Rescreen / Free tools / MP4 to MOV

MP4 to MOV converter

Drop an MP4 here for a MOV in about a second, with H.264 video copied so no quality is lost.

Drop an MP4 file here

or choose one from your device

Up to 2.0 GB. Stays on your device.

How to convert MP4 to MOV

Three steps, all on this page.

Choose your MP4
Choose or drop an MP4 file. The page reads what is inside and checks that this browser can convert it before anything starts.
Convert to MOV
Pick the options you want, then press Convert to MOV. Tracks that a MOV can hold as they are get copied, which is near instant.
Check and download
The new file is opened again and checked against the original before it is offered. Play it in the preview, then download it.

What changes from MP4 to MOV

MP4 is derived from the ISO base media file format, which comes directly from Apple’s QuickTime format. MDN notes the two are close but “not quite interchangeable”. Source
A QuickTime movie can hold AAC, Apple Lossless and MP3 sound, among others. In browsers, MDN lists MOV as playing in Safari only, while MP4 with H.264 plays in every major browser. Source
Final Cut Pro imports MP4 as well as MOV, and lists H.264, HEVC and every version of Apple ProRes among the video formats it takes. Source
QuickTime Player’s File › Export As saves a QuickTime movie in H.264 or, at 1080p and 4K, HEVC. It offers no ProRes export. Source
On a Mac, selecting a file in the Finder and pressing Command-I shows its format next to Kind. Source

MP4 file

MP4 (ISO base media)

PictureH.264 or HEVC
SoundAAC

MOV file

MOV (QuickTime)

PictureH.264
SoundAAC

Who converts MP4 to MOV

People who have been told to send a MOV: a client or agency whose delivery spec says .mov, an upload form or asset library that only lists QuickTime files, an editor who keeps every master as MOV. Some are Mac owners who assume their apps need it, which is usually not the case (the first section below says when it is). Most of the MP4s that arrive here are H.264 from a phone, a screen recorder or a download, and those rewrap without touching a frame.

Do you need a MOV at all?

Often not. QuickTime Player, Photos, iMovie and Final Cut Pro all open an H.264 MP4 directly; Apple’s own list for Final Cut Pro names MP4 next to MOV. If a Mac app is refusing your MP4, the cause is nearly always the codec inside (an unusual one, or a damaged file), and a MOV holding the same video would be refused too.

A MOV is genuinely needed when someone else’s rules say so: a broadcaster’s or agency’s delivery spec, an upload form that filters by extension, an asset library or template that only accepts .mov. That is when this page earns its keep, because the rewrap gives them a real QuickTime file without changing a single frame.

Why an H.264 MP4 takes about a second

MP4 and MOV are built the same way: a header that says what is in the file, followed by the compressed video and sound. H.264 video and AAC sound are allowed in both, so this page reads them out of the MP4 and writes them into a QuickTime movie unchanged. Nothing is decoded and nothing is compressed again, which is why a three-minute 1080p MP4 becomes a MOV in a tenth of a second in Chrome and comes out a hair smaller.

When that happens, the finished file is labelled Copied without re-encoding, so no quality was lost. The page then opens the MOV it made and checks the codecs and the length before offering the download.

File	MP4	MOV	Time taken
3 min of H.264, rewrapped	59.1 MB	59.0 MB	0.1 s Chrome, 0.3 s Safari, 0.4 s Firefox
1 min of HEVC, kept as HEVC	46.3 MB	46.2 MB	0.1 s Chrome, 0.2 s Safari
1 min of HEVC, made H.264	46.3 MB	71.0 MB	8.9 s Chrome

Converted on this page on an M1 Mac in Chrome 155, Safari 27.0 and Firefox 157. The test files were made with ffmpeg: 1080p at 30 fps with stereo AAC.

Is renaming .mp4 to .mov enough?

It often appears to work, because Apple’s players look inside a file rather than trusting its name. But the first bytes of the file still say MP4, so anything that checks properly (an upload validator, a media asset manager, ffprobe) reports an MP4 with the wrong extension. A delivery that was rejected for not being MOV can be rejected again for that.

The rewrap here takes about as long as renaming and writes a real QuickTime header. If you are not sure what a file is, select it in the Finder and press Command-I: Kind shows the format.

HEVC MP4s from phones and cameras

Many Android phones, action cameras and drones save HEVC (H.265) MP4s. By default this page turns HEVC into H.264, which every editor and player takes, at the cost of a bigger file and a few seconds per minute of footage. That needs a browser that can decode HEVC: Safari on a Mac, or Chrome or Edge on a Mac or on a PC with a hardware decoder. Firefox cannot, and the page says so before you convert.

