iMovie Won't Export 1080p Video? Easy Fix For Frustrating Glitch

[@caren_ly]

As of June 2020: Omg, this was driving me nuts! Thank you so much for the tutorial and for the downloadable clip. It worked!

[@BarctreeStudio]

What a man. You showed us how It works, AND you included a video on the description that automatically resets it. This is the best thing I’ve found in a long time. You’re a blessing!

[@sarakyoutube]

I have been uploading videos for almost 10 years and have been around the marry go round trying to figure out how to get my videos to save and upload in 1080p when they are recorded in that quality.. MY GOODNESS.... THANKKKKK YOU!!!!!!!!!!

[@JMGardnerMD]

I know right? It’s a crazy frustrating and stupid glitch! I don’t know what apple hasn’t fixed it. Glad I was able to help you solve it!

[@THETIMBONES]

Thank you so much for this super easy fix, now my vids are gonna be crispy 1080 :) Also if anyone has done a full project and is worried about having to start from scratch to get this to work dont worry because i had the same fear. I simply selected the whole timeline and "cut" it, then added the 1080p video from the link in the description then pasted my clips back into the timeline and it worked perfect.

[@JMGardnerMD]

Thanks for bringing this up! I forgot to mention that you can cut paste the whole project.

[@joshuahershey2832]

This was the exact comment I was looking for and I am relieved! phewwwww.....

[@BCmtb]

How did you paste it back in? When I right click nothing happens and same with control V

[@NebMotion]

just what i needed thanks

[@marlzc123]

i just copied the whole timeline and moved it to a new project and that fixed it haha

[@FraserAtSea]

You've saved me pulling my hair out after hours of editing and thinking it had been a waste - thank you, sir!

[@joshuahershey2832]

Confirmation on a point he made: If you have any clips that are below 1080p mixed in with the others, it will bump the exportable resolution down to 720p. Sad but true.

[@emanuelec9904]

Yeah, but you can upscale your lores clip on Handbrake, THEN pout it into iMovie, and save the resolution of the whole footage

[@catethegreatbeauty]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS. I've been uploading videos for YEARS through imovie and then one day this glitch happened and it was so bizarre. You saved my video. Thank you!!

[@TheVCRTimeMachine]

If you're still having trouble, download the clip he provides. I tried every 1080p clip I had available and none of them worked. Once I used his clip it fixed the issue. Weird.

[@nicoladawn]

Thanks for this. Totally works, only difference was I already had 1080 files in my project so i just clicked over one of those and the settings flipped like you said. So weird. Thanks for saving my project!

[@johnlime1469]

I have to say, as much as I like the user interface of iMovie, it has two of the worst features (or in this case, non-features) that I've ever seen. 1. It doesn't let you put titles and subtitles without having a cheapest looking preset transition 2. -1080p export-

[@PianistMarcusSukiennik]

Thank you. You saved my day. After editing videos in iMovie for some weeks suddenly this glitch occurred and I didn't know what to do. Your method is working 😎

[@JMGardnerMD]

So glad! It’s such an annoying glitch. I’m happy I can help others fix the issue!

[@CliffordMartinOnline]

Thanks Jerad! Amazing it works! Tried everything and the little piece of film has saved my day....Many Thanks! 👍

[@ThePixelmonkey]

OMG Jerad!! You need a giant medal!!! This works magically!! you just saved 3 days of my life!

[@homestylingworks]

Thank you so much for the helpful solution! Everything I tried on the Apple forum didn't work until I came across your video - and it worked!

[@JMGardnerMD]

So glad I could help! It’s so crazy they haven’t fixed this absurd issue already!

[@e-create3453]

Hello everyone, I had the same problem but my project was too complex for this method. Instead I copied all the objects in my timeline, created a new project and paste it into it. Then I could simply exported the video at 1080p. Thanks to the author for the video, without it I probably wouldn't come to this solution. Cheers.

[@PatricksBreastplate]

Thanks, I just followed your advice. Crazy that this problem still exists in 2022.

