Convert .mov to .mp4 by changing suffix?

MOV is similar to MP4, and changing the file extension from .mov to .mp4 won't affect the playback or editing. They are just file containers.

The disadvantage is that the video is not really converted to mp4 format. If you need to improve compatibility, you can use a video converter tool like ones mentioned in this post: https://www.cisdem.com/resource/convert-mp4-to-mov-mac.html

Most programs that can handle one format can also handle the other.

That is why changing the file extension appears to work. For example, if you rename

this.mov to this.mp4, in each case the file may be associated with Quicktime Player, so if you double-click, Quicktime Player launches and opens the file.

However, even though the mp4 and mov containers are very similar (indeed the former was based on the latter), they are not identical.

Just like changing a jpg file extension to png does NOT convert the file, changing mov to mp4 also does not appropriately convert the file.

I do this every day, it works just fine. If your .mov file is encoded H.264, then simply changing the suffix to .mp4 works just fine. I have a client who can't read files when they're .mov but can when I change them to .mp4. I delver to her weekly, have done so for the past few years, no issues at all, works like a charm every time.

Zachery_F wrote:

MOV is similar to MP4, and changing the file extension from .mov to .mp4 won't affect the playback or editing. They are just file containers.

This is true only because most programs that can open one can also open the other.

In fact, you can change the extension to ".myweirdvideo" and still open the file with Quicktime Player, and it works :-)

You might not be able to just double-click it; but you could control-click, Open with, choose Other..., activate "All applications", choose Quicktime Player, and it would work.

The disadvantage is that the video is not really converted to mp4 format. If you need to improve compatibility, you can use a video converter tool like ones mentioned in this post: https://www.cisdem.com/resource/convert-mp4-to-mov-mac.html

Ideally, one should only rewrap to the different container format, without reencoding the video, but yes that would work too.

[EDIT: The page you linked to seems to no longer exist, or maybe the link you posted had some typo.]

In the old days, the venerable MPEG Streamclip application could very easily convert between mov and mp4 without reencoding the file.

Nowadays, one would probably use ffmpeg.

Here is an example of a command that would do the conversion:

ffmpeg -i file_example_MOV_480_700kB.mov -c copy -movflags +faststart output-mp4.mp4

I also used to use MPEG Streamclip to do this very simple job. Now I've found Avidemux seems to do the job very well. https://avidemux.sourceforge.net

Open your .mov in Avidemux, select Copy in both Video Output and Audio Output, select MP4 Muxer in the Output Format (Configure>MP4/Move index to the beginning of file/don't force aspect ratio/don't rotate/Timescale:auto), then click the Save Video button. Hope that helps.

Ian R. Brown wrote:

Thanks Luis.

Would I be correct in thinking that changing the suffix to .mp4 would make it more universally playable?

In macOS or Windows computers, or in iOS or Android devices, I think that both are widely supported, so there will likely be no difference.

I am firmly within the Apple ecosystem, but I think that if you make a movie with H264 codec, whether in mp4 or mov container format, it will play almost universally.