To store movies and various videos, the .mov file format (QuickTime file format) is often used, which was developed by Apple for creating, editing, viewing and publishing media files. It is compatible with both Windows platform, and Macintosh. But users often have questions about “how to open the .mov format”, because standard WindowsMedia often cannot cope with it, since it plays files with the .mov extension of earlier versions (before 2.0).
This format can be opened by several players, for example, Quick Time Player (both on Mac OS and Windows), VLC MediaPlayer, Roxio Easy Media Creator, CyberLink PowerDVD 12, CyberLink PowerDirector, as well as the built-in WindowsMedia Player, but it may not open all versions of the format, so it is better to install third-party players.
The most common player for of this format is Quick Time Player from Apple. It is available for free on the official website. Its size is approximately 37 MB. Installing the program takes 2 – 3 minutes. After launching the player, two windows will open: “Apple Quick Time”, where you will be offered links to multimedia files, and “New” - the playback panel. Go to “File” -> “Open File”, select the .mov file extension and click “Open”.
Another video player that can open the .mov format and many others is VLC Media Player. If you want to work not only with the mov extension, but also with other formats, then it is better to install it. You can also open the .mov format using the KM Player program, which in its database has the necessary codecs for opening MOV files. Reading and editing *mov files is also supported by CyberLink PowerDirector – powerful program for working with video content. Roxio Easy Media Creator is a similar utility with no less features.
The .mov file can be easily converted to any other format that is supported by your OS. After all, it is just a “container” (like .avi) in which information about video frames is placed, and it can be recorded not only using .mov. One such converter program is RAD Video Tools.
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The task of editing MOV files is quite simple, as there are many editors that can handle it very well. There are also many free MOVs editors that come with various additional functions. Therefore, finding the most suitable one for you can be quite difficult due to too large selection. The list below of the 7 best free MOV file editors will help you in your choice.
Top 6 Free Editors for MOV Files
#1. Filmora Video Editor
#3 Free Video Cutter
In this editor, you will enjoy editing videos not only in MOV format, but also in other popular formats - M4V, WMV, AVI and many others. Even beginners will get professional-looking results as the interface is very easy to use. Only one window is displayed, which contains very useful feature preview. You can select and trim any part of the video using this free editor. In addition, you can save the file in a different format. It's really good editor, but it has disadvantages. Editing options audio track It's limited and the sound quality leaves much to be desired, but it's enough to get the job done.
#4. Video Toolbox
Video Toolbox is a great video editor for MOV that allows you to easily share large files MOV for shorter videos. With this editor you can process video files up to 600 MB in size, which is impressive. In addition to a wide selection of video editing functions, it also displays various detailed information - resolution, codec, frame rate, bit rate, etc. Video Toolbox is compatible with any devices and programs, which gives it a noticeable advantage. In addition to MOV files, you can also work with various popular formats such as MPEG, VOB, MP4, 3GP, AMV, AVI, FLV RM, M4V and many others. In this editor, you have the ability to edit files with just a few mouse clicks.
#5. Cute Video Cutter
Even though this MOV video editor has one drawback - no audio, it has many other advanced features that make it one of the best. It has a very user-friendly interface. Like most of best editors, it allows you to select and cut parts from a MOV file. This editor can be used to cut 3GP, AVI, MPEG and WMV files. You will enjoy the lossless compression and also you will be able to get videos best quality. In addition, there is full compatibility with Windows 7, batch compression and no requirements for installing codecs in Cute Video Cutter.
#6. VSDC Free Video Editor
This editor comes with a wide range of advanced features. Apart from supporting MOV file format, it also supports MKV, AVI, VOB, MPG and many more. It is easy to use and therefore trimming and dividing tasks are completed without unnecessary headaches. It is compatible with Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit), Windows 8, Windows Vista(32 and 64 bit), Windows Server, as well as Windows XP. This editor comes with Video Sequencing Wizard as an additional module that allows you to create galleries of files of the same type, or related ones depending on your given parameter. This editor requires CPU and RAM, i.e. computer resources, enough high level, which reduces its benefits. But the fact that it can also be used to convert video eliminates this drawback.
At a time when video was just gaining popularity, there was only one video file format - mov. But technology did not stand still and competitors appeared. What kind of format is this, and is it so ancient and useless?
The MOV format not only has not remained at the same level, it has gone much further than some of its competitors.
What are the characteristics of a MOV file?
MOV or QuickTime - the second name - appeared back in 1990 and served as the first player on Macintosh machines, which was called QuickTime Media Player. Apple improved their product, the player acquired new functions, the structure became more complex in all directions, both for the program and for MOV files. But, despite the intricate filling, the interface and work, especially with the MOV format, remained simple and understandable to every user. This is definitely an advantage of this type files.
Most often, video is stored in it, but the quality has not been lost. In addition, the mov file can contain a lot of other interesting things - below we will look at what exactly that is in more detail.
Perhaps, main feature files with the mov extension is to split it into many separate streams. How will this help us? Each video and audio file comes in its own, separate tracks, which means we can easily divide them, cut them and edit only the piece we need without additional coding.
