Flipsonic
Level 1 (8 points)
iLife

Q: Exporting 4K clips In iMovie 9


I still use an old iMac 24" (early 2009) and import 4k clips from my Phantom 3 drone to create movies. I'm able to import the clips and edit them in iMovie 9. Its choppy at times but doable. Then I export it to 1080p. So far quality is acceptable but really couldn't compare it to anything since this is the only app I have been using to post process. I have seen vids in forums from people who have superior quality. I assume they are using a better post pro app and better desktop. I recently recorded 4k clips over a big body of water and noticed the poor quality mostly evident on the water. It is grainy and pixelated. Is this due to poor conversion from 4k to 1080p by iMovie 9? My iMAC does not support iMovie 4K. If my issue is indeed due to iMovie 9, is there another app I can use with my old iMAC that does a better job? If not and I have to upgrade my desktop, then I will just record in 1080p for now to see if it would be better.

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.4)

Posted on Jul 25, 2016 8:05 AM

by GeeD,Solvedanswer
GeeD GeeD
Level 5 (7,612 points)
Video
A:

The main negatives are dropping support from older cameras and DVD burning, together with the removal of some fairly minor features, support for non 16:9 aspect ratios and a smaller choice of export options.  iMovie 10 was a complete rewrite and supports modern cameras and formats (eg. AVCHD, 4K).  I switched as soon as it came out and found it an improvement (especially colour correction) but I didn't have any legacy problems. 

 

Geoff.

Posted on Jul 26, 2016 4:30 PM

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Flipsonic

Q: Exporting 4K clips In iMovie 9

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  • Helpful answers

  • by GeeD,

    GeeD GeeD Jul 25, 2016 4:36 PM in response to Flipsonic
    Level 5 (7,612 points)
    Video
    Jul 25, 2016 4:36 PM in response to Flipsonic

    iMovie 9 is not completely compatible with El Capitan and does not officially support 4K.  iMovie version 10.1 and later does support 4K - see: Edit and Share 4K video with iMovie - Apple Support

    As you state, your machine is not recent enough to handle 4K as you will see from the statement there:

    "4K editing and sharing with iMovie for Mac is supported on Mac computers from 2011 or later with at least 4GB of memory."


    I would expect exporting 1080p from 4K clips would give better quality on your machine with iMovie 10 than iMovie 9 but it won't necessarily be faster.   It may even be slower though that won't affect the final export quality.


    Geoff.

  • by Flipsonic,

    Flipsonic Flipsonic Jul 25, 2016 5:39 PM in response to GeeD
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iLife
    Jul 25, 2016 5:39 PM in response to GeeD

    Thanks Geoff. Yes I have known that my iMac is not compatible with 4K clips. However since I have been able to edit 4K clips and create movies successfully, it's all I've been using. I knew the best quality I can export it to is 1080p. The first few movies I created were over land and was satisfied with the quality. It wasn't until I recorded over water is when I realized the poor quality. You are correct that it could probably look better using a more recent version. So are you saying that iMovie 10 will work on my iMac even though it is made in 2009? Btw, I have upgraded the memory from 4G to 8G. I realize it will not make it noticeably faster and better quality.

  • by GeeD,

    GeeD GeeD Jul 26, 2016 1:51 AM in response to Flipsonic
    Level 5 (7,612 points)
    Video
    Jul 26, 2016 1:51 AM in response to Flipsonic

    You can try iMovie 10 while still keeping iMovie 9 functional.

     

    As an experiment some time ago I tried editing and exporting a short 4K project on my old 2007 Macbook Pro (4GB RAM, internal drive upgraded to SSD)  and it was possible but extremely slow and not  nice experience.  I know that this is not what you want to do but it shows that the Apple requirements are therefore not 'hard' ones but indicate what Mac you need to get an acceptable editing experience.

     

    Another option you could try would be to convert your 4K footage into 1080p using Handbrake (https://handbrake.fr/) or similar before importing into iMovie.  This will make editing faster but you will loose the advantage of being able to output pristine 1080p without the quality loss associated with effects such as cropping and stabilisation during editing.

     

    Geoff.

