MOV to MP4 Converter
To convert MOV to MP4 here, drop the file on the page: H.264 video and AAC audio are copied into the MP4 without re-encoding when they can be, and nothing is uploaded. HEVC video, which iPhones record on the High Efficiency setting, is converted to H.264 when your browser can decode it.
- Free
- No sign-up
- No watermark
- Runs in your browser
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What happens to each stream inside a MOV
MP4 grew out of Apple's QuickTime format, so a MOV and an MP4 are close relatives. This page writes the same two codecs into both of them: H.264 for the picture and AAC for the sound. That is why a lot of MOV to MP4 jobs are a plain copy of the streams into a new file, and why a copy takes a fraction of the time a re-encode needs. The table lists each kind of stream a MOV can hold and what the page does with it.
| Inside the MOV | What the page does | What you get in the MP4 |
|---|---|---|
| H.264 video that starts at 0:00 | Copies the stream into the MP4 untouched | The same picture, finished about as fast as the file can be read |
| AAC audio that starts at 0:00 | Copies the stream untouched | The same sound |
| A stream that starts a little before 0:00 | Re-encodes it into the same codec | A small quality cost on that stream, while the other one can still be copied |
| HEVC (H.265) video, from the iPhone's High Efficiency setting | Decodes it and encodes H.264, if this device can decode HEVC | A picture in the codec most devices play, after a longer wait |
| ProRes video | Stops with a message that names the codec | No file, because browsers cannot decode ProRes |
| A second audio track, or text and data tracks | Leaves them out | One video track and one audio track |
Before you press Convert, the page prints the container and the codecs it found and says whether each stream will be copied or re-encoded. When the run ends, a second line reports what really happened to the video and to the audio. Frame size and frame rate are never changed.
What an iPhone MOV usually holds
An iPhone saves every video as a MOV, and what is inside depends on a setting. In Settings, under Camera and Formats, High Efficiency records HEVC, also called H.265, and Most Compatible records H.264. The MP4 made here holds H.264, so an HEVC picture has to be decoded and compressed again, and that works only in a browser that can decode HEVC on your device. Safari on a Mac, iPhone or iPad can, and Chrome or Edge can where the graphics hardware supports it. The page warns you about this under the format choice, and if your browser cannot decode it, the message names HEVC as soon as you press Convert.
Why a copy keeps the size and a re-encode does not
When both streams are copied, the MP4 holds the same bytes of picture and sound as the MOV in a different container, so it comes out almost the same size. In our test a 10-second MOV of 5,038,029 bytes became an MP4 of 5,032,103 bytes, which is about 0.1% smaller. A re-encode follows the encoder's quality setting instead. The page uses a high setting for H.264 video, which keeps most of the detail but is still lossy, so the file can end up larger or smaller than the original.
Rotation, sound and extra tracks
Phones often store a portrait clip on its side and add a flag that tells players to turn it. The page reads that flag, prints the angle it found and keeps it in the MP4, so a vertical video stays vertical. Many exporters also start the audio a few milliseconds before 0:00. A copy cannot begin before zero, so that audio is re-encoded to AAC while the picture can still be copied. Only the main video track and the main audio track are written, and the page has no menu for choosing others.
Large MOV files and the memory of your device
The tool has no file size limit of its own. It reads the MOV from your disk in small pieces, so a recording of several gigabytes does not have to be loaded before the work starts. The finished MP4 is held in memory until you download it, which makes free memory the real limit. After a copy the MP4 is about as big as the MOV. If the device runs out, the page says so and suggests closing other tabs or using a computer with more memory.
Questions people ask
How do I convert MOV to MP4 without losing quality?
Drop the MOV on the box and press Convert with MP4 selected. When the MOV holds H.264 video and AAC audio that start at 0:00, both are copied into the MP4 with no re-encoding, so the picture and the sound are identical to the original. The result line afterwards states what was copied and what was re-encoded, so you can check it.
Why is converting my iPhone MOV to MP4 so slow?
Most likely the video is HEVC, the format an iPhone records on its High Efficiency setting. The MP4 made here holds H.264, so every frame has to be decoded and compressed again, which takes much longer than a copy and costs a little quality. A camera set to Most Compatible records H.264, and those files can be copied.
Can I convert MOV to MP4 on a Windows PC?
Yes. The conversion runs inside the browser, so no program has to be installed. It needs a browser that has WebCodecs: Chrome or Edge 94 or newer, Safari 16.4 or newer, or Firefox 130 or newer on a computer. If your browser cannot do the job, the page tells you before you wait.
Why does the page say it can't decode my MOV?
The message names the codec that failed. ProRes is the usual cause for files from professional cameras and editors, and the fix is to export an H.264 version from your editor and drop that instead. HEVC fails on devices that cannot decode it, and an uncommon kind of H.264, such as 10-bit or 4:4:4 color, can fail too.
Does my MOV get uploaded anywhere?
No. Your browser opens the file from your own disk and the MP4 is built in the memory of the same tab, so nothing about the video is sent to a server. If your browser has no built-in AAC encoder, the page downloads a small one, about 1 MB of program code, and your video is not part of that download.
After the MP4, the edit
A format change leaves the picture exactly as it was. If the next job is turning a long video into short vertical clips, GPT-Video cuts the clips, reframes each one to 9:16 around the speaker's face and adds captions generated from the speech. GPT-Video does this on its own servers, and it uses credits.
Related
Your file is processed on your device and never uploaded.