You are stuck with MOV video or movie files that are freezing or distorted, not playing, throwing error, etc. Damaged videos can freak you out when you don’t know how to fix them. And you can’t afford to lose your precious videos.
But thankfully, corrupt MOV videos can be made perfect as before. Here, we will share how to repair corrupt MOV files of any size and shot with any camera, drone, DSLR or smartphone.
MOV is a popularly used file format for recording movies and videos. Almost all media players, cameras, and devices can play MOV movies and videos. But, file corruption cannot be avoided. Due to various reasons, videos stored on your computer, SD card, USB, SSD, or others can become unplayable and corrupt.
What is making your MOV movies corrupt? Things to avoid
A virus attack is the most common cause of MOV file corruption. In case your computer doesn’t have anti-virus software or you have not renewed its subscription, do it immediately to avoid risk of video loss due to virus or malware.
Improper video download or transfer can corrupt file header. It’s usual to transfer files between PC, SD card, camera, mobile phone, etc. Make sure the file is completely transferred and the process is not abruptly interrupted.
Corruption in the storage drive or memory card can damage stored videos. Don’t use camera card or smartphone SD card in multiple devices. Always, properly insert and eject removable media from a device. And most important is to create regular backup of your important videos in multiple drives.
How to repair corrupt MOV files
Video file corruption can be fixed with the help of MOV video repair software.
But when MOV video files are not playing or show error on your computer, first try these hacks to play them:
- Use a different media player to play MOV files.
- Convert MOV to MP4 or AVI file format. You can use any online video converter tool.
- Download or get the video again from the source.
If these don’t work for you, repair corrupt MOV files with the help of a repair software.
Try VLC Media Player to Repair Corrupt MOV files
Unlike many other video players, VLC Media Player has a video repair capability. Although it doesn’t work like a professional MOV repair tool, it’s still worth a try to fix minor video index corruption issues. It is a free and open-source program, available for both Windows and Mac.
Suggest here to use a copy of your corrupt MOV video file for repair to avoid untoward permanent video loss situation.
How to repair corrupt MOV file in VLC Player
- Rename the MOV file to change the extension to .AVI.
- Open VLC Player.
- Navigate to Tools > Preferences > Input or Codecs
- In Damaged or Incomplete AVI Files option, select Always Fix.
- Click on Save
Play the saved video to check the problem is fixed or not. If not, only a dedicated video repair software can bail you out of the situation.
Repair MOV file with a video repair software
There are file repair tools especially developed to fix corruption in video files. You can use any secure and safe-to-download video repair tool to fix corrupted MOV files. Some of these tools are advanced enough to repair severe corruption in video file header, data, slider movement, frames, and sound sections that result in video distortions or damage.
Software like Stellar Repair for Video can fix black screen, choppy, jerky, truncated, flickering, compression issues, out-of-sync, and other issues in corrupt video files. The repair process is fast and lets you repair as many number of MOV files you want at a time. However, it’s recommended to opt for the trial version of MOV repair software and evaluate if it is able to repair the corruption in your video files.
The software has both Windows and Mac versions. It is compatible with the latest Windows10 and macOS BigSur.
Can QuickTime Player repair corrupt MOV file?
Usually, Mac users prefer QuickTime Player for playing their MOV video files. Thus, they may want to fix any video issue in the player itself.
But QuickTime does not repair and can only check if the MOV file is corrupt or not. It has a ‘Show Movie Inspector’feature that displays the video file information, such as video format, video frame per second (fps), data size, video duration, etc. Viewing this information, you can make out, if the file is healthy or damaged.
However, to repair a damaged MOV video file, a professional MOV video repair software is required.
How to check MOV file corruption in QuickTime Player:
To check your MOV video properties, open QuickTime Player on your Mac or Windows computer. In the menu, navigate Windows > Show Movie Inspector. The ‘Inspector’ message box with the video details appears, which tells you whether the file is corrupted or not.
To Sum Up
You may be able to check if your MOV video is corrupt or not using QuickTime Player, but to repair a damaged MOV file, download an efficient video repair software.
Don’t give a miss to free VLC Media Player when thinking of MOV file repair. Just in case your MOV file has minor index corruption issue, VLC can fix it.
However, professional video repair software is considered best to resolve complex MOV file header and data corruption that lead to flickering, audio lag, jerkiness, distortions, errors, and other video problems.
