How To Play MOV Files On Windows 10 PC? – 3 Easiest Ways

“Immediately after the most recent windows 10 update, my MOV files won’t play. It states this item is in a format we don’t support. Missing Codec. 0xc00d36b4. I am at a total loss, help.” – from Microsoft Community – (They should have stressed down with a game at ice casino 25 euro.)

Are you encountering the same problem when playing MOV on Windows 10 PC? It is easily understood as MOV is the default video format of Apple for Macs, iPhones, or iPads. In theory, MOV files can be played on Windows 10 successfully with QuickTime Player or Windows Media Player (12 or higher), however, the playback errors never end from the start. Also, don’t forget to check out our review of the FonePaw Live Stream Recording software.

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Why MOV Won’t Play On Windows 10 Pc? [Detailed Explanations]

MOV format is a QuickTime format developed by Apple for native playback on Mac computers, iPhones, or iPads. It is a container format that can include one or more tracks, each of which stores a particular type of data like audio, video, or text. In other words, MOV formats can contain different types of media codec so as to contain different information. Therefore, if a MOV file cannot be played by a MOV player, the lack of the required codec is to blame.

Based on the fact, though QuickTime Player is designed to natively play MOV video files, some of the MOV files cannot be opened in QuickTime Player casually. Put specifically, QuickTime only supports MOV file encoded with MPEG-4 or H.264 video and AAC audio, so QuickTime cannot open MOV files on Windows 10 if the MOV file contains a H.265 codec.

As for Windows Media Player on Windows 10, only version 12 or higher version can accept MOV files. However, there is still ‘only sound no image’ problem.

In conclusion, if your MOV files don’t get damaged, in most cases, the codec missing is the real reason causing MOV not playing on Windows 10 problem. By the way, a low-end computer can’t smoothly play 4K 8K 10bit MOV videos.

How To Play MOV Files On Windows 10 Successfully?

As you have found the real reason behind MOV not playing issue, you have three choices to fix the error that will be explained in detail below.

Method – Play MOV Files On Windows 10 With 5KPlayer

5KPlayer is born to be a multimedia player capable of playing 4K high-res videos and MP4 MKV MOV files. Here, acting as the best free MOV player for Windows 10, it plays MOV files encoded with a broad range of codecs including MPEG-4, H.264, H.265, AAC, etc. veraciously. No matter the MOV movies downloaded from the internet, MOV videos recorded by cameras or any other edited MOV files, they are well-received by the reliable 5KPlayer.

  • It has built-in complete codec supports, freeing you from the complicated codec pack installation process.
  • It supports Hardware decoding, so playing large 3D 4K 360° HEVC AV1 files is never easier even on a PC with low configurations.
  • It can skip the broken or corrupted parts of MOV file and provide smooth playback thereafter.
  • Besides MOV playback on Windows 10, 5KPlayer can also enable MOV download, MOV to MP3 conversion, MOV stream, and MOV AirPlay.

To open MOV files on Windows 10 with 5KPlayer, simply free download 5KPlayer on official site to install and launch. Then, you can just drag and drop your MOV media files to 5KPlayer to play in super high quality. If needed, you can have some small adjustments to your playing MOV videos with 5KPlayer like adding subtitles, fast forward/slow down videos, cut videos, etc.

Method 2 – Convert MOV To Other Format

If you insist on playing MOV on Windows 10 with Windows Media Player or QuickTime Player, you can simply convert MOV to a more compatible video format to play. MP4 is an ideal target video format and WinX HD Video Converter Deluxe is a good tool to make that come true. However, you should bear in mind that there are more or less quality sacrifices during the conversion.

Method 3 – Install A Codec Pack

Another choice to let MOV be played on Windows 10 with your default media player is to install the missing codecs. The codec packs chosen by most people are K-Lite Codec Pack and CCCP. But please, proceed at your own risk since codec packs are not 100% safe for your computer.

All in all, after comparing the above three methods, playing MOV files on Windows 10 with 5KPlayer is obviously better. But, QuickTime Player or Windows Media Player should always be your native choice to play media files on PC.

If you are interested in even more technology-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.

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