Participant

Answered

Proxies lag when attached. Playback fine on their own.

Forum|Forum|5 years ago
June 12, 2020
8 replies
28315 views

I've been using Premiere for years and never had a great experience with proxies. I thought it was my system but now after doing some experimenting, it looks like a software issue.

I've used both Prores and Gopro proxies. Similar results. Only slightly better performance than trying to play 4k footage on it's own.

I experimented by importing the proxy file directly into the session and on to the timeline. Plays perfectly. I added Lumetri, a camera LUT, and HSL. Still plays back perfectly.

When using the attached proxy version (as opposed to putting the proxy file directly on the timeline), not only does the playback suffer, but the performance of my entire computer suffers. Trying to adjust setting and sliders in effects panels is painfully slow. When using the proxy file directly on the timeline, all of this is super smooth.

This leads me to believe it is a software issue, not a hardware issue. I came across this post from December that was never solved, but experienced the same exact issue. It seems like in some instances Premiere doesn't work well with attached proxies - even though it can play & manipulate the actual proxy file just fine on its own.

Any insight on how to address this?

Computer specs:

Premiere Pro 13.1.5 (Seeing same issues in 14.2)

macOS Mojave

Mid 2015 Macbook Pro

16 GB RAM

Graphics Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB (not the ideal card, but pls remember that the proxy file plays back fine on its own)

Correct answer vinegarshots

Ok, I solved this myself. The problem is not having the proxy preview button turned on in the Program Monitor. You have to add this button to the Program Monitor manually as it isn't there by default. And if you dont turn it on, you aren't seeing your proxies-- you're just seeing the original footage (which is slower)

K

Kelly5E27

Participant

I think that is literally what Kevin said.

A

Akai 2.2.5

Known Participant

Having the same problem with 1080p footage. If I don't transcode it into MOV, I can't edit at all because the playhead moves but the footage on the preview doesn't. When I use Proxies, I can't play the footage without lag every 2 seconds.

And I don't want to transcode every video I import, even a 30 secs video is unplayable if it's not transcoded into MOV.

And no, it's not an " old " pc, (10 TO SSD, 64GB RAM, RTX 3090, Windows 10) I know this shortcut answer so, if I can have a real solution at least for 1 time from Adobe, that could be great.

P

Phill Kard

Participant

I`m having the exact same issue and still not any satisfatory answer from Adobe`s team.

Thats ridiculous.

S

someTV

Inspiring

Yes, it is as if Adobe will not admit there is a problem.

JimmyJames332925760

Participating Frequently

Hello,

I came to this thread because I beleive I am experiencing similar issues. I want to articulate these specific issues so that someone can explain the issues, as stated by other users.

The actual footage:

Type: MPEG Movie File Size: 576.28 MB Image Size: 3840 x 2160 Frame Rate: 119.88 Source Audio Format: 48000 Hz - 16-bit - Stereo Project Audio Format: 48000 Hz - 32 bit floating point - Stereo Total Duration: 00:00:14:000 Pixel Aspect Ratio: 1.0 Alpha: None Color Space: Rec. 709 Color Space Override: Off Input LUT: None Video Codec Type: HEVC 10 bit 4:2:2

The Proxy:

Type: QuickTime Movie File Size: 149.59 MB Image Size: 1280 x 720 Frame Rate: 119.88 Source Audio Format: 48000 Hz - 16-bit - Stereo Project Audio Format: 48000 Hz - 32 bit floating point - Stereo Total Duration: 00:00:14:000 Pixel Aspect Ratio: 1.0 Alpha: None Color Space: Rec. 709 Color Space Override: Off Input LUT: None

When I use the proxy toggled on it still lags, but if I import the proxy and load it into a sequence, it runs fine.

So, the specific issue is: Why does the proxy not function without lag while it is toggled on? Isn't the whole point of having a proxy file so that users can maximize their systems, even if they are not top of the line?

G

Griebs

Participant

Hi people, the following worked for me:
I was just on another thread and I'm bringing my contribution here since I've noticed everyone has a different cases, maybe mine will help you out. I wanted to add to the chorus of the interpret footage route.
My case was as follows:

Hundreds of different clips
DJI Footage with crazy FPS like 59.85 or 59.96 with proxies stuttering
iPhone Footage with crazy FPS like 30.01 or 29.9797 with proxies stuttering
Screen capture with crazy FPS like 39.91 with proxies stuttering
A7S Footage with consistent FPS from camera setup with proxies working fine

When making proxies as ProRes Proxy, Media Encoder chooses the closest industry-standard FPS to encode the file. For instance, when the original is 59.85, the proxy automatically is made as 59.94, or originals at 30.01 the proxies are made at 30.

