How to Convert QuickTime to MP4 on Mac with or Without Software (Incl. Free and Fast)

Everyone who possesses Mac computers must be familiar to QuickTime, which is famous for a default player on Mac developed by Apple with simplicity configuration and multipurpose functionality. It always provides a visual and sound enjoyment for the public.

In this post, we intend to introduce a few awesome ways on how to convert QuickTime to MP4 on Mac to make it widely compatible and easy-streaming for other software, devices or platforms. If you have interests, please read on for more details.

 

Facts about QuickTime

1. What format stands for QuickTime?

Although QuickTime player supports a large bundle of video/audio formats or codecs, like MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, AVI, 3GPP AND 3GPP2, AVCHD, DV, MP4, AU, AIFF, iTunes Audio, WAV, SD2, SND, AMR, etc., when it comes to the QuickTime video format, MOV is the first one occurring to people’s mind, which is the default file format of QuickTime Player.

MOV is derived from QuickTime File Format (QTFF) since 1988 designed by Apple, which includes Apple QuickTime Movies encoding requirements and data compression specifications in the .mov file extension. It contains one or more tracks to save the videos, audios, subtitles and other related data. Therefore, converting QuickTime to MP4 Mac is close to converting MOV to MP4 Mac.

2. Can I convert QuickTime to MP4 with QuickTime Player?

No, the current QuickTime Player can only export the loaded video to MOV format. But for those who have installed and purchased QuickTime Player Pro before can make QuickTime file to MP4 in a few clicks. If necessary, please follow the steps below.

1. Open QuickTime Player Pro on your Mac.
2. Click "File > New Player" on the top menu bar to upload the video that you want to convert.
   
3. After uploading, click "File" in the top menu bar again, choose "Export" button, and then choose "Movie to MPEG-4" option from the expanding list.
4. Click "Save" to start the conversion process.

However, QuickTime Player is a discontinued software and QuickTime Player Pro is not available on the market any more. For users who don’t have QuickTime Player Pro, we have also prepared more methods below to ensure smooth conversions.

 

Part 1. Convert QuickTime to MP4 on Mac with Desktop Software

#1 Using Cisdem Video Converter - the Best QuickTime to MP4 Converter for Mac

Cisdem Video Converter is a preeminent QuickTime converter to help people convert QuickTime to MP4 in bulks at one click while preserving high quality. Except for MP4, it also prepares many other video or audio formats for people to choose, even including presets for third-party software or devices, like YouTube, iTunes, iPhone, Android, etc.

Furthermore, it gathers outstanding editing features to customize the video looking in the app, including cutting the long video into several ones or merging several clips into a large one, adjusting the video effects by enlightening, darkening or other actions, adding external subtitles and more.

Plus, if you are prowess in software, you are also allowed to rearrange the encoding parameters from multiple elements to meet your advanced needs. Besides, this powerful tool can also help you perform other tasks effortlessly, such as ripping DVD with copy protection, downloading online videos from any websites, compressing large video files without losing quality.

Free Download macOS 10.13 or later    Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7

Steps on how to batch convert QuickTime files to MP4 on Mac:

1. Download the software

Download the latest Mac version of Cisdem Video Converter on your computer.

2. Add files for converting

Open it, directly drag and drop all QuickTime files to the program. All of them will be displayed in the default interface for converting. Other four tabs are for DVD ripping, video downloading, compressing and editing in order.

Note: you can click on the front video thumbnail to activate the icon for playback.

3. Edit the file appearance (Optional)

Click the “pencil” icon, which pops up a new window for you to edit the video through trim, crop, rotate, video effects, watermark, subtitles and volume. Once done, click “Save” to go back to the main interface with your settings.

4. Choose MP4 format

People can set the output format in two ways by clicking the “Convert all tasks to” button or the highlight format button on the video thumbnail. As the name shows, the former can choose the output format for all files in one click, while the latter can only set the format one by one.

Click either one, then it shows a menu with various video and audio formats. Click “Video” to find “MP4”and select a resolution option as the output format.

5. Change file parameters (Optional)

If you are an experienced user, you can also click the “gearwheel” icon next to the selected MP4 format, then you can make an advanced setting to the file encoders as the following shows.

6. Start the conversion task

Finally, click “Start” button on the bottom right corner to get the new MP4 files immediately. After finishing, click the “checkmark” icon to locate them on your device.

 

#2 Using HandBrake - the Best Free QuickTime to MP4 Converter Mac

If you are looking for a free solution, HandBrake is a great option that is an open-source tool to deal with video files. It offers some basic editing features to modify the video via crop, resolution, borders, deinterlance, video/audio encorders, frame rate, sample rate, etc. Moreover, it can preview the result frame by frame.

