Transcribe MOV Videos to Text
Upload a spoken QuickTime .mov, review the text against playback, and export TXT, DOCX, SRT, VTT, or JSON here. The server inspects the real QuickTime container, and cloud transcription supports files up to 1GB and 60 minutes, subject to your account credits.
- QuickTime .mov
- H.264, HEVC, or ProRes
- TXT, DOCX, SRT, VTT, JSON
Whisper Web
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How do you want to transcribe?
Free minutes are included. Upload a file or record audio to start.
Choose your file and settings before signing in; sign in to submit. Processing uploads video to cloud services. Review the estimated credits and your current balance before starting. See plans and usage limits and our privacy policy.
How It Works
- 1
Upload Your MOV
Pick the .mov you already recorded. Nothing is extracted and nothing is captured on this page. Either let the recognizer detect the language or choose it yourself, and read the duration and credit estimate before you submit so you can check it against your own player.
- 2
Review the Result
Upload progress and the finished transcript never leave this route. Replay the source audio while you repair names, figures, and the long unpunctuated stretches that dictation produces. Phone and camera audio is often clean but can carry wind or room noise, so verify one place name before trusting the rest. When a run fails, export the source again instead of resubmitting the same damaged file.
- 3
Export Your Text
Save the version you checked, then download TXT for plain prose, DOCX for a word processor, or SRT and VTT when timing matters. The download is built from the saved copy, so uncommitted edits do not travel with it. The job is also listed under Recordings, and its link returns to this result without a second upload.
MOV Speech Transcription
A .mov file is a QuickTime movie: an ISO base media container that holds a video track, one or more audio tracks, and the timing information that keeps them together. The extension does not name a codec. An iPhone or macOS export usually pairs H.264 or HEVC video with AAC audio, an older camera may write ProRes with PCM sound, and an edited project can contain more than one audio track. The container is what this page inspects; the recognizer then decides whether the audio inside it can actually be decoded.
Speech recognition only needs the audio stream, so the picture still plays beside the transcript for context but is not read for meaning. Burned-in titles, slide text, and on-screen chat cannot be recovered by an audio model. When the fact you need exists only on screen, keep the video and the transcript side by side rather than treating the text as a complete record.
A QuickTime file can carry several audio tracks — for example a camera microphone and a separately recorded boom. This page sends the whole file and the recognizer works from the file's default audio stream. If the track you want is not the default, export that track to its own file before uploading, so the run cannot transcribe the wrong microphone.
Which engine transcribes a MOV file?
Recognition on this page runs OpenAI Whisper large-v3 through Replicate, whose decoding step uses FFmpeg. That combination is the reason a QuickTime .mov works without a conversion step. The comparison below is desk research from each provider's own published upload rules, checked 20 September 2026; it is not an accuracy score, and the names are not linked.
- Whisper large-v3 (this page, via Replicate)
- Decodes with FFmpeg, so a QuickTime .mov is accepted as-is, including the `qt ` brand an iPhone export writes. Returns segments and SRT; no word-level timestamps.
- OpenAI hosted transcription
- The documented upload types center on audio containers such as MP3, MP4, M4A, WAV, and WebM. QuickTime .mov is not listed, so a transcode is required first.
- Groq Whisper large-v3 / turbo
- Lists FLAC, MP3, MP4, M4A, OGG, WAV, and WebM but not .mov. Cheap and fast (published around $0.11/hr and $0.04/hr), with 25 MB free and 100 MB developer upload limits.
- Deepgram Nova
- Lists MP3, MP4, M4A, AAC, WAV, FLAC, OGG, Opus, and WebM but not .mov. Streaming-first, with punctuation and diarization built into the platform.
WhisperWeb vs Otter vs Happy Scribe vs Notta
A MOV to text search usually starts with a file already sitting on a phone or camera. These four products overlap on upload, review, and export, so the table separates the jobs rather than ranking them. Details were checked 20 September 2026, no competitor link appears on this page, and plans move, so confirm before buying.
