Video converter · Windows 10 and 11
Convert MP4 to MOV
Need a MOV for Final Cut Pro, iMovie or a client on a Mac? Octoolo usually just moves an MP4's picture and sound into a MOV without touching them. And when an editor wants a file that is easy to cut, it makes Apple ProRes instead.
How to convert MP4 to MOV
- 1
Open the converter
Open Converters from Octoolo's home screen and pick Convert video. The first time, FFmpeg downloads (77 MB, once).
- 2
Bring in the MP4s
Drag the videos or their folder onto the window, or click Choose videos. Each line shows the codec, which tells you at a glance whether a copy is likely.
- 3
Choose MOV
Select MOV under Video and keep As it is for a copy. For editing, open More settings and set Video codec to Apple ProRes.
- 4
Convert
Start it. A copy is quick, and its line reports “Copied as it is, nothing re-encoded”; ProRes takes longer and makes much bigger files.
MP4 and MOV compared
| Detail | MP4 | MOV |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | MPEG-4 Part 14 | QuickTime File Format |
| Holds | Video, sound and subtitles | Video and sound |
| Usual video | H.264, H.265 (HEVC) or AV1 | H.264, HEVC or ProRes |
| Usual sound | AAC or MP3 | AAC or PCM |
| Plays in | Nearly everything: Windows, Mac, iPhone, Android, TVs, browsers, editors and websites | Mac and iPhone; on Windows, Media Player and VLC; some websites and TVs refuse it |
| Best for | Sharing, uploading and playing anywhere | iPhone recordings and Apple editing (Final Cut, ProRes) |
| Since | 2003, MPEG (based on Apple's QuickTime) | 1991, Apple |
Usually a copy in seconds
MP4 and MOV are close relatives: MP4 was based on Apple's QuickTime format, and both hold H.264 and HEVC video with AAC sound. As it is therefore just copies the picture and every sound track into the MOV, in the same order, and text subtitles come along too. Nothing is decoded, nothing is lost, and the MOV is about the same size as the MP4.
HEVC gets the hvc1 tag Apple's players look for, so it opens in QuickTime and on iPhones and iPads. Only less common streams are converted: an AV1 or VP9 picture becomes H.264, and Opus sound becomes AAC. Each new MOV keeps its MP4's name, so clip.mp4 becomes clip.mov in the same folder, and the MP4 itself is left alone.
Apple ProRes for editing
H.264 and HEVC save space by describing most frames in terms of others, which makes them small but hard work for an editing program to scrub and cut. ProRes stores every frame on its own, with more color detail, so timelines play smoothly. Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve all take it. Choose Apple ProRes under Video codec, and the quality picks the flavor:
| Quality | ProRes made |
|---|---|
| As it is or High | ProRes 422 HQ |
| Balanced | ProRes 422 |
| Small | ProRes 422 LT |
All three are 10-bit 4:2:2, at the MP4's own frame size and rate unless you change them. They are many times larger than the MP4 and are made on the processor, so give big batches time and disk space. ProRes cannot add detail the MP4 never had; what it adds is ease of editing. For the sound, many editors prefer Uncompressed (PCM) under Sound codec; Apple Lossless is there too.
Do you need a MOV at all?
Apple's own apps, QuickTime, iMovie and Final Cut Pro among them, open H.264 MP4 files directly. If an MP4 already plays on the Mac, a MOV of the same streams will not play any better: it is the same picture in a different wrapper. The reasons to convert are practical ones, such as a client or a template that asks for .mov, an editing workflow built on ProRes, or a program that only lists MOV in its import dialog. Trying it costs little, though: a copy takes hardly longer than duplicating the file.
On Windows, a MOV is no trouble either way: Windows' Media Player and VLC play H.264 MOVs, so converting does not cost you playback on the PC. The reverse trip, an iPhone or Mac MOV into a file every Windows app takes, is MOV to MP4.
Batches, sizes and frame rates
Drop a whole folder of MP4s and they are all copied or converted with the same setting, each MOV next to its MP4 or together in a folder you choose. Copies run side by side, up to four at once; ProRes encodes one video at a time. If a timeline needs a set format, More settings can bring 4K down to 1080p or 720p under Size, and lower Frames a second, say from 60 to 30, though never raise it. Any of those changes means the picture is encoded again rather than copied.
A batch can mix both kinds of work. With As it is, the MP4s whose streams fit are copied while any odd one out is converted, and each line tells you which happened. A finished MOV never takes the place of an existing file: a second clip.mov is saved as clip (2).mov.
Octoolo or an online converter?
| Detail | Octoolo | A typical online tool |
|---|---|---|
| Your files | Stay on your computer | Usually uploaded to the site's server |
| Without internet | Works | Does not work |
| File size | No limit | Often capped on free use |
| Many files | Whole folders at once | Often a few at a time |
| Watermarks and ads | None | Common on free plans |
| Cost | $4.99 a month, all 17 apps | Free with limits, or a plan per site |
Questions, answered
Is MOV better quality than MP4?
Neither is better: they are containers, and with As it is the MOV holds exactly the MP4's video. Quality only changes if the picture is encoded again, and ProRes 422 HQ keeps practically everything the MP4 shows.
Will a MOV made on Windows open in Final Cut Pro?
Yes. H.264, HEVC and ProRes MOVs are everyday Final Cut files, whichever computer wrote them.
How much bigger is a ProRes file?
Much bigger, since ProRes spends many times the bits of H.264, so check how much room your disk has before a batch. Balanced or Small, which make ProRes 422 or LT, save some of it.
Can I make MOVs from MKV or AVI files?
Yes. What a MOV can hold is copied, and anything else is converted to H.264.
Does it keep both sound tracks?
Yes. A MOV holds several, and Octoolo keeps every sound track the MP4 has.
Can I make ProRes from other videos too?
Yes. Any video FFmpeg reads, an MKV or an AVI for example, becomes a ProRes MOV the same way: choose MOV, then Apple ProRes under Video codec.
MP4 to MOV, and 16 more apps.
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