The structure is very interesting: the tracks, or paths, are in a clear distribution - hierarchical order. They, in turn, consist of separate parts that can perform the following functions:
- "Parent" for the file;
- Media file;
- Editable file.
It is worth noting that each part carries information about only one type of data; it is impossible to store several types at once.
Not only music or videos can be stored in tracks, here we can find a lot:
- Subtitles;
- 3D graphics;
Not every format can afford this. We can say that a mov file is a large cabinet with drawers and containers, each of which stores bits and bytes of information.
And this structure works perfectly. By breaking it down into parts, the format can regulate how much of itself needs to be given over to a particular program. The most common and obvious example is the union of a mov file and PowerPoint. The text and video on the slide will be displayed synchronously. The mov type is often used for self-playing video on web pages.
How will we open a MOV file?
Of course, you can open the file in your native environment – QuickTime Media Player. Free to download and use. It is also reproduced in another Apple product - CyberLink PowerDirector. A few more programs for Mac and other OS:
- Media Player Classic(included in K-Lite Codec Pack)
- Power DVD 7;
- ACDSee;
- capable of playing files up to version 2.0.
- Alternative Quick Time Player;
- FileViewPro;
- Unknown Apple II File.
If we don’t want to just open a mov file, then there is an option to convert to any other required format. We use any converter for this, for example, RAD Video Tools. 
The mov format is very popular, and, as it turned out, although old, it has not lost its relevance, and even vice versa - in the process of format evolution, we have received a fairly convenient format - modern and multifunctional.
The MOV format is one of the most common video containers. Files of this extension are usually compact in size and produce high-quality images. If you are faced with the problem of not being able to play the clip in a standard media player, then we recommend that you convert the video to MOV. And a special language will help you do this, which we will talk about in this article.
Work with any extensions
"VideoMASTER" is universal program, which allows you to work with video recordings of all available extensions. Its rich arsenal of capabilities includes such functions as downloading videos from popular hosting sites (VKontakte, YouTube), complex processing of clips and conversion to other formats. All manipulations with the rollers are quite simple and take little time.
The MOV video converter "VideoMASTER" is adapted to work with video containers of all types - both widely used and extremely rarely used. Available formats include: MPEG4, AVI, VOB, MKV, SWF, FLV, 3GP and many others. You can also convert the video file for devices such as smartphone, portable player, Tablet PC or game console. The built-in database of gadgets is constantly updated with new modern models.
Conversion principle
Now let's look at it in more detail using the above-mentioned software. After installing the VideoMASTER program on your computer, you can literally download the video file you are interested in with just one click (the "Add" button). It was already mentioned above that the MOV video converter will allow you to pre-download the desired video from the Internet. If we are talking about YouTube, then the quality of such a clip can vary from 240p to 1080p.
Next, you will need to select the format you want to convert your video to. For example, if the original video format is FLV, then you should set the preferred extension to MOV. Once you decide on the format you choose, you can start the conversion process.
Built-in video editor
Another useful feature that the VideoMASTER program offers you is video processing in the built-in editor. The editor contains a wide variety of filters that will allow you to quickly crop, add fancy effects, save still images, extract sound, or combine several fragments into one full clip.
The video to MOV converter has a module for burning original DVDs with an interactive menu. Ready-made templates presented in the catalog will help you create a DVD to suit your taste.
The VideoMASTER program is a visual and effective utility that can be mastered in the shortest possible time. Whether you are a beginner or a professional, it doesn’t matter. If you have been looking for a simple and convenient video converter for a long time, then this software will suit you perfectly.
In 1992, the first version of one of the most popular multimedia players QuickTime from Apple. At the time, it was marketed as a media add-on for System Software 6 (Macintosh platform). At the same time, the MOV (Apple QuickTime Movie) format appeared, which is the original and “native” extension for files played back by QuickTime.
Over time, the player has spread to almost all popular operating systems. Accordingly, the expansion also became common for different systems and hardware configurations.
Purpose of the mov extension
This format is not an extension in the usual sense of the word. Formally, it refers to the type of video file, but this does not entirely accurately reflect its essence. Rather, it is a multimedia container. It may contain several information tracks. Video, graphics, animation, subtitles (for VR), 3D, audio - all this can be packed into MOV using lossless data compression.
MOV files are primarily intended for viewing videos as well as editing them.
Tracks compressed in a file can be easily edited individually without rewriting the entire contents of the container. This possibility exists due to the special, hierarchical structure of the file structure. A subfile can be filled with audio or video stuffing - but only with one thing. This feature allows you to work with a specific element without affecting the entire data array.
How to open the mov extension
Today, almost all multimedia applications support the extension of the format in question. Below is a list of the most famous programs to open this extension for all OS. First of all, these are video players and video editors. The list also includes the most popular converters where you can convert this format.
- Windows (all versions):
- QuickTime
- Windows Media Player Classic
- BSPlayer
- Roxio Creator
- CyberLink PowerDVD
- Linux:
- VideoLAN VLC
- Mac OS X:
- QuickTime
- VideoLAN VLC
- Eltima Elmedia Player
- Roxio Toast 15 Titanium
- Roxio Popcorn
- Android:
- iOS:
- olimsoft OPlayer
- VideoLAN VLC for iOS
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