iMovie 6.0.3 Poor Quality Export Formats

[Jeff1973]

I have an old iMac with:
* iMovie HD version 6.0.3 (267.2)
* Mac OS X 10.6.8, Processor 2 GHz Intel Core Duo, Memory 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
I am exporting all my old iMovie’s so that I can back them up in iCloud and view them after I get rid of my old iMac. What is the highest quality export format I should use that is commonly used today? I want to be able to view these on my iPad or iPhone. I tried converting to MP4 and H.264 with what I thought were high quality expert chosen parameters but the quantity was much worse than the original iMovie or DV format. I guess worst case I could just leave them in DV format and just find a player to view them with.

 

[marioman38]

Hey Jeff, I still use a Canon HV30 and iMovie HD 6 here in 2023 to film home videos and backup multiple tapes to one Blu-ray with Toast Titanium. As you have seen, the built in encoder from iMovie 6 is not that good. My recommendation would be to keep the DV format on an HDD. Use a new version of Handbrake on a new Mac to re-encode at your leisure. Cheers!