  • by Flipsonic,

    Flipsonic Flipsonic Jul 26, 2016 10:51 AM in response to GeeD
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iLife
    Jul 26, 2016 10:51 AM in response to GeeD

    For now, I really don't care if the editing experience is slow. As long as I get the best 1080p quality out of it. So you think there is less compression in iMovie 10 compared to 9? I would be willing to go that route if that is the case. Heck I'm even willing to wait longer on editing as long as quality is the best as possible. I need to Google iMovie 10.

  • by GeeD,

    GeeD GeeD Jul 26, 2016 2:42 PM in response to Flipsonic
    Level 5 (7,612 points)
    Video
    Jul 26, 2016 2:42 PM in response to Flipsonic

    Why not just try iMovie 10 and see how it compares?  You should already have it.  Rather than let it update all your projects and events just let update one at first.  It will create an iMovie 10 library with just that in it but the project will still be available unchanged in iMovie 9 if you decide to go back.

  • by Flipsonic,

    Flipsonic Flipsonic Jul 26, 2016 2:53 PM in response to GeeD
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iLife
    Jul 26, 2016 2:53 PM in response to GeeD

    I thought imovie 10 is $14.99. How do I already have it? How do I get it for free? I googled it and I saw several download sites. Any particular site I should download from?

  • by Flipsonic,

    Flipsonic Flipsonic Jul 26, 2016 2:59 PM in response to Flipsonic
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iLife
    Jul 26, 2016 2:59 PM in response to Flipsonic

    BTW, I see a lot of comments from people wanting to downgrade back from 10 to 9. Is 10 that bad? Dates of the comments are back in 2013. Perhaps it improved by now?

  • by GeeD,

    GeeD GeeD Jul 26, 2016 4:20 PM in response to Flipsonic
    Level 5 (7,612 points)
    Video
    Jul 26, 2016 4:20 PM in response to Flipsonic

    If you have iMovie version 9 associated with your apple ID you should be able to download iMovie 10 for free from the App store.  (or do your have iMovie '09 which is version 8 from iLife 2009?  In that case you do have to buy it ).

  • by GeeD,Solvedanswer

    GeeD GeeD Jul 26, 2016 4:30 PM in response to Flipsonic
    Level 5 (7,612 points)
    Video
    Jul 26, 2016 4:30 PM in response to Flipsonic

    The main negatives are dropping support from older cameras and DVD burning, together with the removal of some fairly minor features, support for non 16:9 aspect ratios and a smaller choice of export options.  iMovie 10 was a complete rewrite and supports modern cameras and formats (eg. AVCHD, 4K).  I switched as soon as it came out and found it an improvement (especially colour correction) but I didn't have any legacy problems. 

     

    Geoff.

  • by Flipsonic,

    Flipsonic Flipsonic Jul 26, 2016 5:27 PM in response to GeeD
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iLife
    Jul 26, 2016 5:27 PM in response to GeeD

    Thanks again Geoff. You have been very helpful.

  • by Flipsonic,

    Flipsonic Flipsonic Jul 26, 2016 5:38 PM in response to Flipsonic
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iLife
    Jul 26, 2016 5:38 PM in response to Flipsonic

    BTW, just checked and I do have iMovie 09 ver 8.0.6 (821).

  • by Flipsonic,

    Flipsonic Flipsonic Jul 26, 2016 6:46 PM in response to Flipsonic
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iLife
    Jul 26, 2016 6:46 PM in response to Flipsonic

    Well.....I should've just left it alone. Just had to find out if it will work on my iMac. So I downloaded iMovie 10 and now I can't even get passed the first step. I was able to import 4K clips. But when I drag the clips to the timeline, my iMac just freezes. At least on 9 it would take a while to import but no problem dragging to timeline. The only way I can get it back is hold the power button down a few seconds to force shutdown. I take it there is no way around this? If so, it costed me $15 to find out It doesn't work on my machine.

  • by Flipsonic,

    Flipsonic Flipsonic Jul 26, 2016 6:57 PM in response to Flipsonic
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iLife
    Jul 26, 2016 6:57 PM in response to Flipsonic

    At least iMovie 9 is still there and I'm able to use it.