MOV
Also known as: QuickTime File Format, .mov, QuickTime movie
Apple's QuickTime video container. iPhones record MOV files, and many DJI cameras offer it as an alternative to MP4 for the same video and audio.
Updated
What it means
MOV is the QuickTime File Format, the container Apple introduced with its QuickTime player in the early 1990s. Like MP4, it wraps video, audio, timecode and metadata into a single file and does not dictate the compression. MP4 was in fact built on the QuickTime structure, so the two are close relatives and most software treats them almost interchangeably.
Where you meet MOV depends on your gear. iPhones save every video as MOV, usually HEVC in the High Efficiency setting or H.264 in Most Compatible. Many DJI drones and Osmo cameras let you choose between MOV and MP4 in the menu, and professional workflows use MOV for intermediate codecs such as Apple ProRes.
How it works in practice
On a DJI drone the MOV versus MP4 choice changes the wrapper, not the image: the same Bitrate, codec and resolution go into either. Pick MP4 if you want the widest playback on Windows and Android, MOV if you live in Final Cut Pro or work mostly on a Mac.
iPhone clips carry extra baggage worth knowing about. Recent models record HDR in Dolby Vision by default, stored as 10-bit HEVC inside the MOV, and Cinematic mode clips hold depth data that only Apple apps use. Exporting from Photos on a Mac with the default options re-encodes the clip; choose Export Unmodified Original, or import over a cable, to keep the file the phone actually recorded.
What to watch out for
Playback problems with MOV almost always come from what is inside, not the container. An HEVC MOV from an iPhone may refuse to play on a Windows PC until the HEVC extension is installed, and ProRes MOV files are huge, often several times the size of the same clip in HEVC, which makes uploading and archiving painful.
HDR is the other trap. A Dolby Vision iPhone clip can look washed out or oddly bright in software that does not understand HDR metadata. If your edit will be watched in standard dynamic range, turn off HDR Video in the iPhone camera settings before filming, or export an SDR version first.
How RawClip handles it
RawClip accepts MOV uploads as long as the video inside is H.264 or H.265, which covers iPhone and DJI files straight from the device. With ProRes MOVs, play it safe and export them to HEVC or H.264 first. iPhone clips can go into the same order as action-camera footage, and the highlight arrives as an MP4 in 4K and 1080p.