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1080p Support from iMovie

Folks,


I have am the proud owner of a new Sony HD camcoder and after much debate on the forums I am pleased to report that I am easily able to import the files to iMovie and edit them just as I did with my old DV camera.


However, when I go to the 'Share to iTunes' option I am only able to publish a 'Large - 960x540' file to synchrnise with my Apple TV - whihc is the 1st generation model. Why am I unable to publish a 720p or 1080p file to the same? The radio button in iMovie presents this for use through a computer only - but I was fully under the impression that Apple TV could support HD content, and I do have an HD TV so not sure what the issue is here?


Thanks.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.2)

Posted on Mar 6, 2012 2:45 AM

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6 replies

Mar 6, 2012 3:56 AM in response to Alley_Cat

Thanks. To clarify:


I have a 1st generation Apple TV - not the 2nd generation. Not sure if that makes a difference to your response but even if I export the movie manaually, when I copy it to iTunes it will convert it to Apple TV format right? Which I assume is where the degradation occurs?


Or is there another way to save the movie off as an HD 720p file and then stream it or synchronise it to the Apple TV?

Mar 6, 2012 4:20 AM in response to matthewfox1972

Ah, sorry though it was gen 2.


For AppleTV1 the highest it supports officially is 720p at 24fps.


You may just get it to play 25fps if like me you're in a PAL country.


30fps 720p is not possible on it.


Hence iMovie etc offered 960x540 at up to 30 fps as a compromise.


If the video was 30 fps source, use the 960x540 option.


If the video is 24/25 fps try a short clip using a custom export using h264 codec with datarate less than 5Mbps, and AAC sound at 128 or 160 kbps.


Try to produce a video that will be compatible - if you convert in iTunes subsequently it will lose quality.


Remember to keep your original video footage so that you can take advantage of higher resolutions in teh future when the equipment allows.


AC

Mar 6, 2012 4:35 AM in response to Alley_Cat

OK - getting there slowly :-)


I can record at 1080p, 1080i or 720p. Additionally I appear to have the ability to choose between 50i or 50p - although the latter will not import into iMovie anyway. Are these settings the equivalent of what you're stating as FPS - i.e. 50i would equal 25fps?


Assuming that the Apple TV technology improves, should I just be shooting at the highest quality level available to me and then re-publishing the movie as and when my Apple TV can cope with the higher definition?

Mar 6, 2012 4:56 AM in response to matthewfox1972

matthewfox1972 wrote:


OK - getting there slowly :-)


I can record at 1080p, 1080i or 720p. Additionally I appear to have the ability to choose between 50i or 50p - although the latter will not import into iMovie anyway. Are these settings the equivalent of what you're stating as FPS - i.e. 50i would equal 25fps?


Assuming that the Apple TV technology improves, should I just be shooting at the highest quality level available to me and then re-publishing the movie as and when my Apple TV can cope with the higher definition?


Tricky to know which format to shoot when you have options!


Personally - because you can never go back and shoot it again - I take photos and record video at the best resolution possible. However that can place demands on storage, hardware and software - especially if software can't handle the format.


If you know you want 720p video for AppleTV it'd be tempting to shoot 720p from the off if imovie can handle an import - but you can't get true 1080p in the future from that footage if you want to.


Presumably this is a solid state camcorder - mine is still video based.


Th problem using Share from iMovie is that it won't offer above 960x540 for AppleTV1 from memory (unless perhaps footage was 24 fps, but it will handle 25fps anecdotally). For 720p you'd need to custom export.



The i and p refer to interlacing or progressive scan mode.


The 50i setting sounds like 50 fields per sec but as it is interlaced only half the vertical data is captured per frame, so in theory you'd be getting 25fps of full frame data. I would expect the 50p mode to be 50 frames pers sec but check your manual.


My camcorder is older and doesn't sport 50p modes. I don't think iMovie handles 50p at all, I may be wrong.


One bad thing with iMovie is that it did at one point start discarding alternate fields ofinterlaced material as a shortcut instead of properly deinterlacing - I'm not sure if that's still true.


Winston is the video expert here, hopefully he'll chime in.


I know what the units support and roughly how to get there but Winston does a lot of video regularly.


Also ask on the iMovie forum directly for advice on the shooting modes and compatibility.


AC

1080p Support from iMovie

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