What is an MOV video?

This article is a quick introduction to the basics of MOV video. You’ll learn what an MOV video is, how one works, and how to open it too.

Video files can be extremely large. That’s why programs were created to make them easier to store and share. When working with video files, it’s important to understand the types of formats and what each can offer.

This way, you can determine which video format is the right fit for your project, film, or other vision. Keep reading to learn more about the MOV video format and how to use it.

What exactly is an MOV video?

To start, let’s establish what an MOV video is. MOV is a video format that was developed by Apple. It’s an MPEG 4 video container file that is primarily used with Apple’s QuickTime program. An MOV video can hold many different video formats and multimedia — audio, video, and text — in the same file on different tracks.

How does an MOV video work?

Because MOV files store high-quality audio, video, and effects, they tend to be large. And, since the format was developed by Apple specifically for QuickTime, these types of files can be tricky to open in any other program.

In order to open an MOV file in a program like Adobe Premiere Pro or another video editing software, you’ll likely have to convert your video to another format first. Once you have converted the file, you can then use all the movie editing tools you’re accustomed to.

Change the way you edit video.

Your video editing potential is limitless with the right tools and plenty of practice — get more video tips to help you elevate your video projects and expand your creativity.

Explore what more you can do with Premiere Pro to edit nearly any video clip with ease.