4K Exported To 1080p

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Would picture quality be better if I record in 4K then export to 1080p? My 09 iMac is not powerful enough to process 4K clips and iMovie 4K does not support my iMac. Thinking of just recording in 1080p for now until I have a better desktop. Btw, will be upgrading RAM from 4G to 8G as soon as the part arrives. Will that help with choppy playback? Also, iMovie on my iPad Air 2 supports 4K. Is it the same version as the desktop? Should I just stick with editing on my iPad rather than buying a faster desktop?


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4K video definitely contains more picture information compared to 1080P. Different 4K to 1080P converters have their own algorithms. But if you do not have ways to process 4K currently, you may save them for future in 4K resolution. Up/ down converters are not exact converters so try to avoid if you can.

iPad is not a device currently for heavy processing and you may need a mac probably to get good results.
 
upgrading ram wont help, as its primarily the GPU (videocard) that determines if you can or cant decode 4K in real time.

Downsampling 4K to 1080p will not likely give you a result that looks any better than native 1080p. Theoretically it might, but only if the downsampling software for some reason does a better job than the camera firmware. If I where you, Id shoot in 1080p60 instead as long as you cant process 4K or 2.7K.
 
Yes, that's my plan for now. I will be shooting at 1080p60. It plays much better in iMovie 9 timeline. I don't have a 4K TV yet so I'm not in a hurry to shoot in 4K right now. I know I will be upgrading within the next couple of years. Not many channels in 4K yet. This is why I got the P3P. Even though I have no need for it right now, I know I will use it in the future. Thanks for the advice.
 
Would picture quality be better if I record in 4K then export to 1080p? My 09 iMac is not powerful enough to process 4K clips and iMovie 4K does not support my iMac. Thinking of just recording in 1080p for now until I have a better desktop. Btw, will be upgrading RAM from 4G to 8G as soon as the part arrives. Will that help with choppy playback? Also, iMovie on my iPad Air 2 supports 4K. Is it the same version as the desktop? Should I just stick with editing on my iPad rather than buying a faster desktop?


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app

The only way shooting in 4K helps for 1080p is if you edit in 4K and have an digital intermediate containing the extra color and pixel. It also allows you to crop and if you use a GoPro you will have 10 bit color depth even in 1080p which will help your footage pop on any screen. Hopefully the P5 will have a much better camera or GoPro might have a shot at the drone market
 

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