Video format

MOV converter

A .mov file is Apple's QuickTime movie container, which stores video, audio, text, and timecode tracks in a flexible atom-based layout. iPhones, iPads, and professional cameras that record ProRes all write .mov, so the extension shows up constantly in editing workflows.

Private for supported formats — processed in your browser

Convert supported files

Runs on your device

Drop MOV files here

Batch files can each use a different output. Nothing uploads for local conversions.

Working inputs include camera RAW, browser-local audio/video, PDF, CBZ/CBR comics, office documents, ebooks, markup, 3D models, structured text, images, and archives.

Where MOV comes from

Apple introduced the QuickTime File Format alongside QuickTime 1.0 in 1991, making desktop video playback practical years before the web existed. Its design proved so influential that ISO adopted it nearly wholesale as the basis for MP4 in 2001.

How MOV works

Media lives in a hierarchy of atoms, each declaring its own size and type, which makes the format easy to extend
Frequently wraps ProRes, H.264, HEVC, or Animation codecs; the wrapper itself never dictates picture quality
Multiple video, audio, timecode, and caption tracks can coexist with independent edit lists
ProRes essence inside .mov is intraframe-only, trading large files for frame-accurate scrubbing in editors

When to use MOV

Importing iPhone footage into an edit without conversion
Delivering ProRes masters to post-production houses
Capturing macOS screen recordings through QuickTime Player
Re-wrapping to .mp4 for wide distribution once editing is finished

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

First-class treatment on every Apple platform
Ideal editing intermediate when paired with ProRes
Structurally close enough to MP4 that re-wrapping is fast and lossless
Rich timecode and multi-track support for professional work

Limitations

ProRes recordings consume enormous disk space
Windows support has been patchier since QuickTime for Windows was discontinued in 2016
Browsers render a .mov only when it happens to contain web-safe codecs

Compatibility

macOS and iOS treat .mov as a native format, and Windows plays H.264 variants through modern Media Player builds and most editors. On the web the container is unreliable, so re-wrapping to MP4 remains the standard route for online publishing.

QuickTime metadata atoms and keys, including camera model, location, and timecode data written by iPhones and professional cameras.