Video conversion
Convert FLV to MOV
Updated Jul 2026
FLV is the old Flash video format many web downloaders and screen recorders still spit out, and MOV is the format Mac and iPhone tools expect. To convert FLV to MOV, open the file in a converter and export it as MOV. Doing this on your own computer means the video never has to travel to someone else's server first.
- Extension
- .flv
- Type
- Video
- Typically
- Legacy web video
- Compression
- Lossy
- Extension
- .mov
- Type
- Video
- Typically
- iPhone / Mac recordings
- Compression
- Lossy
Convert FLV to MOV on your own computer. Nothing uploads.
How to convert FLV to MOV
- Open Morphjet and drag in the FLV file or a whole folder of them.
- Choose MOV as the output format.
- Convert. The MOV file is written right next to the original, and nothing leaves your machine.
FLV vs MOV: what actually changes
| FLV | MOV | |
|---|---|---|
| File size | Smaller, older low-bitrate compression | Larger, especially at higher quality settings |
| Quality | Often low, since FLV was built for slow web streaming | Better, though the conversion itself can't add back detail that isn't there |
| Plays on Mac and iPhone | No, not natively | Yes, built-in support |
| Plays in a web browser | No, Flash is discontinued and browsers dropped support | Mostly, though native MP4 is more universal |
| Works in video editors | Rarely accepted | Widely accepted, including by Apple's own editing tools |
| Metadata | Minimal | Can carry more, including creation date and codec info |
When to convert, and when not to
Convert FLV to MOV when you have an old Flash-era video file, maybe from a downloaded clip or an old screen recording, and you want to actually open, edit, or watch it on a Mac or iPhone.
If the FLV file already plays fine in whatever player you're using, there's no real need to convert it, since MOV won't recover quality that the original FLV encoding didn't have.
Why not just use an online converter?
Old FLV files often come from downloaded video, screen recordings, or archived footage that people don't think twice about running through a random online converter. That site now has a copy of your video sitting on its server. Converting on your own computer keeps the file exactly where it started, on your machine, with nothing uploaded anywhere.
Questions
Does converting FLV to MOV improve the video quality?
No. MOV can hold better quality than FLV, but the conversion only repackages what's already in the FLV file. If the original footage was low bitrate, it stays low bitrate after converting.
Can I still open FLV files on a modern Mac or PC?
Not easily. Flash was discontinued and most current media players and browsers don't support FLV out of the box, which is exactly why people convert it to something like MOV.
Will the MOV file be bigger than the FLV?
Usually, yes. FLV was built for small file sizes over slow connections, so a MOV made from it can end up larger even though the underlying video quality hasn't changed.
Can I convert FLV to MOV without uploading it anywhere?
Yes. A desktop app like Morphjet converts the file locally, so it never has to leave your computer or pass through anyone else's server.
Is MOV the right choice instead of MP4?
MOV is the natural choice if you're staying inside Apple's ecosystem, like editing in a Mac based tool. If you mainly need something that plays everywhere, MP4 is usually the safer bet.
Morphjet converts FLV, MOV, and 1,800+ other formats, all on your machine. Launching this July.