QuickTime Export as 1080p actually exports as 1248p

Question

QuickTime Export as 1080p actually exports as 1248p

I have a .MOV file recorded at 3024x1964. I open it, then do File > Export as > 1080p.

But when I look at the exported file, it says 1920x1248, which I gather to mean it was actually exportee as 1248p. Indeed, when I try to load it into Swing Vision (an app for analysing tennis matches), it tells me that this video is in 1248p and that only 1080p videos are supported.

Is there something I am not understanding here?

Thx.

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 14.4

Posted on Jul 25, 2024 10:26 AM

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Answer 1

Jul 25, 2024 11:16 PM in response to alain_desilets

3024x1964 is a weird ratio ~1.54 and 1920x1248 has the same ratio which QT Player obediently keeps. You'd have to crop or pad the movie to the standard 1920x1080 ratio ~1,78 in some app like Final Cut Pro, ffmpeg etc (or iMovie if it supports that).

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Answer 2

Jul 25, 2024 11:24 PM in response to alain_desilets

3024×1964

That is not 16:9 (1.78:1), but 1.54:1 [which is an odd aspect ratio, as QT videos go].

1080p.

That is a shorthand for 1920×1080 (assuming 16:9), as in 1920px wide. It doesn’t mean 1080px high necessarily. Confusing, I know, but seems to be the rationale for QuickTime Player. I’ve seen it represented as less than 1080px high (from letterboxing), but more than 1080 would be possible as well.

Better use a different conversion tool, to get to roughly 1664×1080. If needed, the conversion may need padding to 1920×1080?

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Answer 3

Jul 26, 2024 3:40 AM in response to Matti Haveri

3024x1964 is a weird ratio

Matti Haveri wrote:

3024x1964 is a weird ratio

Well, it's the ratio I get when I record my screen with QT. I am surprised that QT cannot correctly convert a video that it produced itself.

Alain

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Answer 4

Jul 26, 2024 3:43 AM in response to Urquhart1244

Urquhart1244 wrote:

3024×1964

That is not 16:9 (1.78:1), but 1.54:1 [which is an odd aspect ratio, as QT videos go].

1080p.

That is a shorthand for 1920×1080 (assuming 16:9), as in 1920px wide. It doesn’t mean 1080px high necessarily. Confusing, I know, but seems to be the rationale for QuickTime Player. I’ve seen it represented as less than 1080px high (from letterboxing), but more than 1080 would be possible as well.

Wow! Talk about confusing. Why don't they call it 1920p instead of 1080p?

Better use a different conversion tool, to get to roughly 1664×1080. If needed, the conversion may need padding to 1920×1080?

Thx. Can you recommend a free tool that would do that?

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Answer 5

Jul 26, 2024 4:12 AM in response to alain_desilets

alain_desilets wrote:

I am surprised that QT cannot correctly convert a video that it produced itself.

QT AI is not yet mature enough to guess whether the user wants to crop or pad the output.

Movie resolutions carry some old marketing slogans that might be confusing:

720p is 1280x720 (HD ready)

1080p is 1920x1080 (Full HD)

UHD/4K is 3840x2196 (consumer) or 4096x2196 (film industry)

I'd use ffmpeg via the Terminal to output 1920x1080 (there is some learning curve). Or Final Cut Pro or other commercial apps.

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Answer 6

Jul 26, 2024 4:22 AM in response to Matti Haveri

Matti Haveri wrote:

alain_desilets wrote:

I am surprised that QT cannot correctly convert a video that it produced itself.

QT AI is not yet mature enough to guess whether the user wants to crop or pad the output.

It's not an AI problem. Even a human would not able to answer this question.

The obvious solution is to simply ask the user. Show him/her a preview of the two options (crop or pad) and ask him/her to choose. I am surprised that QT doesn't do that.

Thx for the suggestions. I'll try ffmpeg.

Alain

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Answer 7

Jul 26, 2024 4:38 AM in response to alain_desilets

alain_desilets wrote:

I'll try ffmpeg.

For example, I used this ffmpeg option (after scaling 720x576 .dv to 788x576) to crop that 788x576 to 768x576 .mp4:

-vf crop=768:576:10:0

So the full command for PAL .dv input was something like:

ffmpeg -i input.dv -vf bwdif=1,scale=788:576,crop=768:576:10:0,setsar=sar=1/1 -c:v libx265 -crf 18 -preset slow -timecode 00:00:00:00 -tag:v hvc1 -c:a aac -b:a 128k output.mp4

crop=out_w:out_h:x:y

out_w is the width of the output rectangle

out_h is the height of the output rectangle

x and y specify the top left corner of the output rectangle

https://video.stackexchange.com/questions/4563/how-can-i-crop-a-video-with-ffmpeg

https://streaminglearningcenter.com/blogs/encoding-dv-analog-footage-ffmpeg.html

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