → .mov

Related Formats

.3gp .avi .flv .m4v .mkv .mp4 .mpeg .mpg .mts .mxf .ogv .vob .webm .wmv

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