Convert .mov to .mp4

2016-03-08 17:00

QuickTime records video as .mov, but sometimes you need .mp4 — for uploading to the web, sharing with someone on Windows, or just saving disk space. The easiest way to convert is with ffmpeg in Terminal.

Install ffmpeg

If you do not have it yet:

brew install ffmpeg

Convert without re-encoding

If you just want to change the container from .mov to .mp4 without losing any quality or waiting for a long encode:

ffmpeg -i input.mov -c copy output.mp4

This copies the video and audio streams as they are. It is almost instant and the file size stays the same.

Convert with re-encoding

If you want to compress the file or make sure it plays everywhere:

ffmpeg -i input.mov -c:v libx264 -c:a aac output.mp4

This re-encodes the video to H.264 and the audio to AAC. It takes longer but produces a widely compatible file, usually smaller than the original.

Quick reference

Command	What it does
`ffmpeg -i input.mov -c copy output.mp4`	Fast copy, no quality loss
`ffmpeg -i input.mov -c:v libx264 -c:a aac output.mp4`	Re-encode to H.264/AAC, smaller file

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