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MP4 vs MOV

Comparing MPEG-4 Part 14 and Apple QuickTime Movie - which format should you use?

	MP4	MOV
Full Name	MPEG-4 Part 14	Apple QuickTime Movie
Extension	.mp4	.mov
MIME Type	video/mp4	video/quicktime
Category	video	video

MP4 Pros

+Universal playback support
+Efficient H.264/H.265 compression
+Supports subtitles and multiple audio tracks
+Standard for web and mobile video

MP4 Cons

-H.265 has patent licensing issues
-Editing requires re-encoding
-Not ideal for lossless archival
-Large files for high-quality long content

MOV Pros

+High quality video support
+Multiple tracks (video, audio, subtitles)
+ProRes support for professional editing
+Native Apple ecosystem support

MOV Cons

-Large file sizes
-Limited compatibility on non-Apple platforms
-Not ideal for web streaming
-Can be slow to load

Use MP4 when...

-Web video (YouTube, social media)
-Mobile video recording
-Streaming services
-Video downloads and distribution

Use MOV when...

-iPhone video recordings
-Professional video editing (ProRes)
-QuickTime playback
-Video production workflows

Learn more about MP4 Learn more about MOV