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burakb10627400
burakb10627400
Participant
October 6, 2026
Investigating

Premiere Pro 26.3 vs 26.5 read Sony XAVC 50p start timecode differently — all sequence clips slip when a project moves between versions

Hello Adobe Premiere Pro team,

I am a professional editor. I would like to report a timecode bug that silently damages edited sequences. I need it fixed with a patch.

Summary
The same project opened in two Premiere Pro versions reads a different start timecode for the same Sony media file. Premiere keeps each clip's in/out as absolute timecode. When the project is opened in the other version, every edited clip slips inside the source media by up to about 0.5 seconds. Timeline positions stay the same, but the content no longer matches the edit: words are cut and shots start late or early. Nothing warns the user.

Environment

  • Machine A (home): Premiere Pro 26.5 (shown as "26.5.2x5" in the project file), Windows 11
  • Machine B (work): Premiere Pro 26.3 (shown as "26.3.2x2" in the project file), Windows
  • The project is on an external drive and is opened directly on both machines
  • Camera: Sony ILME-FX3A, XAVC HS 4K 3840x2160, 50.00p, HEVC 4:2:2 10-bit, LPCM audio, card structure M4ROOT/CLIP with sidecar CxxxxM01.XML
  • Sidecar timecode: LtcChangeTable tcFps="25" halfStep="true"
  • The media timecode track (ffprobe) shows 50 fps based frame numbers, e.g. 17:33:13:46

What happens
Example file C4582.MP4, timecode track 17:33:13:46 at 50p:

  • 26.3 stores the media start (<Media><Start>) as 17:33:13.92 s. This is correct: 46 frames / 50 = 0.92 s.
  • 26.5 stores it as 17:33:13.46 s. The frame number 46 is treated as hundredths of a second.

The difference is always "timecode frame number / 100" seconds. We checked this on about 60 different source files in one project, and every file follows the rule exactly. Files whose timecode frame number is 00, and files without timecode (DJI drone clips), do not move.

Because in/out points are kept as absolute timecode, each clip's offset into the media changes by that difference when the project is opened in the other version.

Steps to reproduce

  1. Import Sony FX3 50p XAVC HS clips with a non-zero start timecode frame number in Premiere Pro 26.5 and make cuts in a sequence.
  2. Save the project and open it in Premiere Pro 26.3. All cuts now show different content (shifted by frame number / 100 s).
  3. Fix the cuts by hand, save, and open the project again in 26.5. All the fixed cuts slip again, in the opposite direction.

Impact
I lost a full day re-trimming a long interview sequence by hand, twice. The slip is small enough to miss on a quick look but large enough to cut words. Any project moved between versions, or opened in a future update, is at risk.

Request

  1. Please confirm which version reads the start timecode of these Sony 50p (25 fps + halfStep) files correctly. Our measurements match 26.3; 26.5 appears to read the frame number as hundredths of a second.
  2. Please release a patch so that all versions read the same, correct start timecode.
  3. Please make sure that existing projects saved with the wrong value are not shifted again by the fix. Either convert them correctly, or warn the user and offer to keep the clip content in place.

I can provide a sample clip with its sidecar XML and before/after project files on request.

Best regards,
Burak BULUT

    2 replies

    Amy the Stuv
    Community Manager
    Amy the StuvCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    October 6, 2026

    Hello ​@burakb10627400 ,

    Thanks for documenting this. We understand that clips appearing to slip when a project is opened in a different Premiere Pro version could put an edit at risk. Please keep your original project and media unchanged, and test only with copies while we investigate.

     

    Could you share the camera model and exact Sony XAVC recording format, along with the source clip’s start timecode and the exact Premiere Pro build and OS used for each test? I will DM you with an upload link for the short original sample clip and a minimal project that reproduces the difference.

     

    Please include how far the clips shift and whether the same source clip shows different start timecode when imported into a new project in each version, especially if there is a visual difference which can be checked via an export on a higher track. We can use that to try to reproduce the behavior.

     

    Thank you for bringing this to our attention,

    Amy

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    burakb10627400
    burakb10627400Author
    Participant
    October 6, 2026

    Hi Amy,

    Thank you for the upload link. I uploaded a zip with everything: the original clip with its sidecar XML, both Premiere projects, the reference export and the screenshots. Here are the details you asked for:

    Camera / format

    • Sony ILME-FX3A
    • XAVC HS 4K: 3840x2160, 50.00p, HEVC 4:2:2 10-bit L5.1 (Sony code HEVC_3840_2160_M42210P@L51HT), ~97 Mbps video, LPCM 16-bit 48 kHz 2ch, MP4 in M4ROOT/CLIP card structure with sidecar C4582M01.XML
    • Normal recording (no cache rec, no S&Q)

    Sample clip: C4582.MP4

    • Timecode track in the MP4 (ffprobe): 17:33:13:46 (50p frame numbering)
    • Sidecar XML: LtcChangeTable tcFps="25" halfStep="true", first value 17:33:13:23 (25 fps + half step = frame 46 at 50p)

    Builds / OS

    • Version A: Premiere Pro 26.5.2 (build 5), Windows 11 Home 24H2 (10.0.26200)
    • Version B: Premiere Pro 26.3.2 (build 2), Windows 11 Enterprise LTSC

    Start timecode in a new, empty project with only this clip imported

    • 26.5.2: 17:33:13:23 (screenshot 01)
    • 26.3.2: 17:33:13:46 (screenshot 02)

    So 26.5.2 seems to take the 25 fps frame count from the sidecar (23) and use it as a 50p frame number. The correct start is 17:33:13:46, as written in the MP4 timecode track.

    How far clips shift
    In the project files, <Media><Start> for C4582 is stored as 17:33:13.46 s by 26.5.2 and 17:33:13.92 s by 26.3.2. Every cut from this file moves 0.46 s (23 frames at 50p) when the project is opened in the other version. Across about 60 source files in the same project, the shift was always exactly (timecode frame number / 100) seconds, between 0 and 0.48 s. Clips with frame number 00 and DJI clips without timecode did not move. Timeline positions stay the same, only the source in/out changes, so words get cut at the edit points.

    Visual check
    In 26.5.2 I made a sequence with three cuts on word boundaries and exported it (REF_26.5.mp4). I placed it on V2 over the same sequence with the Difference blend mode:

    • 26.5.2: black, apart from a faint compression residue (screenshots 05–07)
    • 26.3.2: clear ghosting of the speaker at all three cuts (screenshots 02–04)

    What is in the zip

    • C4582.MP4 and C4582M01.XML (original clip and sidecar)
    • ADOBE_TEST_PP26.5.2.prproj and ADOBE_TEST_PP26.3.2.prproj
    • REF_26.5.mp4
    • Screenshots folder, files 01–07

    Please let me know if you need anything else.

    Best regards,
    Burak

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