Known Participant

Question

New 2016 MacBook Pro / Premiere 4k performance issues

Forum|Forum|9 years ago
March 11, 2017
9 replies
11331 views

Hello,

I'm getting really bad performance in Premiere trying to play 4k files from cameras such as Fs7 and the f5.

These exact same files, playing off the same drive are fine in my 2012 iMac.

both systems are running identical versions of Premiere CC. 2017.0.1

Originally MacBook had Premiere 2017.0.2 running an I installed previous version to see if that would help but it didn't.

Basically trying to play a single clip at what ever player res in premiere, just gives a choppy playback. Fans in MacBook go crazy. It will play maybe a 3-5sec, drop frames, stutter etc, then play a few more seconds.

MacBook Pro specs are about as high as they can go...

15" 2.9 ghz

16 gig ram

additional GPU

the reason I think premiere is the problem is because the same clips can happily play in VLC at full res and computer barely raises a heartbeat.

Any ideas?

(Premiere settings identical between iMac and MacBook Pro - open CL etc)

This topic has been closed for replies.

H

Hamish BoydAuthor

Known Participant

I haven't been able to do some more digging on this, just completely snowed with work.

BUT I did just try a straight encode speed race between my old 2012 iMac and my new 2016 MacBook Pro.

1x 3min 42sec HD proResHQ clip, encoding to a Vimeo 720p preset in media encoder.

And old iMac beat it by about 20%!!!! Without raising a heartbeat. MacBook Pro fans started blasting...

This was encoding straight off the same Small Tree Server we have here.

Unbelievable. I just don't get why this MacBook Pro is performing the way it is. Even after replacing.

felixs7298110

Known Participant

The macbook should be much faster! Unfortunately no one seems to know a solution for this problem . I really hope a software update will fix this issues ASAP. Its getting very frustrating to work on projects with such terrible performance.

R Neil Haugen

Legend

Something to test that I saw another user post ... they went into Workspaces and selected the option that removes the workspaces bar at the top of the screen, and the program was much faster. Just used the keyboard shorts to move panel to panel.

Neil

Everyone's mileage always varies ...

T

tylerd20184826

Participant

My Mid 2012 Retina MBP was able to playback RED files better than the 2016 by a long shot. Something is clearly not right and the OS update did not fix it for me. I used to be able to get mostly smooth playback at 1/8th on the old MBP, now I get frequent crashes at 1/16th on the 2016 model with 4GB of VRAM. These are the raw files with sequence settings matching the clips, no effects on top. At most I get about 5 minutes before the entire computer crashes.

H

Hamish BoydAuthor

Known Participant

Yeah I see similar issues. Playing ProRes HD at 2x speed to review interview content is usually a no brainer. But on this Mac jumpy.

Question Felix... Do you have Blackmagic drivers on your system? (just trying anything at this point)

Also to anyone else... why don't I see my additional (GPURadeon Pro 460 ) in my system overview. Just the Intel HD Graphics 530 1536 MB.

It is under the detailed system report just not in the initial system overview. Have no idea if that is and issue or not.

felixs7298110

Known Participant

No Blackmagic drivers here.

I tried something else. I used a tool called gfxcardstatus that can force which GPU to use. Forcing the built in graphics card vs the radeon 460 gives similar results. Maybe it's a little bit slower with the built in.

H

Hamish BoydAuthor

Known Participant

new machine from Apple. Same specs. Same issues as above. So somewhere between and apple and adobe there is a problem.

Any ideas as to what to try next?

R Neil Haugen

Legend

Unfortunately, Apple is moving away from computers. They're much more interested in Devices. Note, the main big-Mac mobo in current builds is what ... a 2013/14 built model? Or was the last new mobo 2012? Without changes since then. The CEO said a year ago ...very publicly ... that he can't understand why anyone would buy a desktop computer these days. They certainly aren't putting a dime in building a new Mac though they'll sell you a several-year-old rig for a TON of money. The last three complete Major New Rollouts from Cupertino haven't even mentioned a desktop.

Even the laptops ... the last few mods have all been in user-interface things, the new touch-bar and such.

However, the video post world has rolled on ... 4k and up, the various log, RAW, and CinemaDNG variants, all that sort of stuff that puts more strain on the hardware running the software. The most Macophile segment of video post seems to me to have been the colorists ... and even they are moving from their beloved Macs to PCs. Very reluctantly, but ... they have to get work out the door.

So ... I don't like this, I like competition, and of course, even as always a PC person I appreciated the way Apple was once The Company for graphics related work. At NAB the last three years, this has been a huge aisle-talk thing. The way Apple has been abandoning them, and ... the things they're having to learn to move to PC's.

Not that working a PC is a guarantee of instant success either with the Adobe programs. However ... at some point ... you might need to look at the brand choice.

Neil

Everyone's mileage always varies ...