[@Coconut_Blondie]

OMG NOW IT WORKS. THANK YOU

[@racheldarby4601]

This comment SAVED my sister’s rehearsal dinner video since it wouldn’t paste back into the original timeline. THANK YOU!!

[@e-create3453]

@@racheldarby4601 you are very much welcome! ❤ We try to give advise as often as we can on our online media to help others. So if you have more questions regarding IT, design, Adobe, … don’t hesitate to contact us! And thank you for your nice reply. We are happy we helped someone today! 🙌

[@e-create3453]

@@Coconut_Blondie I am glad we could be of any help. 🙌

[@TylerAlexis]

Omg thank you! I kept trying and it wasn't until I used your video clip did it work. So frustrating but so thankful that I stumbled upon your video and link!

[@JMGardnerMD]

It drove me crazy too! I’m so glad I could help. Out of curiosity how did you find my video? Suddenly a few months ago it started getting lots of views. I’m thankful people are finding it!

[@TylerAlexis]

Jerad Gardner, MD just a google search 🤷‍♀️ I went through a few and they were all saying similar shit but my vid was over 1080 so I couldn’t figure out what was happening

[@Art4ArtsSakeVideo]

Dear god, you saved my life here. I'd just spent 10 days making a film of a family funeral -- my mom, dad and aunt -- and the night before it was due at the duplicating house, to make it for mailings to family before the holidays... I found this awful message about 720p. I did exactly as told, copied the whole 90 minute project into a new file AFTER placing a known 1080 clip. And it worked.

[@JMGardnerMD]

I am so sorry for your loss but so glad this worked for you. Best wishes for healing and peace to you and your family.

[@sheetalrathi1784]

I did the same but my started getting less frames rates and seems lagging in some of the parts

[@AnnaVasylioglo]

Thank you Jerad. I recorded video 1080 but just because I added some 720 extract to my main 1080 video all followed worst quality, just like a projection of life hahaha Thanks for your video!

[@erikg350]

ha ha, love your comments, "Why does this work? I don't know!" ha ha. But you are spot on. Well done my friend!

[@liamconnolly4636]

all i had to do was duplicate the project, select and copy all the clips, add a 1080p video and then paste back in the clips and it worked!! thanks so much!

[@SmartMeditationFilms]

Bro, you saved my life! This got you a like, subscribe and comment. Gratitude is the memory of my heart.

[@aaronwhitefoot]

I just downloaded a 1080 picture and saved it. Then when start a new video add it to the front then add pictures or videos and delete the 1080 when done.

[@NedNed]

yo! This works, thank you mah dude!

[@huber-lofiandchillbeat]

2 years and apple still not fix the issue. but your fix is working so thank you !

[@SekTauBand]

this worked for 4k as well! thank you! been dealing with iMovie bugs of all types for two weeks and had to re-edit my episode 6x. i also missed my youtube upload deadline because of it

[@MonicaTVToronto]

Another problem of mine is that, when my iPhone camera recording setting is 1080p, my video is recorded at 720p when I have enough storage in my phone.

[@julienheylen1647]

It doesn't work with me

[@VagabondAcres]

Literally was about to commit myself to the looney bin! Thank you! We had one video upload in 360p! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

[@jasivy]

This glitch is such a pain and strange. Thank you so much for this trick! It definitely helps!

[@Autmazing]

Thank you so, so much! I do not understand why my own files from my own cameras wouldn't work for me. I know they were in 1080. But I downloaded your file and just like magic it worked. I don't even know why suddenly this started happening after using iMovie for two and a half years but thank you again for fixing it for me!

[@JMGardnerMD]

I still do not understand why this works either! I just happen to get lucky and have a file that made iMovie happy and so I wanted to share it to help others.

[@Autmazing]

Jerad Gardner, MD I’m so glad you did! I was starting to think it was my computer before I searched and found your videos. Whatever it is with the file definitely works, thank goodness!

[@joshlaguardiadrums]

Does this still work? I shot movies in 4k 60 fps on my phone. I followed these steps and still not working. Any advise? Thanks

[@JMGardnerMD]

It still works for 1080p at least in my version of iMovie. But I’ve never tried this with 4K so not sure. Sorry!

