Can iMovie on MacBook Air M2 support XAVC HS 10-bit 4:2:2 video input?

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Can iMovie on MacBook Air M2 support XAVC HS 10-bit 4:2:2 video input?

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to shoot some video footage on my Sony camera in XAVC HS 10-bit 4:2:2 format, and I want to edit the footage in iMovie on my MacBook Air M2. I'm not concerned about the output format, but I'm wondering if iMovie on this hardware and software configuration can support 10-bit color depth for this specific video format during the editing process.

I've read conflicting information online about whether iMovie typically uses 8-bit or 10-bit color depth, so I'm hoping to get some clarification from the community. If iMovie on my MacBook Air M2 can support 10-bit color depth for XAVC HS 10-bit 4:2:2 files during the editing process, will I be able to take advantage of the higher bit depth for color and exposure corrections, even if the final rendered movie is in 8-bit?

I'm new to video editing, so any insights or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help!

Thanks,

David

Posted on Feb 24, 2023 2:14 PM

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Rich839

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Feb 24, 2023 6:38 PM in response to DavidBoston

I haven't personally worked with the formats that you mention, but I'll give you the benefit of my reading.

Here's a link that lists the formats that iMovie supports. I see XAVC-S but not XAVC-HS. However, XAVC-HS is not specifically excluded either. So don't know for sure whether iMovie will support XAVC-HS. You might try a test to see.

About incompatible media in iMovie for macOS – Apple Support (AU)

I Movie does support Pro Res 422, that supports 10 bit. Take a look at this white paper link published by Apple, page 10 in particular.

https://www.apple.com/final-cut-pro/docs/Apple_ProRes_White_Paper.pdf

Since your Sony can record XAVC-HS at 10 bit 422, you might see if the camera is supported in Apple's list of supported cameras:

iMovie for macOS supported cameras - Apple Support

My thinking is that if iMovie supports the camera then it likely supports the 10 bit 422 that the camera can do.

Perhaps others on this forum who may have experience with the formats you mention will chime in here.

-- Rich

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Can iMovie on MacBook Air M2 support XAVC HS 10-bit 4:2:2 video input?

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