MOV v. MP4 Video Format...

[David H. Hartman]

I hate asking dumb questions but here I go...

My D800 only offered the MOV file format for saving videos. Now with the D850 I see Nikon has included the MP4 format. My reading tells me MOV and MP4 are just containers, both are lousy compressed formats and if they use the same codec the video will have the same quality. If I got it right MP4 is an industry standard based on MOV and more generally accepted outside the Apple environment. So it seems that saving videos on my D850 in MP4 will make using the resulting videos easier without sacrificing quality. I primarily use Windows computers but I own an iMAC and a cousin is giving me an older MAC Book Pro so I am keeping a foot in the Apple environment.

What Say Ye! MOV or MP4?

Any advice is greatly appreciated. 

Dave

[pluton]

My reading told me the same thing...it's just a label.  It doesn't matter, unless you are doing a job and the post production person requests one or the other.  One thing you could do is shoot a sample on both .mov and .mp4,  and then see if your chosen video playback apps render one better over the other.

[Michael Erlewine]

MOV was originally APPLE and the Mac, MP4 for all the other systems. Both containers and easily converted one to the other. If you have a Mac, probably MOV. I have Macs, but most of my work is on fast PCs, so I always use MP4 or similar.

[David H. Hartman]

Thank you for the replies. I'm going to use MP4 as I'm mostly using a Windows laptop at this time.

Dave

[David H. Hartman]

I was given an older MacBook Pro and I'm now getting it all setup nicely.

BUT NOW...

High Sierra is treating MP4 files as if they are applications downloaded from an unknown developer. My efforts to change the fill association from ViewNXi to Quicktime have failed. Does anyone know how to fix this? I've been searching on the net but I'm getting only hits that are irrelevant.

Dave

Any advice on a simple utility for either Windows or macOS (or both) to convert between MOV and MP4 without changing any of the encodeing, FPS, size, etc.?

[Jacques Pochoy]

You should get VLC and maybe HandBrake 2 (the latest is for converting video files) both are free :-)

[David H. Hartman]

You should get VLC and maybe HandBrake 2 (the latest is for converting video files) both are free :-)

I've got VLC on Windows and HandBrake on macOS. I'm not sure if HandBrake is v2, it's probably not. I'll get both of these done for macOS tonight.

Thank you!

[David H. Hartman]

Nikon ViewNXi to Nikon Movie Editor will convert between MP4 and MOV and if the Create Movie is done with Advanced Settings a very high quality video can be produced in MP4/MOV, H.264/ACC, 30 or 60 fps.

I don't think Adobe Premiere accepts MOV files, I might be wrong but this would be a cumbersome method of converting the MP4(s) straight out of the D850 to a form that won't mess with macOS High Sierra. Hopefully the MP4(s) stright out of the D850 won't choke Premiere.

Dave

This is the 21st Century and this seems pretty stupid but then it might be me that is stupid.

[Bent Hjarbo]

I normally use iMovie, it should be on your Mac as well.

[David H. Hartman]

I normally use iMovie, it should be on your Mac as well.

After a clean install of macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 iMove is not on my MacBook Pro. This computer is an early 2011 model A1286 and High Sierra is the last macOS this computer will run. The Apple store, Apple in their wisdom won't allow me to download a FREE download or directly install the last version that  is compatible with High Sierra. 

I found at this post in a forum...

Ask Different: Is it possible to download/acquire iMovie 10.1.6?

I used the method found at: Get iMovie 9 and then Get iMovie 10 at the link above and now have iMove v10.1.12 installed. I'll have to find out what iMove offers.

Thank You! 

Dave

iMove 10.1.12 won't create a new Library into which to import anything so I'm at a loss. 

I'm still getting the "Spinning Wheel of Death after five minutes so I force quit iMove.

OK, I'm seeing some functionality in iMovie. It will take me some time to see what I can do with iMovie.

[David H. Hartman]

There seems to be something about the MP4 files straight out of my D850 that macOS 10.13.6 identifies as an unsigned application or install program. 

If any MAC users know how to get around this problem so the MP4(s) from the D850 are recognized as video files and not applications I would greatly appreciate your assistance.

Dave

[Bent Hjarbo]

On my Mac, running Catalina, I can change the "open in" drop down in the menu after pressing cmd i. My Mac  will open it in ViewNX-i, but it also opens iMovie.
But the above has always been an option, so should also work on the older OS
Tried with an MP4 from my Z6.

[David H. Hartman]

One small step for a D850 owner: I can import D850 MP4 files into iMovie Version 10.1.12. 

[arthurking83]

Also:
If you're keen to try new things, check out Davinci Resolve for editing 'almost any' video file type.
I say this mainly because it's free, and very full featured editor. Will open/edit MOV files if the need ever arises.

[Jack Dahlgren]

Also:
If you're keen to try new things, check out Davinci Resolve for editing 'almost any' video file type.
I say this mainly because it's free, and very full featured editor. Will open/edit MOV files if the need ever arises.

I love Resolve.

The free version does have some limitations on output file size 4K UHD max, GPU acceleration and a number of other things. Since I have a couple of GPUs in my computer it was well worth the $299 to spring for the full version. Resolve is included for free in the box if you buy the speed editor hardware for $295 (limited time offer I think...). It is a great tool for color grading (adjusting colors, contrast etc.) of any video.

The biggest reason not to use it is that it does so much it can be daunting to learn. The latest version does make some moves to a simpler UI, but beyond a certain point, complexity of workflow implies complexity in the UI.

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/release/20201109-02