Why does Final Cut Pro for Mac render a high resolution image as a transparent layer?

I'm working on a video where I need to import a 16K (16384x8192) resolution image from Poly Haven to a 4K (3840x2160) project in Final Cut Pro (version 11.1.1) for Mac. Even though the project is a standard 2D 16:9 project the image file is set to a Equirectangular Projection Mode since it's a 360 degree image map that I'm supposed to rotate around with the orientation controls to create a panning effect. But no matter what, it renders as a transparent layer. I have a pretty powerful M1 Max Mac that has no problems rendering it in Apple Preview or other software, it's only FCP that refuses to render it. And it doesn't even try - if you look in Activity Monitor the CPU and GPU are both just idling after importing the image file to Final Cut Pro.


The 8K version imports correctly, but the 16K version doesn't even try to work. The problem is that I can't use the 8K version since it looks very pixelated when it's set to the Equirectangular Projection Mode. Considering Apple's release of the  Vision Pro, where creating 360 degree VR content typically requires you to render very high resolution imagery for it to still looks good when wrapped around a sphere, I'm surprised by this problem.


This is what I've tried:

1 - Importing the file in both .EXR and .HDR format.

2 - Switching the Projection Mode to different settings.

3 - Restarting Final Cut Pro and my Mac.

...but nothing has solved it.


Does it work for anyone else? Is this a bug with Final Cut Pro considering my Mac is able to render it in Apple Preview? Is this an artificial resolution limitation of FCP of some kind?


The layer doesn't even try to render according to Activity Monitor.


But it renders fine in Apple Preview!


[Edited by Moderator]

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 15.5

Posted on Jun 23, 2025 4:15 PM

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7 replies

Jun 24, 2025 4:06 PM in response to fox_m

Changing Alpha Handling to None/Ignore Alpha doesn't make it work unfortunately.


However, just by trial and error I figured out that the ONLY way to make it show up in the Viewer is by setting the Color Space Override to anything other than Off (doesn't matter which color space you pick), and to make sure Quality is set to Better Performance. Then it shows up, but only during playback (so not when the Current Time Indicator is still). So yes, this is definitely a bug. I encourage others to experiment themselves with some 16K EXR (available on for example Poly Haven).


Screen recording demonstrating the issue:

Jul 3, 2025 11:56 AM in response to Luis Sequeira1

This problem occurs with .EXR and .HDR files, which are still image files, NOT video files. So for some reason Final Cut Pro can render an unlimited resolution PNG but not .EXR and .HDR files - even though they're all three still images that have the same resolution. 🧐


But considering it render's the EXR when I switch to Better Performance but makes it disappear once again when I pause, I'm pretty sure that this is just a bug. ILM doesn't approve.

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Why does Final Cut Pro for Mac render a high resolution image as a transparent layer?

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