I record my videos in 60 fps. I have both a Macbook Air (2011) and a Macbook Pro 2018. Both computers have iMovie installed and they are both up to date (ver. 10.1.9). When I import my videos on the Macbook air, iMovie recognizes that there is 60 fps content, however on my Macbook Pro I import the same videos and iMovie only recognizes the content as 30 fps. I'm not quite sure what might cause this issue.
MacBook Pro (15-inch, 2018)
Hi,
On your MacBook, try opening iMovie while holding down the Option and Command keys and deleting 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 your project settings show your clip at 60fps. I suspect that that will cure it.
Also, iMovie sets the project frame rate to that of the very first clip placed into a newly created project. The frame rate will remain the same as the first clip added even if you afterwards delete the first clip. So be sure that on your MacBook you are placing your 60fps clip as the very first clip placed into a newly created project.
You can double check the frame rate by expanding your timeline with the slider handle next to the Settings button. Then place your cursor on the clip, press down the "r" key, and while pressing down on your track pad slowly drag the cursor over the clip. A counter will display the number of frames as you drag. If it is a 60fps clip the counter will change to 1:00 second when the number of frames clicks from 0:59 to 0:60. If it is a 30fps clip, the counter will click to 1:00 second when the number of frames clicks from 0:29 to 0:30.
You can also try sharing out the project and seeing if you get a 60fps option in the share option box. Even if you don't, share out the movie and see whether the final product is 60fps.
-- Rich
I am determining this by clicking on the "settings" button within the iMovie application. On my Macbook it shows that the project settings are only 1080p and not 1080p 60fps. However on my Macbook Air, the project settings show that it is 1080p 60 fps. While viewing the videos in Quicktime Player I use command+i to see more detailed information (inspector) and it says that the videos are 60 fps or more specifically 59.99 fps.
Something that could be causing it is the way iMovie determines the video quality of a project. iMovie takes the quality of the clip that is put into timeline first as the quality of the overall video. What could be happening is if your first clip into the timeline is at 1080p 30 fps, that will be the overall quality regardless of if you put in 1080p 60 fps video or a lower quality clip. The way to fix this is to create a new project and put the 1080p 60 fps video into the timeline first. Then it's just a matter of copying and pasting to restore the video to the way it was. Even if you decide to delete that first clip, iMovie will still retain the quality of the first clip.
Hi,
How are you determining that your MacBook Pro is recognizing the 60fps video at only 30fps?
-- Rich
iMovie doesn't recognize my 60 fps video content
