The .mov multimedia container format was created as an Apple Computer using proprietary compression algorithms. The .mov file was created specifically for Apple’s QuickTime software and is sometimes referred to as Apple QuickTime Movie Format. QuickTime was introduced in late 1991 as a video player for Apple MACs. Since that time QuickTime has become available for Windows-based machines and remains a popular media format.

The file contains one or more tracks each of which stores particular information such as audio, video, effects or subtitles data. The file tracks either contain digitally encoded media stream or a data reference to the media data stored in another file. The .mov format is also the basis for the widely used MPEG-4 format.

A digital multimedia technology standard developed by Apple Computer for Macintosh (Mac OS) and Windows operating systems. QuickTime allows the creation and playback of movies and audio.