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Choppy Playback in iMovie 10.1.14

I use a 2017 MacBook Pro 13-inch. I recently updated to iMovie 10.1.14 and have been experiencing extremely choppy playback. The clips are from the same camera I've been using for the past 5 years - a Sony HDR-CX670, which never had any problems in the past. I'm experiencing the problem with both newer videos as well as older clips that played smoothly in older versions of iMovie.


I've tried starting up in safe mode, then rebooting. It didn't help.


I've updated to macOS Catalina 10.15.4, but the problem persists.


I have 38 GB of storage left. The video clips are all less than 3 minutes in length, dimensions are 1920x1080, and codecs are H.264, AAC.


This is causing a major headache for me and I am now wondering if I should find other video-editing software to use instead. I would prefer to continue with iMovie if I can figure out how to fix this problem.


Any advice would be hugely appreciated!

MacBook Pro 13", macOS 10.15

Posted on Apr 6, 2020 6:51 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Apr 6, 2020 10:43 AM

It could be that your clips are shot in a lower frame rate than your project. Take a look at this thread for a list of things that can cause choppiness in playback:


https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251227411


-- Rich

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5 replies

Apr 7, 2020 11:04 AM in response to evan_desu

You can check the frame rate of your project by opening the project in timeline view and then expanding out your time line by using the slider next to settings button above the timeline on the right hand side of your screen. Then put your cursor on a clip and, while holding down the "r" key press-drag the cursor slowly to the right. A yellow frame and frame counter will appear and record the frames as you drag. If it is a 30fps project the frame counter will reach 00:29 frames and on the next tick will read 01:01 to indicate one second, thus indicating a 30fps project.




It might be helpful to review the procedure for setting frame rates for iMovie 10. To set the frame rate of a project you must create a totally new project and then place a video clip (not a photo) with a known frame rate as the first clip placed into the project. So, if you put in a 30 fps clip as the first clip placed into the project, the project will be set at 30 fps. You can then delete the first clip without affecting the project. The project will export (share out) at 30 fps even if the subsequent clips that you place in the project are other than 30 fps. If you erase all the clips in the project and start over with clips of, say, 60 fps, the project will still remain 30 fps because that was the frame rate of the first clip placed into it when the project was newly created.


-- Rich



Apr 7, 2020 6:24 AM in response to Rich839

Thank you very much for your reply, and for the link you posted. The clips I’m using are all shot at 30 fps. I’m not sure what frame rate the project is in as there doesn’t appear to be any way to tell, or to adjust it. I’ll do some more research, and perhaps also try to reset the System Management Controller.


Thank you again for taking the time to respond.

Choppy Playback in iMovie 10.1.14

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