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User profile for user: fmscott2
fmscott2 Author
User level: Level 1
5 points

Why is my footage blurry when exported to Youtube

Novice film maker/editor here. My raw footage in iMovie is either 1080 or 4k and looks fine in iMovie. I utilize the internal iMovie export to Youtube feature and my videos are blurry, pixelated, and not sharp when I play them in Youtube. When I export from iMovie to Youtube I make sure the quality dropdown is set to the max resolution and when I play the video on Youtube I have the quality set to the max as well. Even when I come back several days later the Youtube footage remains the same poor quality. It makes my 4k video look like it's playing in 720p. I watch other Youtube videos in 1080 and they're crystal clear. What am I missing?

iMac 21.5" 4K, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jan 23, 2020 6:37 AM

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User profile for user: Rich839
Rich839
User level: Level 8
47,712 points

Posted on Jan 23, 2020 9:16 AM

Hard to tell what's causing that. It might be some problem with You Tube's online uploader. Instead of directly exporting from iMovie try exporting your video to your desktop and then, after confirming that the movie is not blurry, drag it into You Tube's upload window.


Also, check You Tube's video upload requirements re format and resolution to make sure that you are in compliance.


I see that you are running Catalina. If you have not already done so, update your iMovie app to current version.


-- Rich

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User profile for user: Rich839
Rich839
User level: Level 8
47,712 points

Jan 23, 2020 9:16 AM in response to fmscott2

Hard to tell what's causing that. It might be some problem with You Tube's online uploader. Instead of directly exporting from iMovie try exporting your video to your desktop and then, after confirming that the movie is not blurry, drag it into You Tube's upload window.


Also, check You Tube's video upload requirements re format and resolution to make sure that you are in compliance.


I see that you are running Catalina. If you have not already done so, update your iMovie app to current version.


-- Rich

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Why is my footage blurry when exported to Youtube

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