Looking for a fast and free lane to export iMovie files to MP4 format? Some people find it puzzling to export iMovie to MP4 on Mac and run into a complete loss as iMovie export MP4 not working, or they thought QuickTime could provide the solution yet only end up with the 'iMovie not compatible with QuickTime' error. Then what exact tools should you use to save iMovie as MP4? And where to begin the operation? Don't worry, in this post, we will unveil the easiest way to export iMovie to MP4 and address your problem.
Can I Export iMovie to MP4 on Mac Directly
Can I export iMovie to MP4 on Mac? The answer is Yes! Yet one thing you need to figure out before exporting iMovie to MP4 is what file formats does iMovie export, since many users encounter the problem that iMovie always exports files into .mov format, which is incompatible with many media devices:
- Exported video format: MP4 (for low, medium, high and custom quality), MOV (for ProRes quality only)
- Exported audio formats: ACC, MP3, AIFF, WAV
Note:
In case you want to know, as sharing iMovie through email or uploading to YouTube, Facebook, or Vimeo, the iMovie file will be saved as MOV format, which maintains the original video quality yet spontaneously brings up the file size. Thus if finding it inconvenient in this scenario, you can check some of the best video converters for help to convert iMovie to MP4.
1. How to Export iMovie to MP4 on Mac via iMovie
Step 1: Launch iMovie on your device.
Step 2: Import your footage into the software.
Step 3: Hit the File button at the top toolbar, and go to Share > File, or you could click the Share icon at the preview window, and then choose the File option in the pop-up dialog.
Step 4: In the new pop-up file window, choose Video and Audio as the output format, and adjust resolution, quality, and other parameters accordingly.
Note:
Please avoid selecting the ProRes quality option if you want to export the file as MP4 format, otherwise it will be saved in MOV format.
Step 5: Click Next button, and name your exported file, select an output directory and click Next to save iMovie to MP4.
2. How to Export iMovie to MP4 via QuickTime
QuickTime, developed by Apple Inc., wins a great number of users with its capabilities to handle myriads of formats of digital video, picture, sound, panoramic images, and interactivity.
Unfortunately, you can't export iMovie to MP4 using the latest version of QuickTime (QuickTime Player. Version 10.5). In the software, all videos will be exported as either .mov or .m4v, the latter being for iOS devices and Apple TV and the former for everything else.
However, you can try resort to manually change the extension to MP4, which will swap its container, but won't present real effect on the quality of the original file. But such method works under certain circumstances, and if the codec of the original video stream is not supported in the target container, file damaging or playback errors will crop up.
Note:
Previously, you can directly export iMovie to MP4 via QuickTime (Pro Version only). But since Apple ended support for QuickTime Pro in 2018, this method is no longer workable based on our test.
Some users notice that the iMovie export MP4 is not working every now and then even shunning the choice of the ProRes quality option. In addition, some other cases show the iMovie file is sometimes not compatible with QuickTime. Well, iMovie export MP4 failure can boil down to various reasons and comes with several functional solutions. But rather than confronting the intricate technical issues to save iMovie as MP4 and taking the potential risk of compromising the video quality, why not convert the iMovie file and save it directly as MP4 with a better alternative?
How to Export iMovie to MP4 with Better Alternative
Programmed as a one-stop 4K video processing tool, VideoProc Converter could convert iMovie to MP4 and fulfill all your demands in one click. Equipped with a Level-3 Hardware Acceleration and 370+ format library, it is able to cope with any video source and easily convert the intermediate codec formats to MP4, MOV, and other formats without jeopardizing image quality.
VideoProc Converter - Export iMovie to MP4 on Mac/iPhone with No Quality Loss
- One-click to save iMovie to MP4 with no quality loss.
- Support 420+ formats: MPEG, MPG, MPEG2, MPEG4, DVD, MP4…
- Up to 47x real-time faster to convert large/long iMovie files to MP4.
- Lightning-speed & quality-oriented converting, all practical editing features, compressing, downloading, recording.
Follow the tutorial to convert your iMovie to MP4.
Step 1: Download, install and initiate VideoProc Converter.
Step 2: Click "Video" on the main interface.
Step 3: Import your iMovie file. Click "Add Video" button on the top of the page, and upload the desired iMovie file.
Step 4: Select MP4 as the output format.
Note:
- For those who seek the intact output quality, you could choose the high quality while setting the format.
- Free feel to polish your videos on the Edit Video page, or you could turn to the toolbox for more edit functions.
- The output file is set by default, and you could change it to another directory, so are the parameters which could be adjusted in Option.
Step 5: Click "Run" to export iMovie to MP4 format.
As a perfect option to the best video converter, VideoProc Converter also allows you to easily and quickly edit, transcode, cut, resize, trim, split, merge, and adjust large/4K video/audios, which is a solid choice for both beginners and professional video editors.
FAQs
1. Why is my iMovie file not compatible with QuickTime?
If QuickTime Player couldn't open your iMovie file, it might be due to corruption in files, and for this case, you can render your video and export it again, or the app doesn't support the file's format or run into video codec issues, and in such situation, you can turn to other video converter for Mac like VideoProc Converter for help.
2. How to export iMovie as MP4 on iPhone or iPad?
To export iMovie to MP4 on iPhone or iPad:
Open iMovie on your iPhone or iPad > add project to edit your video. Once you are finished, click done in the top-left corner. Then tap the video you want to export > Share > Save Video to export your iMovie as MP4 on iPhone or iPad.
3. How to save iMovie as MOV?
As mentioned before, when selecting ProRes as the output quality or sharing the iMovie through email or uploading to YouTube, Facebook, or Vimeo, the file will be exported as MOV format. But if you intend to save iMovie to MOV yet accidentally export to MP4, you can use VideoProc Converter to convert iMovie to MOV after instead.
