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Convert MOV to MP4 Without Uploading

Turn an iPhone or QuickTime MOV into an MP4 that plays anywhere — usually without re-encoding, so it is fast and loses nothing. Runs in your browser.

Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is uploaded

Usually this is not really a conversion

MOV and MP4 are much closer than their different extensions suggest. Both are containers built on the same ISO base media format, and an iPhone MOV normally holds exactly what an MP4 holds: H.264 video and AAC audio.

So the default here does not convert anything. It copies both streams into an MP4 container untouched, which means the output is identical to the input in everything but the wrapper — and it finishes in about the time it takes to read the file, however large that file is.

Why your MOV will not play

Almost never because the video inside is exotic. It is the container: plenty of players, upload forms and editing tools accept MP4 and refuse MOV even when the contents are byte for byte the same. Windows, Android and a great many web upload fields behave this way.

That is the case this tool exists for, and the case where it is effectively instant and lossless.

When to tick the re-encode box

Two situations. If the copy fails, something in the file cannot sit in an MP4 and it has to be rebuilt. And if your video was recorded in HEVC — which newer iPhones do by default — an MP4 will happily carry it, but the player at the other end still needs to understand HEVC, and many do not.

Re-encoding to H.264 produces the combination that plays on essentially any device made in the last fifteen years. It takes real time and costs a little quality, which is why it is not the default.

Nothing is uploaded

The work runs in your browser through a WebAssembly build of ffmpeg. Since a stream copy barely touches the processor, this is one of the cases where doing it locally is not merely more private but plainly faster — a hosted converter would still have to receive the whole file before it could begin.

Frequently asked questions

Is MOV really different from MP4?

Barely, and that is why this is usually instant. Both are containers built on the same underlying structure, and an iPhone MOV normally holds exactly what an MP4 holds — H.264 and AAC. Converting is mostly a matter of rewriting the wrapper, not the contents.

Does the quality change?

Not when the streams can be copied, which is the usual case: the picture and sound are moved across untouched, so the result is identical. If the file holds something an MP4 cannot carry, the tool re-encodes and says so, and that pass does cost some quality.

Why will my MOV not play on Windows or Android?

Because the container is Apple's, not because the video inside is exotic. Plenty of players handle MP4 and refuse MOV even when the contents are identical. That is exactly the case this tool exists for, and the case where it finishes in a second or two.

What about iPhone videos in HEVC?

Newer iPhones record in HEVC, which an MP4 can hold, so those also copy across without re-encoding. The resulting MP4 will still need a player that understands HEVC. If you need the widest possible compatibility, use Compress Video, which re-encodes to H.264 — the format that plays essentially everywhere.

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