How do MOV and WMVcompare? Here's everything you need to know to choose the right format — and how to convert between them.
QuickTime Movie
MOV is Apple's video format, native to macOS and iOS. iPhones record video in MOV format by default. It supports high quality and professional features but works best within the Apple ecosystem.
Windows Media Video
WMV is Microsoft's proprietary video format. It was popular on Windows platforms in the 2000s but has largely been replaced by MP4. WMV files are still encountered in corporate and legacy environments.
| Specification | MOV | WMV |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | QuickTime Movie | Windows Media Video |
| Extension | .mov | .wmv |
| MIME type | video/quicktime | video/x-ms-wmv |
| Category | Video | Video |
| Developer | Apple | Microsoft |
| Year introduced | 1991 | 1999 |
MOV and WMV target different use cases. MOV is ideal for iphone and ipad video recording, while WMV works best for legacy windows video libraries.
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