Two similar-looking files can take very different amounts of time. The main distinction is whether iFlicks copies an existing video track or creates a newly encoded one.
Identify the slow stage
- Metadata lookup: depends on network connectivity and the external source.
- Video encoding: depends on duration, resolution, codec, quality settings and available encoders.
- Copying and muxing: depend heavily on source and destination storage.
- Streaming optimization: can rewrite the whole output even after a small metadata change.
- TV-app import: happens separately from creating the output.
Run a useful comparison
- Process one representative file by itself.
- Record the preset, source and destination locations, and the stage where it slows down.
- If using external or network storage, repeat with a local copy and a local destination.
- Check free space and avoid competing large file transfers during the comparison.
- If your goal is only to update tags in a supported file, compare the metadata-update workflow instead of a video-encoding preset.
Change one factor at a time. Choosing a lower-quality output only helps when encoding is the bottleneck, and it changes your result. An estimate can move as processing progresses; there is no single normal completion time for every video.
For persistent slowness, report the duration and resolution of the source, chosen preset, Mac model, storage locations and observed processing stage.