Cannot Play .MOV file in Quicktime

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Level 1

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Cannot Play .MOV file in Quicktime

Even though Quicktime is the native player for Mac and the .mov extension is an extension derived from QTFF (quicktime file format), the player still does not play some .mov files.

What makes this even more ridiculous is the fact that a .mov file of a video made on an iPhone isn't compatible with Mac's Quicktime.

Instead of making it compatible, it is necessary to have third-party programs either to convert the video or to play it.

Is this the only possible solution?

MacBook Pro (2017 – 2020)

Posted on Nov 28, 2024 6:42 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 6, 2024 1:08 AM in response to elgrecones

Using HEIF or HEVC media on Apple devices - Apple Support

You can set your iPhone to convert H.265 to H.264 automatically while transferring clips.
You can set your iPhone to record in H.264 instead of H.265 to avoid said conversion.

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Answer 2

Nov 28, 2024 10:25 AM in response to elgrecones

Like .mp4, .m4v, .avi, .mkv, .webm, .mov is just a wrapper that can contain various video and audio codecs. Various iOS and macOS versions support various wrappers and codecs. For example, H.265 video codec is supported only after macOS 10.13 High Sierra, Opus audio codec only after macOS 15 Sequoia, QuickTime Player supports Chroma subsampling 4:2:2 after some macOS etc.

Movie codecs and metadata is still, erm, a moving target.

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