[@joshlaguardiadrums]

@@JMGardnerMD I had to fuddle around a bit but the concept DID end up working. THANK YOU!!:)

[@lorenzhauser3630]

Joshua LaGuardia And How did you solve the Problem? I am filming 4K Videos too but it stays on 720p, whatever i do.

[@joshlaguardiadrums]

@@lorenzhauser3630 What i actually did was took a REAL 1080p video I already had on my computer, i put it at the front of the timeline, then erased it then i moved my real clip over. That should then give you the option to export at 1080p! Its so weird but it works! :)

[@Nancie_McDermott]

Thank you --- this helped me SO MUCH!!! A note on what probably got my video stuck: I made a 10 min cooking video on iMovie, and exported it to desktop in preparation for upload to KZbin. Realized I forgot to add titles at the end, so I went back in and added 3 titles at the end from iMovie. Then it would not give me 1080 or the one before it! (was the adding-titles-process not in 1080p??? I don't know ...) Following your advice I put one of my clips from that video at the end; checked export and boom -- it was all 1080. SO I then deleted that clip and continued, just finished export and back in business. Many thanks. Subscribing!

[@LaurenH100]

I'll try this again. It seemed to work last time but not this time. Could someone explain why does this keep happening when I'm shooting with a DSLR?

[@BeComingNyrell]

How do u see the file size to check before exporting using the iPhone or iPad?

[@TheBohemianStyle]

At 0.33 seconds in where you select the box with the arrow, it doesn’t show for me the option of KZbin. It was there before. Showered did it go and how can I get it back?🙏🏻

[@PetrieAAWARD]

OMG! Who would have imagined? Not sure how in the world you figured this out, but thank you very much.

[@JMGardnerMD]

I found the tip online after much searching. Figured I should share it further via KZbin to help save others from the maddening frustration!

[@HSPaisley]

SO WEIRD that this worked. Thank you!

[@Andrew_Sherman]

Thank you so much! This was driving me bonkers as a beginning youtuber of only 3 months....

[@MonicaTVToronto]

I tried your way. I had 1080p active in the option with the clip of 1080p included in the beginning. However, when I deleted the additional 1080p for exporting my project, I had no option of 1080p to select. This is a very annoying issue.

[@JMGardnerMD]

Did you try using the 1080p clip in the video description? It seems to work when others don't but I don't understand why. Also, did you try creating a brand new project, putting that clip first, then copy paste your entire old project into the new one after 1080p clip then delete initial 1080p clip?

[@FinancialMatter]

I have a mix of footage in 780p and 1080p...if I save it as 1080p with the tips above will that distort the video? Thanks!

[@JMGardnerMD]

I don’t think it will work actually. I believe all of the clips must be 1080p to output final video as 1080p.

[@gliziks]

this works but when i delete the clip it goes back to 720p and this on mobile

[@LorenaMorales-gh4lo]

THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH (yes! I'm screaming!!!) for making this video!!!!

[@davefouquette4192]

Not working for me. Still no 1080 option. Everything that I have has been recorded in 1080. I did import audio, but not sure why that would have any effect.

[@JMGardnerMD]

Did you try downloading that clip from the link in video description? Many people have told me that it was only that clip that work for them. I have no idea why

[@davefouquette4192]

@@JMGardnerMD Update! I started a new project and imported a short 1080 video and named it. Then went back to projects and opened my main video and grabbed the short one and placed it in front of my main video. This time it worked! I was able to delete the short video and download my main video in 1080. Thank you!

[@JMGardnerMD]

Awesome! Glad to hear it!

[@SharifSourour]

Thanks for this‼️ All of a sudden one day it stopped giving me the 1080p option too. Maybe it was because I combined a low res clip in my project, not sure... anyway it's a super annoying glitch for sure! Happy there's a fix‼️❤️🙏🏼

[@SharifSourour]

UPDATE. After using a 4k video in a fresh timeline, it not only brought back the 1080p option it ADDED a whole new 4K option! WTF right? Try it if you can.

