FCP takes 2x rendering compared to iMovie

[derpaufler]

Hey,

I am new to FCP and was rendering my videos before with iMovie.

When I compare the render times between FCP and iMovie I can observe that FCP takes 2x longer than iMovie with "same settings" and same output format and file size.

The iMovie quality output was just fine for me. How can I speed up the render process?

I have a MacBook Pro 2021 M1 Max with 32 GB RAM.

In my example I render a 4K60 SDR video, 7 minutes long, recorded from my iPhone 13 Pro Max.

iMovie needs 02:31 minutes and FCP needs 05:06 minutes.

My export settings for iMovie:
Resolution: 2160p
Quality: High
Compression: Faster

My export settings for FCP:
Format: Computer
Video-Codec: H.264 Faster Encoding
Resolution: 3840x2160

Thank you for your help in advance.

Kind Regards,

derpaufler

 

[Gwendolini]

Have you compared the resulting videos using MediaInfo to see, what might be different?

 

[derpaufler]

Oh wow, thanks for the tip. I just bought the app on the App Store and compared the two files.

Now I have seen that the iMovie Export is only in 4K30! iMovie on the Mac is not capable of exporting 4K60. Only the iOS version can export 4K60 with iMovie.

When exporting the same file in 4K30 with FCP, then it takes only 2:20 minutes, so it's the same as iMovie.

Thank you!

BTW: iMovie on my iPhone 13 Pro Max takes 10:50 minutes to render the same 4K60 file. So the Mac is, of course, much faster.