Unable to save my video format as MP4 on iPhone 15 Pro Max

By default, the iOS Camera app records videos in .MOV format. Within that, the video codec is usually HEVC (H.265)or H.264, depending on your settings. The HEVC (High Efficiency) option uses less storage for higher quality, while the H.264 (Most Compatible) option uses more space but works better with older devices and software.

The iPhone’s Camera app doesn’t directly save videos as .MP4, but here’s the thing: .MOV and .MP4 are both just containers — the format of the actual video inside can still be H.264 or HEVC, which is compatible with .MP4. That’s why it’s often easy to convert between them without actually re-encoding the video.

PatrickShaun wrote:

My Dropbox won't accept .MOV

Dropbox itself doesn’t have a strict limitation on .MOV files, but there are a few things worth keeping in mind:

1. Playback Compatibility:
   1. If your .MOV file uses the HEVC (H.265) codec (which iPhones often use for high-efficiency video), Dropbox might not always play it smoothly in the browser or app. You might get a "file can’t be previewed" message.
   2. H.264-encoded .MOV files usually play just fine.
2. File Size:
   1. High-quality .MOV files from iPhones can get pretty big, especially 4K or slow-motion videos. If you’re on a Dropbox Basic (free) plan or a smaller paid plan, storage space could fill up fast.
   2. Uploads via the Dropbox web interface also have a size limit — I believe it’s around 50GB per file (but double-check this on Dropbox’s current documentation). The desktop and mobile apps don’t have this limit.
3. Auto-Conversion on Upload: Dropbox won’t convert .MOV files into .MP4 or any other format automatically — it keeps them as they are. If you’re trying to share videos that people might have trouble playing, you might want to convert them to .MP4 (H.264) first.
4. Sync and Transfer Speeds: Larger .MOV files can take longer to upload and sync, especially if you’re dealing with high-resolution footage. If you have limited bandwidth, this could slow things down.