[@chancellorpalpatine2386]

I trying to fix this on mobile except the option for 1080p doesn’t pop up

[@albertoo1579]

So I tried this and it doesn't work for me. My videos are 1080p but when I go to upload them on iMovie it only shows 480p or 540p and I don't know how to fix it! Does anyone know how to get rid of this problem? THANK YOU!!

[@JaceDiehl]

Thanks for the 1080p clip!!

[@JMGardnerMD]

It’s the magic clip! I have no idea why it works when others don’t!

[@remoterish]

Wow that works great! How can we do this if the project is already in place? As it needs us to delete everything first?

[@harpriyakaur]

OH MY GOD! THANK YOU!!! IT WORKED! And thanks for the video download link! It was making me so angry as to why I could not seem to fix it!

[@JMGardnerMD]

I know I was so frustrated about it too. Happy I could help pass on a solution!

[@harpriyakaur]

Thank you! 😬

[@GFHO]

You saved my sanity! Thank you for sharing!! I used my iPhone to create a 4K one second video and it worked like a charm! I now have it in my events and will place it before every movie I make...annoying, but it works!

[@JMGardnerMD]

I don’t know why Apple won’t just fix this stupid issue. But I’m so glad I was able to help you.

[@NenerenaeLove]

🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾I was legit about to cry from frustration 🤣🤣 you save me!!!!!! Thank you

[@andreamontanaa]

Thank you so much! Aside from letting me export in 1080p, it also gives me the option for 4k!!

[@EnglishforFOOTBALLFANS]

This is driving me insane - I can't even save it as a file in high resolution.

[@BCmtb]

What do I do if I’ve spent hours on the project and can’t just restart with a 1080 video. I am not willing to restart from scratch but I see no other option. Wtf iMovie!!

[@JMGardnerMD]

Create new project. Download my clip and Put it first. Then selects all copy paste your entire old presentation into the new one after the 1080 clip. Then delete the 1080 clip. See if that works

[@BCmtb]

@@JMGardnerMD thanks a ton. I managed to figure it out

[@yair.2821]

hello, i want to edit a video by 640x1138 and when i export the video it always show me a regular 720 file with black around the video

[@JMGardnerMD]

I’m not sure if imovie supports that resolution. I only have experience with 720 and 1080.

[@BEAUTYLIFEbyAjaa]

THANK YOU!!! You saved me two days of editing! 🙃Subscribed!

[@JMGardnerMD]

So glad I could help!

[@surlaroutophile-bythibautv5887]

AWESOME easy fix, thanks Jerad!

[@bigalrc]

So I tried to add a 1080p clip first it didn’t work.. I have no 720p clips in the video and it still won’t give me the option. I even tried putting your clip first and still nothin...

[@JMGardnerMD]

Did you create a new project, put my clip in first, then copy all of your clips in after it?

[@bigalrc]

@@JMGardnerMD yea didn’t work.. but I figured it out. I held command and option while opening iMovie and it did a thing and replaced all the projects and it worked using your method after that.. so strange

[@JMGardnerMD]

Such a crazy program! Glad you got it to work!

[@mgkl8465]

not working for catalina mp4 downlaoded from wahtsapp orginal is 4k but apple do not allow more 720p thanks apple last apple was this mac mr natzis apple coder

[@Alukian]

Worked perfectly. :D Thank you!

[@khaledalkharaz8152]

Thanks for sharing this, you saved my life I do not why I got this issue it was working fine I am doing free web courses and I was editing my lesson it takes me around 1 hr of editing the lesson and was allow me to share only 720 the original video 4k! but thanks after watching your video I manage to fix this issue thanks a lot my fried

[@Humanities-dd]

Thank you Jerad now it perfectly works. Very appreciated

[@missaknife]

Dr. Gardner, you are a lifesaver. Thank you for the help!