| Decision | WhisperWeb | Otter.ai | Happy Scribe | Notta |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QuickTime .mov upload | WhisperWebAvailable: Upload a .mov directlyA QuickTime file goes straight into the shared transcription path. The server reads the real ISO-BMFF container before a task is created, so the extension alone never decides the outcome. | Otter.aiLimited: File import is secondaryThe product is built around a bot that joins calls, and a free account receives only a small lifetime allowance of file imports. | Happy ScribeAvailable: Video upload is a primary pathAccepting ordinary video uploads is normal here, and optional human proofreading is sold on top of the automated transcript. | NottaLimited: Upload beside a live recorderFile transcription sits next to a real-time meeting recorder, and the free tier caps how long a single upload may run. |
| iPhone and camera MOV files | WhisperWebAvailable: QuickTime brand recognizediPhone and macOS QuickTime exports carry the `qt ` major brand. This page accepts that brand instead of demanding an MP4 rename that would not change the bytes. | Otter.aiLimited: Not documented as QuickTime-firstThe importer is not described as a QuickTime-specific path, so a camera export may need to be converted before it is accepted. | Happy ScribeAvailable: Broad camera and phone intakeCommon camera and phone video containers are accepted as part of a subtitle-first service, with human captioning available. | NottaLimited: Container support follows the planLong or unusual camera files are the first thing a free plan will not take, so a short export is the safer trial. |
| Do you extract audio first? | WhisperWebAvailable: No separate extraction stepSelect the .mov and the recognizer reads the file's default audio stream. The MOV Audio Extractor stays optional when the deliverable is an MP3 rather than text. | Otter.aiLimited: Upload the media you haveNo manual extraction is advertised, but the surrounding workflow still assumes a meeting or an imported call rather than a phone video. | Happy ScribeLimited: Upload video, receive captionsVideo is accepted, so extraction is not required, though the product centers on subtitle files, translation, and human review. | NottaLimited: Upload or recordExtraction is not part of the advertised flow; the live recorder is the feature the plans lead with. |
| What you do with the draft | WhisperWebAvailable: Edit against playback, then exportReplay the source, correct names, numbers, and punctuation in the working text, save, and download that reviewed version. | Otter.aiLimited: Editor tied to paid plansThe transcript editor and the broader export set widen as you move up the plan ladder. | Happy ScribeLimited: Editor, with a proofing upsellAn online editor is included; a human-reviewed transcript is a separate per-minute purchase. | NottaLimited: Editor on the paid tiersReview and export controls are most complete once you are on a subscription. |
| Exports on the entry plan | WhisperWebAvailable: TXT, DOCX, SRT, VTT, and JSONThe saved transcript downloads as plain text, a Word document, caption files, or timed JSON, and the free starting allowance is not walled off from them. | Otter.aiLimited: Text on free, documents laterPlain text is available early; richer document and caption formats arrive with paid plans. | Happy ScribeLimited: Text and captions earlyTXT and subtitle formats appear on the entry tier; DOCX and PDF come with a paid plan. | NottaLimited: Text export on paid tiersDocument-oriented export is positioned as a subscription feature. |
| Meeting bot | WhisperWebNot available: No bot joins your callsThis page turns a QuickTime file into text. It never sits in Zoom, Meet, or Teams, which is the whole point when the source is a .mov you already recorded. | Otter.aiAvailable: Bot joins your callsJoining meetings is the core product rather than an add-on. | Happy ScribeAvailable: Notetaker for video callsA meeting notetaker runs alongside the file transcription product. | NottaAvailable: Live meeting recordingA live notetaker is offered next to file upload. |
| Starting price | WhisperWebAvailable: 5 free minutes, then from $9.90/moStarter $9.90/mo or $4.90/mo billed yearly, Pro $29.90/mo or $14.90/mo yearly, Max $49.90/mo or $24.90/mo yearly, priced per account. | Otter.aiLimited: Free tier, Pro billed per seatThe paid tiers are charged for each user seat rather than once for a shared account. | Happy ScribeLimited: Free AI allowance, then paid plansA brief free AI allowance gives way to paid plans, and human proofreading is billed on top per minute. | NottaLimited: Trial minutes, then subscriptionThe free minutes are a trial, and ongoing file transcription needs a paid tier. |
Product names are trademarks of their owners. The workflow and price notes above come from each vendor's public pages on 20 September 2026 and are not accuracy rankings. Nothing here points outward at a competitor; current WhisperWeb account terms live under plans and usage limits.
MOV to Text versus Audio Extraction
Text and audio are different products, and the confusion between them is why two pages exist. This page keeps the video where it is and returns words you can review, search, quote, and time. The MOV Audio Extractor takes the other route: it strips the soundtrack into an MP3 for a podcast feed, an editor, or a player, and it processes locally in the browser.
Choose text here when another person has to act on what was said, when a name must be searchable weeks later, or when the recording is too long to replay in full. Choose the extractor when the destination is a player or an editing timeline and the spoken words only need to stay audible. One path does not force the other: neither page asks you to convert first.
