Imovie on a M1 mini with 8gb memory

[BeforeTheMeds]

Hello. I have an M! mini with 8gb memory. I try to use iMovie and I either get a beachball or it hangs up adding a video clip. I have shut down start up apps and have very little running. Does iMovie not run on these processors or do I have other problems.

 

[thebart]

IMovie is optimized for Apple silicon. What size video are you trying to edit. Sounds like you don't have enough memory

 

[rm5]

iMovie is such a light program compared to other editors that this seems odd to me. Like @thebart said, it might be because of a high resolution—so what exactly are you trying to edit? If decreasing the resolution of the video in QuickTime Player or Compressor or whatever doesn't work, then you definitely have a larger problem.

 

[BeforeTheMeds]

IMovie is optimized for Apple silicon. What size video are you trying to edit. Sounds like you don't have enough memory

3 gigs, about an hour and a half. I converted it from m4v to mp4 and that made a big difference, still beach balling regularly. It's always beach balled more than I expected with apps though.

 

[BeforeTheMeds]

iMovie is such a light program compared to other editors that this seems odd to me. Like @thebart said, it might be because of a high resolution—so what exactly are you trying to edit? If decreasing the resolution of the video in QuickTime Player or Compressor or whatever doesn't work, then you definitely have a larger problem.

I think I have it partially figured out. I converted it to mp4 instead of m4v and am at least getting it loaded and able to do a few things. Seems the type of video was a big part. Still beach balls a lot though, guess 8gb memory is not enough.

 

[rm5]

I think I have it partially figured out. I converted it to mp4 instead of m4v and am at least getting it loaded and able to do a few things. Seems the type of video was a big part. Still beach balls a lot though, guess 8gb memory is not enough.

Can you look at Activity Monitor and see the RAM consumption? You just gotta go to the Memory tab and you can see all the info.

 

[BeforeTheMeds]

Can you look at Activity Monitor and see the RAM consumption? You just gotta go to the Memory tab and you can see all the info.

I did that. I went in first and turned off all of the start up apps. Then I went to activity monitor and shut down everything I could that i saw there. Still crappy.

 

[rm5]

@BeforeTheMeds Something is definitely wrong then. First, before you do anything else, shut it down once more and power it back on (a cold boot is the best way to clear stuff out). If that doesn't fix it, you might try making a backup and reinstalling macOS, or using Erase All Content and Settings. How does that sound?

 

[BeforeTheMeds]

@BeforeTheMeds Something is definitely wrong then. First, before you do anything else, shut it down once more and power it back on (a cold boot is the best way to clear stuff out). If that doesn't fix it, you might try making a backup and reinstalling macOS, or using Erase All Content and Settings. How does that sound.

I have cold booted a bunch of times, I think you are right about a reinstall. Looks like what I need to do.

Thank you.

 

[Fishrrman]

Is this video 1080p, or is it 4k ???

 

[The_Interloper]

I have cold booted a bunch of times, I think you are right about a reinstall. Looks like what I need to do.

Try downloading Shotcut and editing in there: https://shotcut.org/

It's about as low overhead as a video editor can be and supports Apple Silicon and VideoToolbox rendering. I've always had issues with iMovie - could be it doesn't like the source file.

 

[canadianreader]

Hello. I have an M! mini with 8gb memory. I try to use iMovie and I either get a beachball or it hangs up adding a video clip. I have shut down start up apps and have very little running. Does iMovie not run on these processors or do I have other problems.

I think it's a RAM issue 8gb is just not enough to audio and video editing IMO. Try Davinci Resolve it's free on the AppStore.

 

[BeforeTheMeds]

Is this video 1080p, or is it 4k ???

720

 

[BeforeTheMeds]

Try downloading Shotcut and editing in there: https://shotcut.org/

It's about as low overhead as a video editor can be and supports Apple Silicon and VideoToolbox rendering. I've always had issues with iMovie - could be it doesn't like the source file.

Yes. Have already downloaded shortcut and davinchi resolve. Both work better than iMovie. iMovie should work though I would think.

 

[BeforeTheMeds]

I think it's a RAM issue 8gb is just not enough to audio and video editing IMO. Try Davinci Resolve it's free on the AppStore.

Yes, think you are right and already have davinchi resolve. I think I need to reinstall the system and try that, if no go then write off this computer.....well for video anyway,

 

[Yebubbleman]

Sounds like it's more a matter of iMovie choking on the video than it is a hardware issue or an issue related to not having enough RAM. In cases where the RAM is not upgradeable, I generally shy away from the base model. That said, I own multiple M1 Macs with 8GB and 16GB and find that you do hit limits with 8GB that you don't with 16GB. RAM is still RAM after all. But, for a single 3GB 720p video file? Any M1 with 8GB ought to handle that just fine.

 

[pshufd]

I have an M1 mini and I've done lots of 4k video editing with no problems. I can run other things at the same time with no problems. My M1 mini has 16 GB of RAM though. I'm using a Studio on the desktop these days and no issues with video editing.

 

[Fishrrman]

As I've posted several times before...
With the m-series CPU:
16gb is "the new 8" ...

I sense that many buyers of m-series Macs are going to discover this on their own in the days to come...

 

[abbeybound]

What's your ssd available space like? I found our 8/256 mini would act very poorly when the disk was more full and it couldn't swap the crazy amount it likes to.

 

[Jamie's_Tech]

I’ve used some 4k footage from my drone on my base M1 Mac air. No hiccups what so ever. Mini should be okay.