.mov — QuickTime Movie
Video video/quicktime
What a .mov file is
Apple's container format, and what an iPhone records to. Technically very close to MP4.
How to open it
QuickTime, VLC, most editors. Windows Media Player may need codecs.
Worth knowing
Converting MOV to MP4 is often just a container remux with no re-encoding, which is instant and lossless.
How to identify a .mov file
A file's extension is only its name — renaming a.png to a.mov changes nothing inside. What software actually reads is the magic number, the first few bytes of the file.
| Signature | ftypqt at offset 4 |
| MIME type | video/quicktime |
| Category | Video |
Same container family as MP4, with a QuickTime brand.
# what is this file really?
file mystery.mov
# look at the first bytes yourself
xxd mystery.mov | head -2
head -c 16 mystery.mov | xxd
# Windows PowerShell
Get-Content mystery.mov -AsByteStream -TotalCount 16 | Format-HexFrequently asked questions
What is a .mov file?
Apple's container format, and what an iPhone records to. Technically very close to MP4.
How do I open a .mov file?
QuickTime, VLC, most editors. Windows Media Player may need codecs.
Is .mov safe to open?
Yes. A .mov file is data, not code — opening one cannot execute anything by itself.
Can I change a file's extension to convert it?
No. Renaming changes the label, not the bytes. The one place it appears to work is between formats that genuinely share a container — renaming .docx to .zip works because a DOCX is a ZIP. Everything else needs a real converter.