iMovie: Titles or Still Pictures Appear Pixelated

Some pixelation within iMovie is expected. For best results, update to iMovie 3.0.3 or later and QuickTime 6.3 or later. (Pixelation is when the picture looks blocky, blurry, or grainy.)

The Preview window within iMovie is an approximation of final output. Pixelation in the preview window and in full-screen preview within iMovie is normal. However, pixelation should not be visible when the project is output to DV tape or DVD.

For best results, make sure any still images you import into your iMovie project are at least 640- x 480-pixels in size.

You may be able to achieve sharper output to QuickTime by using the Expert export options in the QuickTime pane of the Share panel, rather than using the QuickTime presets provided by iMovie. MPEG-4 for example, can provide a small file with a high quality, sharp output.

Follow the steps for the version of iMovie you have.

1. From the File menu, choose Export.
2. From the Export pop-up menu, choose QuickTime.
3. From the Formats pop-up menu, choose Expert Settings.
4. Click the Export button.
5. Enter a name for your output file, and select a save location.
6. from the Export pop-up menu, choose Movie to MPEG-4
7. From the Use pop-up menu, choose one of the following qualities:
   • LAN/Intranet is lowest compression/highest quality
   • Dial-up is highest compression/lowest quality

iMovie 4 or later

1. From the File menu, choose Share.
2. Click the QuickTime icon.
3. From the pop-up menu, choose Expert Settings
4. Click the Share button.
5. Enter a name for your output file, and select a save location.
6. from the Export pop-up menu, choose Movie to MPEG-4
7. From the Use pop-up menu, choose one of the following qualities:
   • LAN/Intranet is lowest compression/highest quality
   • Dial-up is highest compression/lowest quality

If you don't see an MPEG-4 option, check to make sure you have updated to the latest version of QuickTime. You can also experiment with the different Expert Settings options to find the quality and compression combination that works best for your purposes.

For projects output to QuickTime, the compression format you select for the final output may cause some pixelation in the QuickTime movie. You may also want to set the high quality flag on the movie to improve image clarity on playback in QuickTime Player.

Note: These steps require QuickTime Pro for QuickTime 6 or earlier, which you can purchase at the QuickTime website. If you have QuickTime 7, QuickTime Pro is not required.

To turn on the high quality option in QuickTime Player:

1. Open QuickTime Player.
2. From the QuickTime Player menu, choose Preferences.
3. Click the General button.
4. Check the "Use the high quality video setting when available" checkbox.



5. Close the Preferences window.

1. Open the QuickTime movie you created in QuickTime Player.
2. From the Window menu, choose Show Movie Properties.
3. Click to select the Video Track.
4. Click the Visual Settings tab.

   

5. Click to check the option for "High Quality".
   
6. Close the properties window.
   
7. Save your movie to record the change in playback quality (Command-S).

1. Open the QuickTime movie you created in QuickTime Player.
   
2. From the Movie menu, choose Get Movie Properties.
   
3. From the Movie pop-up menu in the Properties window, choose Video Track.
   
4. From the other pop-up menu in the Properties window, choose High Quality.

   

5. Click to check the option for "High Quality Enabled".
   
6. Close the properties window.
   
7. Save your movie to record the change in playback quality (Command-S).

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Adjusting the playback quality of your movie

Related Terms: pixelate, pixelated, blocky, poor, fuzzy, quality,