Convert MOV to MP4
Drop a MOV from an iPhone, a Mac screen recording, or a camera. When the video inside is H.264 or HEVC, as it almost always is, it goes into the MP4 exactly as it was, so nothing is lost and it takes a second or two.
The result appears here once a video is open.
How to use it#
- Drop a MOV file onto the box above, or click it to choose one.
- The page says whether the video is copied as it is or converted, and what happens to the sound.
- Play the MP4 in the preview, then download it.
Why MOV to MP4 is usually instant#
MP4 was built on the QuickTime format that MOV files use, and the two are laid out almost the same way: an index describing the tracks, followed by the compressed video and sound. An iPhone records H.264 or HEVC video with AAC sound, and an MP4 can hold all three. Converting means writing a new index around the same compressed data, so the picture is not decoded or compressed again.
That is why the MP4 comes out within a few kilobytes of the MOV, why a long video takes no longer than a short one, and why the quality is identical. The picture and the sound are exactly what the MOV held; only the box around them is new.
When the video has to be converted#
Some MOV files hold video an MP4 is not usually expected to hold, or that most players cannot play. Those are converted to H.264 at their original resolution, which takes about as long as the video plays and loses a little detail, and the page says so before you download. Sound in a format an MP4 player may not expect, such as uncompressed audio from a camera, is converted to AAC the same way.
ProRes, the editing format some cameras and iPhone Pro models record in, is the exception: no browser can decode it, so it cannot be converted here. Export it as H.264 or HEVC from the app that recorded or edited it.
iPhone videos: HEVC, spatial audio, and location#
An iPhone set to High Efficiency records HEVC, which stays HEVC in the MP4. Apple devices, Android, Chrome, Edge, and Safari play it, but Firefox on a Mac does not, some Windows computers need an extra codec from the Microsoft Store and some upload forms reject it. For an MP4 that plays everywhere, compress video re-encodes it as H.264, and can make it smaller at the same time.
Newer iPhones also record a spatial audio track beside the normal stereo one. No browser can read that format, so it is left out and the stereo track is kept, and the page names it when it happens. The date, place, and device the iPhone recorded are copied into the MP4 as they were. To see them, or to make a copy without them, use the video metadata viewer.
Frequently asked questions#
Does converting MOV to MP4 lose quality?
#
Not when the video is copied, which is what happens to iPhone videos and most MOV files: the compressed picture and sound go into the MP4 unchanged. Only a MOV holding a codec an MP4 player would not expect is re-encoded, and the page says when that happens.
Why is the MP4 the same size as the MOV?
#
Because it holds the same video and sound. Only the container changed, and MP4 and MOV containers take about the same room. To make the file smaller, use compress video, which re-encodes the picture at a lower bitrate or resolution.
Can I just rename .mov to .mp4?
#
It often plays, because the two formats are so close, but some programs and upload forms check the file and refuse one that is really a MOV. Converting writes a real MP4, and it takes only a second or two.
Will the MP4 play on Windows and Android?
#
An H.264 MP4 plays everywhere. An HEVC one, from an iPhone set to High Efficiency, plays on Android and in Chrome, Edge, and Safari, but not in Firefox on a Mac, and Windows may need the HEVC codec from the Microsoft Store. Compress video turns it into H.264 if that is a problem.
Can I convert MOV to MP4 on an iPhone or a Mac?
#
Yes. The page works in Safari on an iPhone and in any current browser on a Mac or a Windows PC, with nothing to install. Copying the video into an MP4 needs no decoding, so it works even in Firefox on a Mac, which cannot read HEVC.
How do I convert M4V to MP4?
#
Rename it. M4V is Apple's name for an MP4, used by iTunes and some Mac apps, so an M4V without copy protection is already an MP4, and changing .m4v to .mp4 is all it needs. Films and shows bought from the iTunes Store are protected, and only Apple's apps can play them.
Is my video uploaded?
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No. The MOV is read and rewritten inside this browser tab, and the MP4 is handed straight to your downloads. Nothing is sent to a server.