iMovie will only export in 720p?

Question

iMovie will only export in 720p?

Hello,

I've created a project with drone footage from my Mavic Mini and I'm trying to upload it to Youtube, but when sharing the project to youtube in iMovie (10.1.14) I can only see the option for 720p. When I click the Settings button on my project I see that the project is set up as 720p, however the videos I've used in the project are between 1080p and 4k.

If I select one unedited video clip from the Project Media are and then try and share that to Youtube in iMovie I get the option to share as 1080p and 4k, but not the edited project.

I read other posts to say that the first clip dragged into the project timeline sets the resolution of the project, however all the clips added to my timeline are 4K, and even if I create a new project, and drag a clip into it it sets as 720p despite it allowing me to share that same clip to youtube directly from Project Media at 4k.

Any ideas? Is it maybe something to do with the fact that the video res is between 1080p and 4k?

File format: H.264 HD

Resolution: 2720 x 1530, 16:9

Encoded FPS: 29.97

Thanks

Chris

MacBook Air 13", macOS 10.15

Posted on May 25, 2020 12:17 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Rich839

Level 8

47,838 points

May 25, 2020 1:21 PM in response to Chrisingham05

Be sure that you are setting the project resolution by adding a clip of known resolution and frame rate as the first clip ever placed in a newly created projected.

Next, what is the frame rate of your 4k clip? I couldn't tell from your post. iMovie supports 4k 30fps and 1080 60fps, but not 4k at 60 fps. So for example, if you put a 4k 60 fps clip into a 4k iMovie project, iMovie will reduce it to the next available resolution with a 60 fps frame rate that it can handle. That would be 1080 60fps if you have one in your project. But if your 1080 clip is higher than 60 fps then iMovie possibly would knock it down to 720, being the next available resolution. Varying frame rates can confuse the issue.

If you insert a 4K 30 fps clip into the project as the first clip, you should get a 4k 30fps share option.

If the above is not your issue then possibly there is a corrupt preference that is causing the problem. Try deleting preferences and see if that helps. Open iMovie while holding down the Option and Command keys and selecting to delete preferences in the box that appears. iMovie will open in a new library. Reopen your old library to get back to your projects. Now see if you get the proper share options.

If still no luck, you could try redownloading iMovie from the app store. Put the iMovie app into the trash, but don't empty the trash. Then sign in to the app store and redownload iMovie from your purchases listed in your account.

-- Rich

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iMovie will only export in 720p?

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