DJI Mavic Pro 4K video is jerky in iMovie, how to fix?


We write this post to help those who are having choppy issues editing DJI Mavic Pro 4K footage in iMovie. It displays a workaround to get iMovie working with DJI Mavic Pro 4K video flawlessly.

DJI Mavic Pro 4K files are choppy in iMovie
“Hi all, I have captured some 4K video (30fps) with a new DJI Mavic Pro camera. I can play the video in QuickTime 10.4 smoothly, but when editing or playing in iMovie 10.1.4, the video is very choppy. Computer is 2011 iMac 3.4G i7, 32G RAM and OS X Sierra. I do believe my machine has ability to handle 4K files. I’m guessing it’s iMovie’s problem. Is there anything I can do to solve the choppy issue? Any ideas?”

DJI Mavic Pro 4K video is jerky in iMovie, how to fix?
“Hi guys, can anyone help please? I just took my first 4k video with DJI Mavic Pro. When tried to edit it through iMovie on my early 2009 iMac, I was very disappointed because the image kept “jumping”. I realized that my old iMac might not have the capacity to process 4k video. Currently, I don’t have money to upgrade to a super powerful machine. Is there anything I can do to go through this? I would really appreciate any help. Thanks.”

Downsize the DJI Mavic Pro 4K video to 1080p Apple InterMediate Codec will solve your issue. Here’s how.

How to convert DJI Mavic Pro 4K for smooth editing in iMovie?

Software requirement
HD Converter for Mac
You can download a demo to see if it is able to do what you want in simple steps with good quality.
choppy issues editing DJI Mavic Pro 4K footage in iMovie

The steps:
Step 1: Open up HD Converter for Mac as a DJI Mavic Pro 4K Converter for iMovie. When its main interface comes up, click ‘Add File’ to load your source media.
convert DJI Mavic Pro 4K video to Apple InterMediate Codec for iMovie

Step 2: Select output format for your editing program
To convert DJI Mavic Pro 4K movies to AIC MOV for iMovie, from ‘Profile’ list, choose ‘Apple InterMediate Codec (AIC)(*.mov)’ as output format under ‘iMovie and Final Cut Express’ column.
DJI Mavic Pro 4K files are choppy in iMovie
Important:
If you’ve loaded a number of video clips to do batch conversion, please do remember ticking off ‘Apply to All’ option before you start.

Step 3: Custom video and audio settings (optional)
If necessary, you can click ‘Settings’ button and go to ‘Profiles Settings’ panel to modify video and audio settings like video encoder, resolution, video bit rate, frame rate, aspect ratio, audio encoder, sample rate, audio bit rate, and audio channels. 3D settings are also available.

Step 4: Begin DJI Mavic Pro 4K video to 1080p AIC Conversion on Mac
When ready, click ‘Convert’ to start format conversion. Once the conversion process is complete, you can click ‘Open Folder’ button to get the generated AIC MOV files for editing in iMovie with optimum performance.

Tips:
If you don’t want to wait for the entire conversion process, you can tick off ‘Shutdown computer when conversion completed’ and go away to do other things.

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