Can anyone tell me which recording format is best mov or mp4 please?

Everyone says they are about the same, just a different pkg...

1.Both MOV and MP4 are lossy formats which sacrifices quality for file size
2.MOV was initially developed by Apple as a file format for QuickTime
3.MOV is the basis for the development of MP4
4.MP4 is the industry standard and has more widespread support than MOV
5.Saving your file to either MOV or MP4 would result in the same video if you use the same codec
.
the above is taken of the internet!

i personally use mp4 and i can only say that is because my GoPro records in MP4 too, so i just kept using that.. But you should be good either way..

hope it helps a little

Andi Christiansen

Thanks Andi thats great.

no problem

i thought they were the same

The MOV/Quicktime and MP4 "container formats" both use the h.264 codec. (A "codec" is the specific compression algorithm.) In applications other than the Inspire, a MOV/Quicktime container may contain different codecs (like ProRes , DVCPro, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, etc).

In the case of the Inspire, they're functionally identical with the same bitrate and compression.  Most modern software will handle them identically, but in the past MOV files were generally preferred on Macs, while MP4s were a universal standard.

Thanks again guys. There is a huge amount of knowledge among the members on here here!!!

My app won't let me select MP4, sorry it lets me select but won't hold the setting just defaults back to MOV. any ideas?

barry@snapactio Posted at 2015-2-21 08:50
My app won't let me select MP4, sorry it lets me select but won't hold the setting just defaults bac ...

I have the same problem. I'm using iPad Air2, iOS app 1.0.1. Hopefully it's only a bug in the app.

barry@snapactio Posted at 2015-2-21 08:50
My app won't let me select MP4, sorry it lets me select but won't hold the setting just defaults bac ...

I've got the same problem with the app not saving MP4.  I've also got issues with the app not saving NTSC instead of PAL.

MarkNJ Posted at 2015-2-14 05:47
The MOV/Quicktime and MP4 "container formats" both use the h.264 codec. (A "codec" is the specific c ...

Hi Mark - Side question. As most users record continuously for say an 8 minute clip and use their NLE to cut the portions of the video that are usable (smooth footage, nice pans, etc). Would too much detail be lost if I were to render out these clips as ProRes 4444 and re-import them so they are ready to be used for future projects vs going through the entire 8 minute clip hunting for what I want each time?

h264 is highly compressed as it is I just didn't know if it would lose too much quality not using the original .mov file.

jonathanp Posted at 2015-2-21 12:16
I've got the same problem with the app not saving MP4.  I've also got issues with the app not savi ...

Yea me too  Does it have to be connected to save the NTSC format perhaps?

dbeck@promobox. Posted at 2015-2-22 01:26
Yea me too  Does it have to be connected to save the NTSC format perhaps?

I've tried connecting the remote controller to save the NTSC settings.  It seems my iPhone 6 saves the NTSC more often then the iPad air. I will try the Nexus 7 later.

It seems DJI is aware of the glitch and is working on the fix

scooterlam Posted at 2015-2-21 13:16
Hi Mark - Side question. As most users record continuously for say an 8 minute clip and use their  ...

That's a good question. Technically, when using a compressed format, you will never have cleaner footage than the original if you're transcoding it. The act of taking the Inspire's h.264 and re-encoding to the vastly superior ProRes 444 will not be identical to the original. For many uses, it might be fine, but I'm personally hesitant to use anything but the original footage.  Also, from a storage perspective, I think keeping the long original file would still take up less space than the selects at ProRes444.

I believe there "lossless MP4 cutters" to do what you want. Basically, you can trim the parts of the files you want and export what you want without re-encoding. If you do that, the shortened clips should be identical to the original. I've personally never used one, but I've seen programs out there claiming to do cuts without encoding.

How do you get the video from the app into the ipad album? Or the pictures for that matter?

jonathanp Posted at 2015-2-21 12:16
I've got the same problem with the app not saving MP4.  I've also got issues with the app not savi ...

Bingo.  It's a bug on my two tablets running the most current apps as well.

I made a quick video on how to fix these type of corrupted videos that might help others get their videos fixed.
http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=14601

Davinci Resolve does not import mp4-format-videos.  Therefore I use mov.

andi.witech Posted at 2015-2-14 04:34
1.Both MOV and MP4 are lossy formats which sacrifices quality for file size
2.MOV was initially deve ...

Andi i have a very important question for you as a user of cineform gopro studio / studio premium.
have you ever tried to transcode 4k mov or mp4 files to cineform avi?
i have tried in both studio and studio premium to transcode inspire's mov but seems to be impossible. have you tried mp4's????
if yes then cineform avi film scan 1 would be the best solution for pc users with older machines like my self. thank you for your attention and time.

First of all the mov is a container and it has all from lossy formats up to uncompressed loss less. MP4 is not industry standard for high end filming, editing or color grade.
Also both MOV and MP4 are working perfectly in Windows and Mac and has been for ages.

Those containers in the Phantom 4 camera:
Both are : MPEG-4
Both are : AVC
Both are :  Variable  Bit rate   
Both are : 8bit
Both are : 4:2:0

Main differents are:
(I used media that were 1080x1920 to compare)
                                    The MP4   is:                             The Quicktime  is:
Format profile                    JVT                                            QuickTime
Codec ID                          avc1 (avc1/isom)                          QuickTime
Overall bit rate                   27.9 Mbps                                   40 Mbps  
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)              0.269                                         0.386

There are more detailed tecnical data that differ but it would be to much to put it here.
The MP4 is fine but quicktime codec should be better for there it has more information, but i have not done any video comparison in scopes or visual on those containers from the phantom 4 camera.

panox Posted at 2015-5-10 12:25
Davinci Resolve does not import mp4-format-videos.  Therefore I use mov.

I guess you allready found out that Resolve does take the mp4.

johannes@digi-f Posted at 2016-6-16 14:28
First of all the mov is a container and it has all from lossy formats up to uncompressed loss less.  ...

Nowadays the mp4 has 40 Mbps too with 1920 x 1080 50p. Standard, so I guess there's no real difference in mp4 or mov.

I'd like to choose MP4 as recording format. I once recorded a video and saved it as .mov, but it just can't play when transfered to the PC. don't like it.