Your iPhone or Mac recording comes back as an MP4 that Windows PCs, smart TVs and upload forms expect.
Converting MOV to MP4 moves Apple's QuickTime video into the container that Windows, Android, browsers and smart TVs expect. The two formats are closely related, so ordinary iPhone clips change little. One thing to know: if the picture inside stays HEVC, some older devices and Windows apps still will not play it, even as MP4.
Transfers use HTTPS, and files converted on the free tier are deleted within 24 hours, so the result is not a long-term archive. Quality depends on the source file, so open the MP4 file once before you share it.
MOV (QuickTime File Format)
Apple's QuickTime container, introduced in 1991. It stores video, audio, timecode and text tracks, and is what iPhones, Macs and many cameras record. Typical contents are H.264 or HEVC with AAC audio, or ProRes in editing workflows.
MP4 (MPEG-4 Part 14)
An ISO-standard container that was modelled on the QuickTime file structure, which is why the two are close relatives. It usually carries H.264 or HEVC video with AAC audio and is accepted by nearly every phone, browser and television.
A short 1280 × 720 clip with sound, saved as MOV, converted on indox.org
MOV depends on QuickTime support, which Windows and many televisions lack out of the box. Converting removes that dependency without you installing anything, and a single file needs no account. A clip that stays HEVC still needs an HEVC decoder on the player.
A few minutes of ProRes from Final Cut Pro fills gigabytes. Check the size limit on the upload box before you add the export. Signing in raises that limit and paid plans raise it further.
A re-encoded ProRes export is typically much smaller. If it is still too big to email, download the MP4 or share it with a link. Free-tier files are deleted within 24 hours, so do not rely on the link as storage.
Pick the MOV from your device or drop it on the box; imports from Dropbox, Google Drive or a URL work too. Slow-motion and cinematic edits made in the Photos app may not travel with the file.
With MP4 confirmed as the output, start the conversion. ProRes footage has to be re-encoded, so expect a long export to take a while. The progress bar shows the job, and you can cancel it.
Download the result and open it on the device that refused the MOV. If it still fails, the usual cause is HEVC video the player cannot decode. Check HDR recordings for flatter or shifted colour.
You get an MP4 of your iPhone, Mac or camera recording, the container nearly every player and upload form expects, where a MOV depends on QuickTime support. The two formats are close relatives, so ordinary clips change little, while ProRes footage is re-encoded and comes out far smaller. Extra tracks such as timecode or a second audio stream may be left behind. You install nothing, and one file needs no account.
The upload box shows the live size limit before you add a file. Signing in raises it, and paid plans raise it further.
MOV in, MP4 out. Pick another output on the converter if you need a different format.
Files are encrypted in transit over HTTPS and processed on indox infrastructure.
Free-tier files are deleted automatically within 24 hours after the job finishes.
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The MP4 plays, but a Windows player shows no picture | iPhone clips in the High Efficiency setting are HEVC, and the MP4 keeps that codec | Use a player with HEVC support, or set the iPhone camera to Most Compatible before filming |
| An extra audio track or timecode is missing | Only one audio stream is picked automatically, and data streams are not selected | Keep the MOV when you need every track |
| A ProRes clip came out re-encoded | ProRes is not carried over as it is, so the picture is re-encoded to H.264 | Keep the ProRes MOV as the master and use the MP4 as the delivery copy |
Older video files at a smaller size
Video for phones, TVs and editors
Browser recordings you can share
The sound from a video
| Compared on | MOV | MP4 |
|---|---|---|
| Origin | The QuickTime file format, created by Apple for its media framework | The MPEG-4 file format, which owes a debt to QuickTime |
| Interchangeable | Serves as the basis for MP4, but the two are not quite interchangeable | Differs from QuickTime in details such as calling its building blocks boxes rather than atoms |
| Where it plays | Primarily supported by macOS; QuickTime for Windows has been unsupported since early 2016 | Supported by all browsers |
| What it holds | Any sort of time-based data, including audio, video and text tracks | Audio and video, plus text and graphics objects |
Facts checked on October 16, 2026
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Not quite, but they are close relatives. MP4 was standardised from Apple's QuickTime file structure, and both commonly hold the same H.264 or HEVC video and AAC audio. The differences are in what else each allows: MOV accepts ProRes, timecode and other Apple-specific tracks, while MP4 is stricter and far more widely supported.
It depends on what is inside the MOV. When the streams are already H.264 or HEVC with AAC, they can in principle be moved to MP4 untouched with no loss at all. When the video has to be recompressed, as with ProRes or other editing codecs, some detail is discarded, usually too little to notice in normal viewing.
Usually the cause is the codec, not the file extension. iPhones set to High Efficiency record HEVC, and Windows needs a separate HEVC extension from the Microsoft Store before its built-in apps can decode it. Older editing programs have the same gap. A player such as VLC brings its own decoder, and an H.264 file plays almost anywhere.
A big drop almost always means the source used an editing codec. ProRes keeps every frame nearly intact and produces very large files. Delivery codecs such as H.264 store mostly the differences between frames, which cuts the size a great deal at similar visible quality.
Sometimes it appears to work, but it is not a conversion. Because the two structures are similar, lenient players will open a renamed file, while stricter software, upload checkers and some televisions reject it. Renaming also does nothing about codecs MP4 does not normally carry. Rewriting the container properly is the reliable route.
Not reliably. iPhone HDR video is HEVC with Dolby Vision metadata layered on an HLG signal, and that metadata is easily dropped when a file is rewritten or re-encoded. The result may play as plain HLG, or as standard range with flatter or shifted colours. If HDR matters, check the converted file on the screen you intend to use.
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