If you need both, start with the transcript. The saved task keeps the reviewed words and their timing, and you can still produce an audio file afterwards. Extracting first and then transcribing means another upload and another recognition charge for a source you already had in hand.
See an Example
Synthetic practice input only — no customer footage was used. The file is a genuine QuickTime container carrying the `qt ` major brand an iPhone export writes, so the upload, review, and export path can be rehearsed on a small clip rather than judged for model accuracy. The words below are an authored reference script rather than a provider result; punctuation and recognition may differ.
- Container
- QuickTime MOV (major brand `qt `)
- Video
- H.264, 640x360, 25 fps
- Audio
- AAC, 48 kHz mono
- Duration
- 14.08 seconds
- File size
- 188,137 bytes (about 184 KiB)
- Credits
- 0.5 (under 30 seconds)
- Origin
- Synthetic macOS Samantha, 2026-09-20
Reference script and review exercise
Quick note from the product review. The QuickTime export is ready, and the captions should land before Friday. Maya will send the reviewed file to the two field testers in Lisbon. Please keep the original .mov recording with this transcript.
After a run, confirm “Maya” and “Lisbon”, then insert a paragraph break ahead of “Please keep the original.” Save, then download TXT and DOCX and confirm the break survives in both. The exercise is about spotting dictation mess and verifying the export, not scoring accuracy — a clean synthetic clip says nothing about a camera recording made outdoors.
Review Your Recording Transcript
A QuickTime recording is often evidence someone captured once and cannot easily repeat. The written version earns its keep when a colleague must act on it, when a quote has to survive an editor, or when a client cannot scrub a long file to find one decision. The pictures below are commercial mock-ups of those outputs, not screenshots taken from anyone's account.
A camera file becomes a named action
The output that matters names the owner, the deadline, and who checks the file — not every false start in the recording.
An iPhone interview you can quote
Check the spellings, add a paragraph break, commit the edit, and the exported file should keep that structure.
Captions from the same task
When the words need timing, the saved transcript also produces SRT and VTT without a second billed recognition pass.
Supported Files and Plan Limits
Uploads on this page are QuickTime .mov files. The server reads the real ISO-BMFF container and insists on an audio track; a renamed download or a truncated transfer is refused before any task exists, and a movie with no audio track cannot produce speech. Cloud processing caps a single file at 1 GB or 60 minutes, whichever the upload reaches first.
Billing is tied to duration, not bytes: half a credit up to thirty seconds, then one credit for each minute that has started. Submission re-reads the container, the audio track, the size, the duration, and your balance. Summary, translation, and chat are separate paid actions that need an active Pro or Max plan. Look at plans and usage limits rather than assuming a free, on-device run — recognition happens in the cloud.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to extract audio first?
No. Send the .mov as it stands and the recognizer reads its default audio stream; stripping the sound first would only add a lossy generation. Reach for the MOV Audio Extractor when an MP3 is the actual deliverable, and if a file refuses to decode, export it again from the original application rather than renaming it.
What if my MOV has no speech?
A QuickTime movie can hold a silent screen capture, music, or footage with no usable dialogue. The server still demands a genuine audio track before a job begins, and silence alone will not yield a transcript worth keeping. If the meaning lives on screen, the right deliverable is the video plus notes, not speech recognition.
Are all MOV codecs supported?
The container check accepts QuickTime and ISO brands, but whether a specific codec decodes is decided by the recognition layer. Typical iPhone and camera exports pair H.264 or HEVC video with AAC or PCM audio and decode cleanly; a damaged or exotic audio stream fails with a message instead of fabricating words.
Why was my .mov file rejected?
Most often the bytes are not a readable QuickTime or ISO-BMFF file: a renamed download, an interrupted transfer, a payload the demuxer will not open, or a clip beyond the 1 GB or 60-minute ceiling. Produce a fresh export from the source application and upload that.
Is MOV transcription free, and does it run on my computer?
Neither. The video is uploaded and recognized in the cloud against account credits, and any free allowance is whatever your account and plan provide. Choosing a file begins nothing until you sign in and submit. Whisper does not run inside this browser tab.
Where can I find my transcript after I leave?
Open Recordings in the same account, or follow this page's task link back to the saved result. A task belongs to its owner, so holding the link does not grant another account access. A refresh before you submit clears the local choice, which means reselecting the MOV.