MOV to GIF Converter
To convert MOV to GIF here, drop the file on the page and mark up to 20 seconds: your browser turns that section into a GIF on your device, and nothing is uploaded. Portrait clips from an iPhone come out upright, and a MOV whose codec your browser cannot decode gets a message that names it.
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What the page does with each kind of MOV
A MOV is the file type that iPhones and the screen recorder built into macOS save. Inside it, the picture can be H.264, HEVC or ProRes, and what the page can do depends on which one it is. The table lists the cases. The soundtrack is never part of a GIF, so it plays no role in any of them.
| Inside the MOV | What happens | Result |
|---|---|---|
| H.264 video | The browser decodes it and the page takes frames at the rate you pick | A GIF that is 480 px wide, or 320 or 640 if you choose that |
| HEVC video, from the iPhone's High Efficiency setting | Decoded only if your browser and device can decode HEVC | A GIF where they can, and a message that names HEVC where they cannot |
| ProRes video | Browsers cannot decode it | A message that names ProRes and says to convert the video to H.264 first |
| A portrait video stored sideways with a rotation flag | The flag is applied to every frame | An upright GIF |
| The soundtrack | Ignored | A GIF has no sound |
A vertical 1080 × 1920 iPhone clip becomes a 480 × 853 GIF at the starting width. The page's estimate for 20 seconds of it at 480 px and 15 fps is about 30 MB, so most vertical clips need a shorter section, a lower frame rate or a narrower width.
iPhone clips and the rotation flag
An iPhone often stores a portrait video as a landscape one and adds a flag that says to turn it. The page reads that flag and applies it to every frame, so the GIF stands upright and the size line shows its real shape, for example 480 × 853 for a 1080 × 1920 clip. A vertical GIF holds about three times the pixels of a 16:9 one at the same width, which makes it much heavier. With the starting settings, the page puts 5 seconds of vertical video at about 7.6 MB, while 5 seconds of 16:9 video comes to about 2.4 MB.
HEVC and ProRes inside a MOV
An iPhone records HEVC on the High Efficiency setting and H.264 on Most Compatible. Browsers decode H.264 almost everywhere and HEVC only on some devices: Safari on a Mac, iPhone or iPad, and Chrome or Edge where the graphics hardware supports it. They do not decode ProRes at all. In both cases the message appears when you press Create GIF, it names the codec, and nothing is saved.
Screen recordings made on a Mac
The screen recorder in macOS, opened with Shift-Command-5, saves a .mov file. Screens are mostly flat colors, which a GIF stores well, and the page notes that flat graphics and screen recordings come out smaller than camera video. Mark the 20 seconds or fewer that show the step, set the frame rate to 10 if the screen changes slowly, and keep the width at 480 or 640 px so that text stays readable.
Questions people ask
How do I convert a MOV to a GIF?
Drop the MOV on the box and let the page read it. The first 5 seconds are selected, and you can drag the handles or type times to choose up to 20 seconds. Pick 320, 480 or 640 px and 10, 15 or 20 frames per second, press Create GIF and download the result when it appears.
Why won't my iPhone MOV turn into a GIF?
The usual reason is HEVC video that your browser or device cannot decode. The page then names the codec and suggests converting the video to H.264 first. Safari on a Mac or iPhone decodes HEVC, and Chrome and Edge do where the computer's graphics hardware supports it. A camera set to Most Compatible records H.264.
How do I make a GIF from a Mac screen recording?
Record with Shift-Command-5, which saves a .mov file, and drop that file here. Choose the seconds that show the step you want, keep the width at 480 or 640 px so that text stays readable, and press Create GIF. Flat screen content makes smaller GIFs than camera video does.
How big will a GIF from my MOV be?
The page shows an estimate before you create anything, and it moves as you change the section, the width or the frame rate. At 480 px and 15 fps it is about 1.5 MB for each second of vertical iPhone video and about 0.5 MB for each second of 16:9 video. The real size is shown when the GIF is ready.
A silent loop and a clip with sound
A GIF from a MOV is silent and limited to 256 colors in each frame. GPT-Video keeps the sound and the full color: it cuts a long video into short vertical clips with captions that follow the speech. That cutting is done on our servers and uses credits.
Related
Your file is processed on your device and never uploaded.