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Common fix · Video

MOV video won’t play on Windows

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What you’ll end up with

The video as an MP4 that plays in Windows Media Player, PowerPoint and every editor.

MOV is Apple’s video format, and iPhones record in HEVC (H.265) inside it. Windows can open the MOV but often can’t decode HEVC without Microsoft’s paid HEVC Video Extensions, so you see a black screen, sound only, or an error about a missing codec.

Converting to MP4 on its own isn’t enough if the HEVC picture is simply copied across. It has to be rebuilt as H.264, which every version of Windows plays.

What to do

  1. Convert MOV to MP4 with “Always re-encode” on

    Drop the MOV into the Video Converter, choose MP4 and turn on Always re-encode under Advanced, so the picture is rebuilt as H.264 and the sound as AAC.

    Convert to MP4

  2. Shrink it too, if it’s going by email

    iPhone videos are large. If the MP4 is going into an email or a chat, compress it to the limit it has to fit.

    Compress the video

Settings that work

Recommended settings
Convert to MP4
Always re-encode On (under Advanced)

Worth knowing

  • To stop the problem at the source, set the iPhone to record in H.264: Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible. Videos then play on Windows without converting (at the cost of bigger files).

Questions

Why won’t my iPhone video play on Windows?

Because it’s recorded in HEVC, which Windows needs an extra codec for. Converting it to H.264 MP4 makes it play everywhere without installing anything.

Can I just rename .mov to .mp4?

No. Renaming changes the name, not the HEVC video inside, so it still won’t play. It has to be converted.

Does converting MOV to MP4 lose quality?

Re-encoding always changes the picture a little, but at the high setting it is very hard to see. The file may be bigger than the HEVC original, because H.264 is less efficient.

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