MP4 or MOV for your YouTube clip?

Choose for the app you will use next

MP4 is the default in Clipyt and a practical starting point for playback and sharing. Choose MOV when a project, editor or collaborator specifically needs a QuickTime container. Both choices are available for selected video ranges and Shorts.

The extension describes how media tracks are packaged. The video codec describes how the picture is encoded. An app can accept an MP4 container and still reject a particular codec inside it, so test the finished file in its destination app before making more exports.

• FFmpeg documentation: MOV and MP4 containers

Export the same range in your chosen format

Load your YouTube video or Short, then set the start and end timestamps. For example, a start of 01:10 and an end of 01:40 select a 30-second clip. Pick MP4 or MOV in the Format control, choose With sound or No sound, and start the download.

The format choice does not change your daily allowance or duration cap. Guests can make 3 clips per UTC day; a Google account allows 10. Both free options allow up to 2 minutes per clip and 720p. Pro costs $6 per month and enables the best quality available from the source without a daily clip count.

• How to set a precise start and end time

If the file will not play

Check whether the download completed and whether your player supports its codec. Try another supported player or import the file into your editor. If the destination requires a specific codec, use an editor to transcode it; renaming .mov to .mp4 is not a conversion.

Changing containers alone cannot turn a lower-resolution source into a sharper image. Clipyt does not upscale video, add captions or change its aspect ratio. Keep the selected range and source URL in your notes so you can repeat the export if needed.