MOV and Opus explained
MOV is Apple's QuickTime container. Structurally it is very close to MP4 — the two share an ancestor — but MOV files often use codecs like ProRes that general-purpose players cannot decode.
Opus is the current state of the art for lossy audio, and the codec behind most voice calls you make over the internet. It performs well across an unusually wide range, from 6 kbps speech to transparent music.
- Where MOV files come from
- iPhone and Mac screen recordings, and professional video editing.
- Where Opus is used
- Voice and video calls, modern podcast pipelines and WebRTC.