H

Hamish BoydAuthor

Known Participant

you may well be right. Spent a lifetime in Mac world. A small business with Macs everywhere. And yes things have changed and people are jumping ship. And I have seriously considered it. depending on outcome of this problem, might be the straw that breaks the camels back.

That aside...

It still doesn't makes sense to me that this laptop, with specs better than a 2011 MacBook Pro. Can't deal with the same problem as well. I don't work in FCX but by all accounts these new machines eats 4k for breakfast in fcx.

My hunch is an adobe issue not as happy on this new piece of kit. but only a hunch.

From here I think I need some guidance from Adobe as to how we can pin down this issue.

H

Hamish BoydAuthor

Known Participant

Apple Store said they would replace computer. so will do that in next day or so when I get chance.

although they said that without doing any tests. Just said bring it in and we'll swap it over.

ill keep u posted as I go.

Kevin J. Monahan Jr.

Legend

Hi Hamish Boyd,

Thanks for letting us know what's going on with your case. I hope the new computer will work better for you. Please let us know if your issues persist.

Thanks,
Kevin

Kevin Monahan - Sr. Community and Engagement Strategist – Adobe Pro Video and Audio

felixs7298110

Known Participant

Same issue here and I have similar specs. Please post back if you find a solution. I have looked everywhere and I have a lot of projects I have to finish

C

Comprimato

Participant

Meanwhile you'll find HW performance glitch, you may try software alternative which can do sub-resolution switching in real-time and gives you smooth playback when working with 4K: Beta of Adobe Premiere Pro JPEG2000 plugin | Comprimato - JPEG2000 GPU Codec

H

Hamish BoydAuthor

Known Participant

UPDATE:

Ran a test side by side with 2011 MacBook Pro, both running identical Premiere versions, Using same external T3 storage and project file / media. Playback the exact same clips. etc etc...

2011 MacBook Pro outperforms my MacBook Pro in playback.

will take laptop back to Apple see where we go from there.

Hopefully I don't fall into a black hole between Apple and Adobe in where the problem lies.

Kevin J. Monahan Jr.

Legend

Hi Hamish Boyd,

Hopefully I don't fall into a black hole between Apple and Adobe in where the problem lies.

Please keep us in the loop so that we can assist, if necessary.

Thanks,
Kevin

Kevin Monahan - Sr. Community and Engagement Strategist – Adobe Pro Video and Audio

H

Hamish BoydAuthor

Known Participant

Hi Kevin,

Any ideas as to what to try? Seems to be across different new machines.

R Neil Haugen

Legend

Around here, you mention how a simple video player plays back media compared to an NLE, you'll get rolled eyes. It's not even comparable, actually, the two types of software are so different. So how it plays in VLC is irrelevant to fixing your issues.

You left out some major details on that Macbook ... the CPU and the GPU, plus what sort of disc/storage media you're using ... how many, what type, and how connected (if external). All are crucial for this. Also, what codecs are you actually using out of the cameras?

If you're running everything on say an early style SSD ... probably ain't gonna work well. If you're using an internal "standard" SSD and say a MyBook external over USB, still isn't got enough throughput for the needs. So give us those details, please.

4k can load a heck of a lot more on the system than FHD, and different codecs throw different kinds of loads on the system. So the bits & pieces all matter here.

Neil

Everyone's mileage always varies ...

H

Hamish BoydAuthor

Known Participant

MacBook Pro is a week old:

Specs are: 2.9GHz, 16gig ram (max), 1Tb SSD, Radeon Pro 460 4096mb, Intel HD Graphics 530 1536MB

OSX: 10:12:3

External Drive is a Samsung T3 1Tb connected via usb3 connector to usbC

but Performance is the same if footage sits on internal SSD drive or external.

Old iMac (2012) handles same files no probs. (not sitting in front of it right now to give exact specs)

It may be a Mac thing. In which case it will be the first Mac I've ever bought that is considerably worse than the previous one I bought 5 years ago, whether it was a laptop, Mac Pro, MacBook Pro or iMac.

Footage is 4096 x 2160 MXF files at 25p. (the native formats from both cameras)

R Neil Haugen

Legend

As Bill Gehrke says, not all SSD's are equal ... they can vary widely in sustained read/write, and I don't of course know how that OS SSD is for quality. "A week old" doesn't actually mean that much ... Apple hasn't been upgrading the actual parts in their computers that much of late. Some with the laptops, but the basic "Big Mac" mobo hasn't been rebuilt in several years now.

So a disc-test on the OS SSD might be useful

The T3 is quite good, that's a high recommmendation of Bill's.

As noted in my thread above, the codec and frame-size can make a huge difference depending on how well the internals of the computer move things around. I don't know enough to be able to state how/why that desktop works compared to the laptop with these codecs.

Have you tried transcoding or proxies using DNxHR? That's an intraframe codec recently developed by Avid, and is supposedly the best optimized for 4k and up "out there" right now. Much easier on the CPU, and of actually better quality (slightly) than ProRes.

Neil

Everyone's mileage always varies ...

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