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iMovie and quick time plays choppy video

How to fix my iMovie to edit video? I have an MP4 file that I transferred from my pc via USB. The video plays normal on the pc it’s in 1080p. So I can’t even edit the video because it’s to choppy on the Mac. I seen other post in the discussions about this same problem but nobody seems to have an a solution. I called apple support and they don’t even know what I’m talking about

MacBook Pro 13", macOS 10.13

Posted on Mar 29, 2020 8:30 PM

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Posted on Mar 30, 2020 11:57 AM

Hi,


Here are some things that possibly might cause choppiness in playback:


  1. The clip is shot in a lower frame rate than the frame rate of the project.
  2. Projects containing clips with mixed frame rates.
  3. High CPU activity from apps running simultaneously with iMovie.
  4. Slow computer processor, like i5 processor.
  5. Insufficient free disk space to allow iMovie to operate efficiently. You need at least 15GB, depending on size of movie.
  6. Very high resolution clips, or complex editing, or very large movie, that makes it difficult for iMovie to edit in real time.
  7. Clips in a format that iMovie doesn't like. iMovie like Mp4/AAC.
  8. Your System Management Controller needs resetting.


See if any of the above might apply to your situation.


The shared out version might not have choppiness. Likely it is confined to preview playback.


-- Rich

1 reply
Question marked as Best reply

Mar 30, 2020 11:57 AM in response to BigGlizzy23

Hi,


Here are some things that possibly might cause choppiness in playback:


  1. The clip is shot in a lower frame rate than the frame rate of the project.
  2. Projects containing clips with mixed frame rates.
  3. High CPU activity from apps running simultaneously with iMovie.
  4. Slow computer processor, like i5 processor.
  5. Insufficient free disk space to allow iMovie to operate efficiently. You need at least 15GB, depending on size of movie.
  6. Very high resolution clips, or complex editing, or very large movie, that makes it difficult for iMovie to edit in real time.
  7. Clips in a format that iMovie doesn't like. iMovie like Mp4/AAC.
  8. Your System Management Controller needs resetting.


See if any of the above might apply to your situation.


The shared out version might not have choppiness. Likely it is confined to preview playback.


-- Rich

iMovie and quick time plays choppy video

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