Moreover, although it can’t handle videos in batches, it offers an additional “Add to Queue” features, which can add all target files to a queue. You can even set Notification”, “Quit Handbrake”, “shut down computer” or any other activities in advance, so that you don’t have to wait in front of the computer all the time when you have multiple videos to convert.

Steps on how to convert QuickTime to MP4 for free on Mac with HandBrake:

1. Download and install HandBrake on computer.
2. Launch it, select and upload a QuickTime file from the popped-up window.
3. After loading, click the "Profile" button to choose an acceptable quality.
4. Choose "MP4" under "Summary” section. If needed, move to the rest section to make corresponding adjustment.
   
5. Go to the bottom interface, click "Browse" button to make a suitable destination.
6. If you have other files to convert, you can click "Add to Queue" button and then repeat the previous steps to upload other files one by one.
7. Once all files are added, click "Start Queue" button.
   

 

#3 Using iMovie - a Popular Software on Mac

iMovie is familiar by most Mac users, which is widely known as a media editor and is pre-installed on computer. Except for editing the added files, iMovie can also transfer the added files to MP4 format. Plus, if you have demanding in combining multiple files, you can add all of them to the program directly.

Steps on how to convert QuickTime to MP4 on Mac with iMovie:

1. Open the downloaded iMovie on your computer.
2. Launch a new project by clicking “+” and choosing “Movie” under “Projects” section.
3. Drag-n-drop the QuickTime file to the bottom filed for editing. If needed, you can customize the file according to your needs.
4. Click the top right corner icon and choose “File” button from the expanding list.
   
5. Then, it shows a new small window for you to make output settings, including resolution, quality, etc. Once done, click Next to continue.
   Note: don’t set the Quality as “Best (ProRes)”, which will export the video as MOV format.
6. Write down a suitable file name and then choose a location on the popped-up window, click “Save” to start the working process.

 

#4 Using FFmpeg - a Command Line Tool

FFmpeg is also a great and accessible tool for users to convert QuickTime to MP4 for free, which is an open-source software that supports converting various videos and audios with according command lines. However, since it doesn’t possess a graphic interface, it needs the assist of Terminal on your Mac to perform tasks.

Steps on how to change QuickTime file to MP4 with FFmpeg on Mac:

1. Download and install the latest version of FFmpeg on your Mac.
2. Open Terminal.
3. Type in the command line: ffmpeg -i input.mov output.mp4.
4. Press “enter” key” to complete the conversion.
   

 

Part 2. Convert QuickTime to MP4 on Mac Without Software

Some people tend to convert QuickTime to MP4 online, because they may don’t want to install additional software on their computer. Suffice to say, online services are usually easy to get in hands due to the simple interface. However, they generally lack of advanced features for editing, and most of them need to upgrade to the pro version to gain more conversion volumes.

For your convenience, we have selected two useful online QuickTime to MP4 converters for Mac by considering from all-rounded aspects.

#1 MP4.to

MP4.to is dedicated on dealing with MP4 related conversions, either converting MP4 to other formats or converting other formats to MP4. Also, it provides 100+ languages on the web page, allowing people to choose a preferred one. What makes it more excellent is that it supports converting files up to 2 GB for free, which defeats most online tools.

Steps on how to convert QuickTime to MP4 online with mp4.to:

1. Visit https://www.mp4.to/ via a browser.
2. Find and choose “MOV to MP4” tab from the providing options. Or you can search for “MOV to MP4” to enter into the main interface.
3. Directly drag and drop all MOV files for conversion.
   
4. Once added, click “Convert files”.
5. After finishing, click “Download all files (ZIP)” button to save them to your computer in one click.

 

#2 VideoCandy.com

VideoCandy.com is the other online service recommended to the needed. Actually, it is an online video editor, which provides an extra function to convert to MP4, MKV, AVI, MOV, MP3 and GIF. Moreover, it allows people to make use of the existing features to edit the converted files, including trimming, merging, cropping, compressing, and more, which is suitable for the people who want customization features.

Steps on how to change QuickTime file format to MP4 online with VideoCandy.com:

1. Open your browser, visit https://videocandy.com/ and select “Video Converter” section.
2. On the conversion interface, click “+ ADD FILE” button to select and upload the QuickTime file.
   
3. Then choose “Convert to MP4” to start the task.
4. After converting, click “Download File - xx MB” button to save the new file to your computer. If needed, you can click other buttons for further editing based on your mind.
   

 

Conclusion

This article illustrates 6 ways on how to convert QuickTime to MP4 on Mac and divides them into 2 parts for people’s convenience. Many people wonder whether there is quality loss after converting QuickTime to MP4. To be honest, MP4 is a highly compressed video formats, and the quality loss is unavoidable to cause.

In this regard, using the best video converter is the best recommended method, because it allows you to reorganize the encoding codcs and keep high quality, plus, you can also choose “4K - MP4 video” option to minimize the quality compromise.