Tick Keep HEVC as it is and the HEVC is copied instead: instant, no loss, and no decoding needed, so it works in Firefox too. The MOV labels the video hvc1, the form Apple’s players expect; ffmpeg writes HEVC as hev1 unless told otherwise, and a hev1 file is a common reason a Mac shows a black picture with sound.

If you were asked for ProRes

A spec that says “ProRes MOV” wants the video re-encoded as Apple ProRes, an editing codec with much larger files. Browsers cannot encode ProRes, so this page cannot make one; it makes an H.264 or HEVC MOV. To make ProRes, use Final Cut Pro or Compressor on a Mac, DaVinci Resolve, or the ffmpeg command under Other ways below. Do not send an H.264 MOV to a ProRes spec: it will fail the check.

If you only need a MOV to keep Mac work in one format, H.264 is fine. Recordings you make on a Mac in the first place, with the built-in screen recorder, are already MOV.

When not to convert

If the app, site or person you are sending to accepts MP4, keep the MP4. It plays in more places than a MOV, including every browser, and a rewrap gives them nothing new.

A MOV is not easier to edit than an MP4 holding the same H.264. If editing feels slow, that is the codec, and the fix is an editing codec or proxy files (Final Cut Pro can make both on import), not a different container. Nor can the conversion repair a damaged MP4 or improve how a recording looks or sounds.

Other ways to convert MP4 to MOV

avconvert, built into macOS Mac

Open Terminal.
Run avconvert --source input.mp4 --preset PresetPassthrough --output output.mov.
The MOV is saved where --output says, with the video and sound copied as they are.

Already on every Mac, and lossless like this page. Its other presets re-encode everything, sound included.

QuickTime Player Mac

Open the MP4 in QuickTime Player.
Choose File › Export As and pick a resolution, such as 1080p.
For 1080p or 4K, choose Greater Compatibility for H.264 or Smaller File Size for HEVC, then save.

Always re-encodes the video, so it is slower and loses a little detail. It is the easy way to turn an HEVC MP4 into an H.264 MOV on a Mac.

ffmpeg Mac, Windows or Linux, from the command line

Install ffmpeg (on a Mac with Homebrew: brew install ffmpeg; on Windows: winget install Gyan.FFmpeg).
Run ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c copy output.mov to rewrap H.264. For HEVC, add -tag:v hvc1 so Apple’s players accept it.
For ProRes, run ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v prores_ks -profile:v 3 -c:a pcm_s16le output.mov (profile 3 is ProRes 422 HQ).

The only free route to ProRes on Windows, and the quickest for a folder of files.

Frequently asked questions

Can you convert MP4 to MOV without losing quality?

Yes, when the video is H.264, which most MP4s are. The video and sound are copied into the MOV as they are, so the picture is identical. Only turning HEVC into H.264 re-encodes, and this page tells you before it does.

How do I convert MP4 to MOV on Windows?

Use this page in Chrome or Edge: it runs on Windows the same as on a Mac, and nothing is installed or uploaded. Windows has no built-in tool that saves MOV (Clipchamp exports MP4 only), so the other option is ffmpeg from the command line.

How do I convert MP4 to MOV on a Mac?

Drop it on this page for a lossless rewrap, or run avconvert in Terminal, which does the same. QuickTime Player’s File › Export As also saves a MOV, but it re-encodes the video, so it is slower and not lossless.

Does Final Cut Pro or iMovie need MOV files?

No. Both import H.264 and HEVC MP4s, and Apple lists MP4 among Final Cut Pro’s supported containers. Convert only if someone downstream asks for MOV, or for ProRes, which this page cannot make.

Why does my MOV show a black picture on a Mac?

Usually because the video is HEVC labelled hev1, as ffmpeg writes it by default; Apple’s players want hvc1. A MOV made here is always labelled hvc1. With ffmpeg, add -tag:v hvc1 to the command.

Is MOV better quality than MP4?

No. Quality comes from the codec and its settings, not the container, and both can hold the same H.264 or HEVC. MOV can also hold ProRes, which is why it is the editing world’s format, but an H.264 MOV looks exactly like the MP4 it came from.

Is my file uploaded?

No. Your MP4 is read, converted and checked on your own computer, so there is no upload and no queue. In Chrome and Edge on a computer files of any size work, written straight to a file you choose; in other browsers, files up to 2.0 GB. We count anonymous page views and whether a conversion worked; when one fails, the event also carries the step, your browser’s error and the file’s codecs, size and length in broad bands, never the file or its name. If a conversion fails you can choose to send us the file, which is deleted within 30 days. See the privacy policy.

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