MOV Converter
FileFlip converts MOV files into 30 other formats entirely inside your browser, using WebCodecs and FFmpeg compiled to WebAssembly. The MOV file is never uploaded to a server: it is read off your disk, converted on your own machine, and saved back by the browser. There is no file-size limit and no account to create.
How do I convert a MOV file?#
- Drop your MOV file onto the converter at the top of this page, or click it to pick one from your computer.
- Choose the format you want out of it. FileFlip downloads the engine that conversion needs, once, and your browser caches it.
- Conversion starts the moment you pick the format, and the result is yours to download. The work happens in this tab, so nothing is uploaded and nothing is queued.
Is it safe to convert MOV files online?#
Yes, because nothing is uploaded. FileFlip converts MOV files inside the browser tab you already have open, using WebAssembly builds of the same engines a desktop converter would install. Your file is read from your own disk into the page's memory, and no request carrying it is ever made.
You do not have to take that on trust. Open your browser's network panel, run a conversion, and you will see the engine come down and your file go nowhere. There is no upload, no server-side copy, no retention window, and no account tied to what you converted.
How FileFlip works lists every engine, its version and its download size, and shows how to check for yourself that nothing leaves your machine.
What happens to a MOV file#
FileFlip converts MOV into 30 formats with WebCodecs and FFmpeg, all of it inside the browser tab. Each conversion below names the engine it uses, what it downloads, and exactly what that conversion keeps or drops.
| Category | Video Files |
|---|---|
| File extension | .mov |
| FileFlip support | Read and written |
| Conversions available | 30 |
| Engines | WebCodecs and FFmpeg |
| Downloaded to your browser | 30.8 MB on the first conversion, then cached |
What is a MOV file?#
A MOV file holds video, audio, text and timecode as separate tracks in Apple's QuickTime container, the 1991 format whose structure MPEG later adopted as the basis for MP4.
Keep footage as MOV while it is still being edited, especially ProRes, where the point is fast scrubbing and repeated re-encoding would cost quality.
Convert MOV to MP4 once the video is finished and needs to be shared, uploaded or played on Windows and Android.
The MOV file format reference covers the specification, the programs that open one, and what each conversion keeps or drops.
MOV questions people ask#
What is the difference between MOV and MP4?
MOV came first and MP4 was built from it. ISO standardised MP4 in 2001 directly on Apple's published QuickTime file format, so a MOV and an MP4 share the same atom layout internally. The practical difference is what they are allowed to carry: MP4 sticks to a standardised codec list, while MOV also holds Apple codecs like ProRes that MP4 players do not expect.
Why won't my MOV file play on Windows?
Windows has no built-in MOV support because Apple abandoned QuickTime for Windows in April 2016, leaving two known vulnerabilities unpatched and prompting US-CERT to recommend uninstalling it. VLC plays MOV files on Windows without any of that, and converting to MP4 makes the file work in the built-in player. If the MOV holds ProRes, converting is the only realistic option.
Is MOV a codec?
MOV is a container, so whether it plays depends on the codec inside rather than the extension. A MOV from an iPhone usually holds H.264 or HEVC and plays almost anywhere. A MOV from an edit suite may hold ProRes, which needs Final Cut, Premiere, Resolve or VLC, and will simply fail in a browser or on a TV.
Does converting MOV to MP4 lose quality?
Converting MOV to MP4 loses nothing when the video is already H.264 or HEVC, because the same stream is lifted into the new container without being decoded. That is a remux and it takes seconds. A ProRes MOV is a different story: MP4 has no place to put ProRes, so the video is re-encoded to H.264 or HEVC and some quality goes with it, though the file shrinks enormously.
Why are MOV files from my camera so large?
Large MOV files are usually ProRes, Apple's editing codec introduced in 2007, which compresses each frame on its own instead of storing differences between frames. ProRes 422 runs around 122 Mbit/s at 1080p and ProRes 4444 around 275 Mbit/s, against maybe 10 to 20 Mbit/s for delivery H.264. You are paying in disk space for footage that edits cleanly and survives being re-encoded.