[@julianaandreabetancur8000]

help! so my issue with imovie is that i get my audio and video (both recorded separately) lined up perfectly and then after downloading it it's no longer in sync! my lips are slightly behind my voice. do you know how i would fix this? ive tried smaller file sizes and that just doesnt work

[@JMGardnerMD]

Oh that sucks. But sadly I don’t know how to fix that. I’m really a pretty basic editor not an expert. I always record my audio as part of my video so I’ve never had to deal with syncing issues. Sorry to not be of more help!

[@julianaandreabetancur8000]

@@JMGardnerMD that’s okay! Thank you for answering!

[@saralgyaan]

Great video... The hack worked for me... I downloaded the video you have provided but instead of 1080p, I am getting only 1080? Are they different?

[@daveryandub]

Been trynna figure out a work around to this for so long! Thank you.cant wait to try it now 👌

[@THOUZANHANDZ]

Very smart. This worked so well. I couldn’t thank you enough. I had a few after effects videos that I needed to export into i movie.

[@dhortonofficial165]

This works! Definitely came through clutch! Thanks man 💯💯💯💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽

[@DanceDanceNorth]

This is neat, but it won't help with 1080p60, which I am currently missing.

[@techTFQ]

You are amazing... Thank you very much for this...

[@alfredomanzano8436]

Why 1080p / 60 fps is not an option?

[@diegoskitchen3412]

In IMovie I can’t watch my video when it’s in the lab

[@stevenzoeller]

Hi Jerad, Thank you. iMovie defaults to the first clip res but what I didn't know is you have to click on all the clips before exporting!

[@thefoxinthewell]

"Now it will let you do it at 1080p - why? ... Who knows." Haha I'm laughing with relief man, can't believe this bug is still not fixed and thanks so much for this video.

[@JMGardnerMD]

It’s crazy right?!

[@JMGardnerMD]

Out of curiosity how did you find my video? KZbin search or is link posted on a site somewhere? I am amazed by how many views this simple short video has gotten!

[@thefoxinthewell]

@@JMGardnerMD This must help a lot of people man, good on you for making it! I found your video by googling "imovie won't export in 1080" - you're the top result

[@JMGardnerMD]

Ah so google is responsible for this. LOL. Thanks for the info. It drove me mad, and once I discovered the answer I wanted to pay it forward.

[@reptilesfishandmore]

This was working for me...but sometimes this method won't work....it really annoying

[@chynachanel]

well my whole video was recorded on my canon rebel so I'm not sure why it's saying its not in 1080p? didn't work ):

[@chynachanel]

UPDATE: It worked after I cut all my (already edited) footage and pasted it back in after your HD video thanks!! lol

[@rejoiceblair2105]

This didn't work for me. :( I tried a video clip and even a high res photo like another video showed me and nothing.

[@JMGardnerMD]

Did you try the clip in my video description? Many people have told me that particular clip works but others don’t. I still have no idea why.

[@ianmasonn]

It still doesn’t work I have a recording that I wanna use for a video and I recorded it with obs and put it on my mac for editing and I’ve tried those tips ans it won’t go above 720p

[@cryptosteverino6694]

It worked! You're the man Jerad - thank you :)

[@aprilrosedance]

I tried this and it still doesn't work :(

[@aprilrosedance]

I tried it with the clip you provided and it worked! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!

[@JMGardnerMD]

So glad I could help!

[@designyourlifewithjohara7582]

OMG Thank you SOOOO much for this. I can't believe it actually worked!

[@alicenwonderland3813]

So footage from my phone is also not allowed to be uploaded as 1080p? I think I have used a combination and still it did not allow me to upload as 1080p:/

[@EmElMusic]

This hasn't fixed my problem as all of my files are in 1080p captured with my Canon 60D. it has always let me export in 1080P and as of late it's only allowed me to do 720. It's been doing my head in all week. HALP MEEEE

[@JMGardnerMD]

Did you try downloading that file of mine from the video description? For some reason and that clip from the camera I recorded it on seems to work for a lot of people including me. I don’t know why. Because I’ve had the same situation as you where I had files I knew were recorded at 1080p and yet I could not export them that way but when I use that little clip that I put in the video description it let me do it. It’s so maddening!

[@stpetesgirl09]

Thanks still working 3 years later!