What I did was to batch interpret all those crazy FPS footage into the closest industry-standard possible (usually following what the proxy is). For instance, my 59.85 and my 59.96 became 59.94(industry standard).

Usually the proxy automatically selects a good standard, so what I did was to interpret everything to the proxies' FPS and all started to work fine. I'd encourage people to stick with intraframe codecs(like prores) instead of interframe(like h264) when doing proxies.

V

vinegarshots

Inspiring

I have this exact same issue on a 10900K, 64GB RAM, and a RTX 3080 GPU (all CC apps up to date). Attached proxies play back worse than just importing and adding the proxy file directly to the timeline. It makes absolutely no sense, and it has nothing to to with the system being "underpowered." Proxy is ProRes.

Mod note: Edited for content. OP marked the answer as correct. I added your fix to also be a correct answer.

V

vinegarshotsCorrect answer

Inspiring

Ok, I solved this myself. The problem is not having the proxy preview button turned on in the Program Monitor. You have to add this button to the Program Monitor manually as it isn't there by default. And if you dont turn it on, you aren't seeing your proxies-- you're just seeing the original footage (which is slower)

T

timb21505478

Participant

THANK YOU! Can't believe this thread is just an Adobe employee saying "Your computer's too old" when the problem is actually PP's terrible UI. You've saved me, thank you, @vinegarshots!

samkhpak

Participating Frequently

I am having similar issue with the new updates, when I edit on time line and press spacebar to play back on Program monitor it's super laggy, but if I just click on Source monitor once and then click on Program monitor again and press space bar it plays smoothly without any frame drop. This is for sure a software issue and not hardware. Please adobe, check this issue, I can send you a video and don't find an easy answer for a problem and spend time in investagating the issue and solve it.

Mod note: Edited for content

M

manuelujcic

Known Participant

Same here. With a 2018 macbook pro. Its my 5th problem working with premiere and after effects. There are never any solutions. I had enough.

Mod note: Edited for content

Kevin J. Monahan Jr.

Community Manager

Hi Brian,

Thanks for the message. The problem can be solved in a couple of ways.

Make sure you have added the Toggle Proxies button from the Button Editor to the Playback Controls, then enable the button. It will turn blue in color once you do so.
Make sure the hardware meets minimum system requirements. If it does not, you'll have performance problems.

In the case for the OP, Brian:
Sorry for the frustration, but it appears that your laptop doesn't meet minimum specs for HD, much less 4K. That is probably why your sub-HD proxies are doing fine playing on their own. System Requirements are here. Note that your laptop has a Gen 4 CPU. The minimum for HD is a Gen 6 CPU. You need a 2 GB VRAM for HD, a 4GB VRAM for 4K. Your GPU has less than both of those requirements.

Secondly, you didn't mention your media drive. If you do not have one of those, your system's hardware is not configured properly.

A properly configured NLE system includes a media drive, either internally mounted, or in the case of a laptop, connected via Thunderbolt or USB 3 at a minimum. Drives must be similar in speed to a SSD or a 7200RPM HD, or faster.
If you want even better performance, a second media drive can be used for media cache.

You might consider your original idea and edit using the Ol' Skool "offline/online" proxy method. Chin Fat describes it well in this video.

My only difference from CF is that I like to use ProRes Proxy instead of H.264 for proxies. It is more performant over H.264. Hope this helps.

Otherwise, I think you are going to have to bite the bullet and get a new computer if you want to travel down the road of 4K editing. I have a new MacBook Pro with a 4TB Thunderbolt 3 drive. It's awesome!

Thanks,

Kevin

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

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brians898896Author

Participant

I did not consider the proxy itself being scaled up for playback. That makes sense as to why it still lags.

Btw, the media drive is a Samsung T5 SSD, but that seems irrelevant at this point.

Thanks for pointing me towards the old school method. Seems like it's probably the best workaround until I can afford a new computer or an external GPU

S

Sumeet_Kumar_Choubey

Community Manager

Hi brians898896,

Sorry about the poor experience. This sounds so weird. Is this behavior specific to the Attach Proxies workflow (where you are attaching the low res files manually) or is it also happening with the Create Proxies workflow (where Premiere Pro creates proxies in the background and links to the original media itself)? Let us know, we're here to help.

Thanks,

Sumeet

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brians898896Author

Participant

Hi Sumeet - Thanks for the reply. I always use the "Create Proxies" workflow where it uses Media Encoder to create the proxies.

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brians898896Author

Participant

UPDATED: Still experimenting. Here's something else I've noticed.

The proxy file plays back perfectly and computer operates fine on a timeline created using "New Sequence From Clip" so the settings match the file.

If I take that same proxy file and drop it on the 4K timeline intended for the original files then the whole system lags. Could it be something about the sequence settings?

Here are the sequence settings. The only thing I see different are the dimensions.

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