Last updated on 2013-07-25, by Irene

What is MOV

About MOV Format

MOV, also called QuickTime, is a multimedia container file format created by Apple Inc. It is primarily used with the company’s QuickTime media player and is widely used for iTunes. A MOV file, with file extension “.mov”, can contain video, graphics, animation, 3D and VR (virtual reality) content, or text (for example for subtitles). It acts as a multimedia container for digital videos, and its multitracking ability allows editors to shape the file in a variety of ways.

MOV video file functions as a multimedia container file that contains one or more tracks, each of which stores a particular type of data: audio, video, effects, or text (e.g. for subtitles). Each track either contains a digitally-encoded media stream (using a specific codec) or a data reference to the media stream located in another file. Tracks are maintained in a hierarchal data structure consisting of objects called atoms. An atom can be a parent to other atoms or it can contain media or edit data, but it cannot do both.

MOV stores video and audio files in Apple’s own proprietary compression technology. Depending on the compression used, MOV can provide very high quality video clips. The only thing is that the better the quality the larger the file. Its file format is also one of the most popular formats in many websites for audio and video streaming. This is because streaming of MOV files across the internet is easy and fast, and can be viewed before the entire file has been downloaded. Another important characteristic is that it can be placed both on an internet streaming server, as well as on local storages such as hard disk or CD ROM.

MOV has emerged as the Safari platform for mobile devices. Many PC encyclopedic software applications are also now using QuickTime and its default MOV file support to play multimedia files. MOV is compatible with both Macintosh and Windows. It can be played on both Mac OS and Windows using Apple QuickTime Player.

Related Software

Leawo Video Converter (MOV Converter): an easy video and audio solution for any format conversions, with fast speed and excellent output guaranteed. Equipped with 3D conversion function, you can get 3D MOV video as output. This MOV Converter not only converts common videos to MOV video, but also converts MOV video to other video formats.

Leawo DVD Ripper (DVD to MOV Ripper): a useful DVD ripping program for users to rip DVD to video in various formats. So with it you can enjoy great convenience to convert DVD to MOV for appreciation. This DVD to MOV Ripper enables you to convert DVD to MOV with fast speed and excellent video quality. 3D MOV video as output is also supportable.

Related Source
AVI, WMV, MP4, M4V, M4A, AAC, Quicktime, iTunes, iPod, iPhone, iPad, iMovie, Sony Vegas

References
How to convert MPEG to MOV
How to convert MOV to AVI
How to Convert DVD to MOV videos

External Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.mov