Repair · MOV · QuickTime · ProRes
Repair broken MOV files.
iPhone MOV, Cinema EOS XF-AVC, BlackMagic ProRes, Sony Cinema or a DaVinci export — MOV is Apple’s QuickTime container, closely related to MP4. Haven repairs every common codec variant.
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Supported
- · ProRes 422
- · ProRes 4444
- · H.264 in MOV
- · HEVC in MOV
- · DNxHR
- · AAC · PCM
Recognize your problem?
Common damage patterns with MOV
QuickTime: "The file could not be opened"
QuickTime is generally tolerant of broken MOVs, but with a missing moov atom even it gives up. Final Cut Pro refuses playback as well.
ProRes recording cuts off after seconds
ProRes files are large (about 1 GB/min in 422 HQ at 1080p). When the recording to an external SSD cuts off, the container is left open and the file will not play.
DaVinci Resolve export interrupted
An interrupted DaVinci export leaves a MOV with no moov atom. When the source timeline is gone, Haven can rebuild the file from the exported mdat bytes.
AirDrop transfer incomplete
AirDrop transfers MOV as a chunked stream. On an interruption the received file is too big to be an intact MP4 — the container is truncated.
Why does this happen?
The most common causes
01
External SSD recording cut off
iPhone ProRes to an external SSD or a cinema cam to a RAID — on a loose connection or throughput problems the write cuts off. moov is never written.
02
Disk full during export
When the target volume fills up mid-way through a ProRes export, the container is not finalised. The frames already written are still recoverable, though.
03
macOS crash during a QuickTime screen recording
Screen recordings write continuously into a .mov. A system crash leaves an open container — Haven rebuilds the moov.
04
BlackMagic cam with a faulty card
BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Cameras write ProRes straight to CFast or SD — faulty cards lead to broken MOVs at the end of the recording.
How to do it
Repair in four steps
- 01
Copy the file, save the original
Never repair straight from the external SSD or card. Copy to an internal drive — for ProRes files you need enough free space (typically 30–100 GB).
- 02
Find a reference with the same codec
An intact MOV from the same camera/configuration. For ProRes 4444, be sure to use ProRes 4444 as the reference too, not 422 — the SPS/PPS parameters differ.
- 03
Open Haven, codec-profile match
Haven reads the codec header (H.264, HEVC or ProRes) and matches it against the reference. For ProRes, the colour range (limited vs full) is taken from the reference.
- 04
Check the preview, export
In the preview, confirm the colour space and audio sync are right. Then export as MOV — or as MP4 if the file needs to slot more easily into Premiere/Resolve.
Engineering detail
MOV vs MP4 — how close are they really?
MOV is Apple’s QuickTime container from 1991. MP4 (ISO BMFF) is based directly on it and was specified in 1998. Both containers use the same box structure, the same moov/mdat atoms and overlapping box types. The main difference is the list of allowed codecs (MOV permits more proprietary Apple codecs such as ProRes, MP4 is more restrictive). For Haven they are almost identical to handle — the container-repair code is the same, only the codec handling differs for ProRes.
FAQ · MOV
Common questions
Can I export a repaired MOV as MP4?
Yes. Haven can repackage the repaired container into MP4 (remuxing), as long as the contained codec is MP4-compatible (H.264, HEVC yes; ProRes no — that would be re-encoding and needs third-party software).
ProRes 4444 with an alpha channel — is the alpha recovered?
If the alpha channel is intact in the mdat bytes, yes. ProRes 4444 (unlike 422) stores alpha as extra channel data that the container does not separate. As long as the bytes are there, alpha comes along.
Does this work with DNxHR or DNxHD MOV as well?
Yes. DNxHR/DNxHD are Avid codecs in a MOV container. Container repair is standard, and the codec data is carried over one-to-one.
What if the audio track is 24-bit PCM?
PCM audio in MOV is uncompressed and very easy to repair. Haven aligns audio sync to frame accuracy, even across several parallel tracks (e.g. the FX3 with a 4-track recording).
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