[@sushimsionna]

Thank you so much , straight to the point short and helpful.

[@sweetdreams9866]

:(( Didn't work with me

[@GigiDAmico]

I added your video clip but it didn't work

[@AlexanderSax77]

Thanks ! Helped me out, It didn't work with 1080p files from my phone, but did with 1080p files from my gopro !

[@DruMarshallDrums]

Dude thank you! Such an easy fix. I wonder how many people have downloaded that video haha

[@JMGardnerMD]

About 5300 downloads!

[@15enric15]

How can I tackle the glitch without having to edit the videos again?

[@JMGardnerMD]

Create new project. Put my clip at start before anything else. Then go to your old project (the one with all the edits, not the final output edited file). Select all of the clips and edits from bottom row and copy past them into new project after my clip. Then delete my clip from new project. Then try to export as file in 1080p. Hopefully that will work for you!

[@paulinaxenia]

Thank you so much!!! This short video clip was a life saver :)

[@respectfullysarcastic]

Thank you! Fixed the problem that just randomly started happening to me!

[@sac471]

OMG! It works!!!! Thanks for sharing the clip!

[@alphaomegauser69]

thank you so much! This was super useful. Really frustrating that this tutorial was uploaded 3 years ago and apple still hasn't fixed this bug.

[@JMGardnerMD]

I’m still shocked that this bug exists in the first place and I don’t understand why they haven’t fixed it. It is so frustrating. Glad you found the video useful! It took me a while of digging around the Internet to figure out fix, and I was so happy when I found it.

[@harmonys5864]

Thanks for sharing! I shot in 4k, and I am running into some issues: I hit export (file) and it allows me to export as : 540-1080p, I tried different combinations with the res, quality, and compress...but no matter what I do, when it's finished loading quicktime opens and it's just a black screen (no video) but my audio IS there....it's driving me nuts and I cannot figure it out! I am using MacBook Air 2019...

[@JMGardnerMD]

I’ve never worked with 4K video editing yet so I can’t help you there. I’m sorry. But I can empathize with how incredibly frustrating it is when iMovie or any program doesn’t work! Do you have a local Apple store or do you have apple plus where you have access to phone tech support? I’ve been very happy with Apple tech support overall both on phone and in their stores.

[@AlphaGeekgirl]

JULY 2020 and they STILL haven't fixed this? WHY????

[@TutorPhil]

Thanks a lot, man. Worked like a charm!

[@MagickUnleashed]

I never had this problem before and now all of a sudden I am. And I’m filming with a high resolution camera. I filmed two videos in the same day and the second video I’m having issue with but the first was fine. Makes absolutely no sense. I swear since I updated everything is going wrong with iMovie. Unfortunately this isn’t working for me and I already spent hours editing my video so I don’t know why to do 😞

[@JMGardnerMD]

Did you try creating a new video session, using my downloaded Clips (the link is in the video description) as the first clip, then open up your other video session that you spent hours editing select all of it copy it and paste it into the new video event after my clip. Then delete my clip from the beginning. You may have already tried that but I just wanted to be sure. I know how crazy and maddening it is to waste hours and then have the program do this stupid glitch that Apple should’ve fixed along time ago. Hope things work out!

[@MagickUnleashed]

Jerad Gardner, MD I tried something very similar with an HD Clip I already had because I saw this technique on a few sites but had no luck. If I have this issue again in the future I will try your clip, thank you! I ended up giving up and settling for SD this time around 😞. I’m thinking of upgrading to Final Cut Pro. Does that have the same problems?

[@JMGardnerMD]

I’ve never used Final Cut Pro. Yes do try my clip. I have no idea why it works while other 1080p clips don’t. Many people have told me once they downloaded the clip it was the magic trick that fixed the imovie glitch.

[@zZzBIGBOYzZz1998]

So I have to delete all my parts just to put the 1080p clip first or can I just drop in in front of it?

[@JMGardnerMD]

Don’t think it works if you just drop it in front. Try making a new project, add my 1080 clip first, then copy paste all of your parts to the new project following the 1080 clip. Then delete the 1080 clip.