iMovie to play on tv via usb hard drive

hello. I am editing videos on iMovie and then pressing

"share", "file" and saving to an external hard drive. I am using the 720p, high and faster options.

even a 26 second clip is taking an hour to save.

and then when I put the hard drive into the USB port of my Panasonic DVD player the files are unreadable. they won't play.

I have tried several times, using the different options. I have formatted the hard drive as exfat and then again as the Mac OS Extended (journaled).

I have spent all day on this...

what am I doing wrong? why is it so hard??

how do I save iMovies onto a usb hard drive and play them in my tv??????

(I am using a MacBook Air - it is new and up to date. )

thank you for your help

• please explain in simple terms, I am really struggling with technology. my brain is spinning in my head.

thank you