Certain Clips Get Desynced When Imported?

[them38977460]

I've been having a problem since I installed Premiere Elements with certain clips. It seems to primarily be with longer clips, although it does occasionally happen with shorter clips. It may have something to do with file types or codecs, since videos of certain file types don't seem to have these problems, but multiple file types have had the same issue. I don't know exactly how to describe it, the videos run fine normally, but when imported into Premiere Elements the video, but not the audio, suffers occasional glitches and hiccups.

Points in the video will skip back a few frames, while the audio keeps running forward as normal. Oddly, despite it usually showing up in longer videos, it shows up even in the first few minutes of those videos. These glitches can occur several times a minute, and while they are only a few frames of desync each time, the errors are so frequent that it is virtually impossible to maintain audio consistency throughout the video.

Note that this isn't just a playback problem, the exported videos have these glitches. Even if I don't include any edits, simply importing a file to a project and then exporting it as a movie causes the massive desyncs to show up. There doesn't seem to be any way to fix the problems, except for manually, which is obviously not an option.

I also occasionally have a problem where moving a section of the clip one frame or moving it to a different layer causes the video to jump slightly, changing the point in the video it comes from. I imagine it has the same root cause, but I have no idea how the two problems are connected.

[Steve Grisetti]

This usually happens when the video has a variable rather than constant frame rate -- a compression system occasionally used to create very small video files.

What model of camcorder is this video from? What format and resolution is it?

[them38977460]

It's happened with several videos of different formats, but I suppose they could all have the same problem. How would I check if they have a variable framerate, and how do I fix it if they do?

[Steve Grisetti]

Download the free program MediaInfo and open each file in it.

If you set the program's View menu to Tree, it will display all of the info about the video file. If you can't make sense of this data, you can copy and paste it to this forum and we'll help you interpret it.

[them38977460]

Hm, I downloaded the program and I think I'm seeing the framerate info, but there doesn't seem to be any difference between videos that work and videos that don't. They all seem to have consistent framerates (the standard ~23.9 or ~29.9) and variable bitrates. This is only the information I could get from a glance with the basic view, but I don't think the framerate is the problem.

[Steve Grisetti]

You may be right -- but without your providing more information about these clips, we can't say for sure.

BTW, what operating system do you have? Which processor are you running and with how much RAM?

Is this out of sync issue in your output or only when you play back the timeline?

[them38977460]

Well, the problem is that there's no consistency to the clips. It applies to videos I've taken myself, screen captures, and to videos downloaded from the internet. It applies to all formats I've tested, but only with specific videos. There's nothing consistent about the clips that causes the problem, which is why I'm so baffled.

One thing I have discovered in my experiments with the videos, if I convert a video to a different format, the problem persists, but it may get better or worse. For example, .mp4 videos usually do not have this problem. I converted a 45 minute .m2ts video to a .mp4 video, and the cumulative desync by the end of the video went from several seconds to less than one. I don't know why this would happen, although it is helpful. I probably need to test this method more, as it may just be completely random.

I am running Windows 8.1 Pro, and I have an AMD FX 6300 and 12 GB of RAM. The desync is in my output.

[Steve Grisetti]

I'm sorry I just can't help troubleshoot your issues if you won't answer my questions.

[Legoman328]

Hello, I may be late to this convo, but I have the same issue. There seems to be a disconnect in this broken conversation. them38977460​ clearly answered all your questions to the best of his/her ability. It would be preferred to have a quality response to solve both our issues. Although if you are incapable to answer this post, please turn it to one of your more experienced colleagues.

To answer any further questions, i have provided my computer's specs here:

Dell Inspiron 15 3000 Series

Windows 10 Home 64-bit

Intel Core i3-4030U @1.90GHz

Integrated Intel HD Graphics

4 GB Ram

[Steve Grisetti]

Your issue may be different, considering that your computer system doesn't have nearly enough power to edit with this program.

Your processor rates a 2,700 in benchmark tests. I recommend a processor that rates at least 6,500.

PassMark CPU Benchmarks - High Mid Range CPUs

[Legoman328]

Thank you for the response! I was figuring that the CPU was the problem. This laptop is little over 3 years old and I was considering upgrading to a more powerful desktop PC. Would you say an Intel Core i5-4590S @ 3.00GHz is a good recommendation to work well with Premiere Elements? Or is there a cheaper, more effective CPU?

A little off-topic, but is it possible to move Adobe Premiere and Photoshop Elements over to another computer, if I do decide to upgrade my PC?

Once again, thanks for your feedback, Steve!

[Steve Grisetti]

Use the benchmarks I linked you to to decide which processor to get. Again, look for a processor that rates at least 6500. 10,000 or more is even better.

To move your license for the programs to a new computer, sign out of the programs on your old computer by selecting the option under the Help menu.