MOV File Format

File Format Description

MOV video file is common multimedia format often used for saving movies and other video files which was developed by Apple Inc. and primarily is used with the company's QuickTime media player. but now compatible with both Macintosh and Windows platforms. It acts as a multimedia container for digital videos, and its multitasking ability allows editors to shape the file in a variety of ways. MOV has enjoyed one of the longest lives of any file type during the digital age.

MOV video file functions as a multimedia container file that contains one or more tracks, each of which stores a particular type of data: audio, video, effects, or text (e.g. for subtitles). Each track either contains a digitally-encoded media stream (using a specific codec) or a data reference to the media stream located in another file. Tracks are maintained in a hierarchal data structure consisting of objects called atoms. An atom can be a parent to other atoms or it can contain media or edit data, but it cannot do both.

Causes of Failed Playback

Since each media track can be encoded by a different codec, the application to open the MOV file must be able to recognize the codec in order to play the media track(s). Therefore, if you cannot successfully play the MOV movies, you can either try another video player that recognizes the MOV file, or install proper codec add-ons/plug-ins. If both of these method do not work for you, then you need to convert the MOV file to another popular video format such as MP4. Know More>>