Audio "disappears" in Pr CS6

[Curt_Pair]

I'm having a tremendous amount of trouble with a particular project in CS 6.

PC, Win 7 Ultimate

Nvidia 4000

32GB Ram

Red Rocket Card

CS6 Prod Premium

Sony MXF 4:2:0, 35Mbps files at 29.97p.

I have a project, that has about 20 clips in it.  I edited the piece, then pushed the video into After Effects to do "treatments" brought them back and want to make an output. 

However, when I play the timeline back, audio seems to disappear!  By that I mean, if you open the audio track, there are waveforms... however, when playing "over" that clip, no audio is heard! 

Take a look at the image:

I've been experimenting with various work-arounds... I've used the "match frame" to find the exact spot in the source monitor... then I choose "repalce clip with source monitor" and the audio is replaced and plays... The trouble is when I fix one clip, another pops up.

Even wilder:  Some clips play a portion and then the audio stops suddenly in the middle of the clip!

I've shut down Pr and fired it back up.... that works sometimes... not always.

I've rebooted... works sometimes, not always...

Now the system is hanging up and crashing! 

I'm trying to get the project out!  I have the client in the room, and this is not looking good!  "Why don't you just use Final Cut Pro like everyone else?" 

I'm looking for answers and solutions.

Thanks,

Curt

Worth noting:  I had both CS6 and CS5.5 installed on the system when this project originated... I had so many system crashes, I decided to remove BOTH last weekend, run a registry cleaner and then reinstall CS6.  That seemed to clear up many issues, but not the dropping of the audio.

[Kostas Arvanitidis]

I hope I'm proven wrong, but more RAM isn't the issue here. I have 8 GB and I still have problems.

[DaveTrayers]

I'm running with 24GB and I experience this issue.

[zoyaedit]

david productions wrote:

Now I bought 4 gb Ram more and the problem is solved?

I mean, if the prolbem starts I just delete de cache folder and the problem is solved, that didnt happen when i had just 2 gb of ram.

older configuration: 2gb RAM

new coonfiguration: 6gb RAM

hope it helps

I am running CS6 on a HP i7 Laptop Workstation with 8GB of RAM and have the issue.

[Sebasvideo]

david productions wrote:

Now I bought 4 gb Ram more and the problem is solved?

I mean, if the prolbem starts I just delete de cache folder and the problem is solved, that didnt happen when i had just 2 gb of ram.

older configuration: 2gb RAM

new coonfiguration: 6gb RAM

David, when you say the problem is solved by adding more RAM and deleting the cache folder, you mean solved permanently or for a while?

I doubt this is related to RAM, I have 16 GB and this happens to me too. It could have been a coincidence.

[Kostas Arvanitidis]

Importing large MXF files (over 5GB) takes geometrically longer times than small files. With CS5 it took 10 sec (max) to import a 12GB file, now with CS6 it takes about 15mins!! Especially in Media Encoder.

[thirdeyeamsterdam]

Kostas, im not seeing that at all. In fact the size of the file seems to have zero effect on the time taken to import into the media encoder. Ive just done a quick test with 3 MXF files of 500MB, 6GB and 20GB and they all take exactly the same time to add to the queue (about 3 seconds) Certainly not minutes!

[Kostas Arvanitidis]

I don't know... it could be the type of MXF (as MXF is only a container)... I'm using Sony's DV25 XDCAM MXF PAL generated files. The camcorders and VTR's are PDW-510P and PDW-1500 VTR. It's not system related (I have tested it in more than 4 workstations) and not file-related (these files used to work fine on earlier versions).

Just hoping that patching the audio problem will correct the import issue too.

[thirdeyeamsterdam]

I agree its rather odd (and im sure very frustrating). The files I just tested with are Pal IMX30 and MXF HD422, and as I said, the encoder seems to queue them all equally fast.

I also really hope there will be a quick solution as the vanishing audio its making Premiere virtually unusable for me at the moment!

[Maxwell84]

I am having massive issues also. I am using the Canon XF100 and premiere. There is currently no solution to importing the MXF files into premiere.....

What's going on Adobe?

[DaveTrayers]

Maxwell84 wrote:

I am having massive issues also. I am using the Canon XF100 and premiere. There is currently no solution to importing the MXF files into premiere.....

What's going on Adobe?

Well, there is a workaround... I outlined mine above.

However, I just did a new short project that was a single camera shoot and and hour long, so there were several spanned clips, and I had *no* issues.

What I did different was before importing into PPr, I used the latest version of Canon XF Utility (1.3) to merge the clips together into one large MXF file, then imported that.  PPr did NOT render the audio, just created a PEK file.  I cut out the stuff I didn't want, added dissolves, titiles, an extra audio bit, and exported... Didn't lose the audio once.

So try using the XF utility first, you may have better results.

[Sebasvideo]

Actually Dave is right, Canon MXFs seem to behave better when transferred using that utility rather than copying the whole card to a folder and using the Premiere media browser to import into the project. But that doesn't help the audio problem at least in my case. What it helped was a weird glitch I had when copying the card structure to a folder and then importing through the media browser, where there would be glitches in the footage, similar to drop-outs from digital tape. However, when watching the same exact portion on the camera there were no glitches. I tried using different cables, even taking the card out of the camera and using the computer's card reader, but the glitches were still there, and not always in the same places, which told me it might be a bug in Premiere. But importing using the Canon Utility solved this. The only problem with this is that a lot of metadata information is not transferred when using the "Export to MXF" function. Using the Backup function is the same as copying the folder structure to the hard drive, it still shows those glitches.

I haven't experienced the sound bug again after I posted the first time, so it seems to be totally random.

[Guest]

Adobe listed the following as one of the updated bug fixes in 6.0.1 (in May): "Some audio files and some MXF files would go offline or have their audio reconformed when the project was re-opened or when Premiere Pro was minimized or lost focus."

Apparently the bug wasn't completely fixed?

We are looking at making the move to CS6 soon using MXF files from Canon XF100 and XF300 cameras.

[Sebasvideo]

Donaldk7 wrote:

We are looking at making the move to CS6 soon using MXF files from Canon XF100 and XF300 cameras.

I would strongly suggest not to upgrade until Adobe fixes this for good. It's a really annoying bug, and you have to close and open the project every time it happens.

[Ken_Oltmann1]

I've had this same problem and have been quite unhappy with how long it has been taking Adobe to fix.

Let's hope this update released yesterday (9/6/12) will fix the problem!

http://blogs.adobe.com/premiereprotraining/2012/09/premiere-pro-cs6-6-0-2-update-hidpi-for-retina-di...

[Guest]

Here is the problem. Adobe Premiere doesn't play well with external sound cards of many brands. I have proven this. When my audio drops out as it does a few times a day, I switch to the stupid computer speakers and it works. I switch back to my studio speakers and no sound is playing. I have heard this issue time and time again and I am hearing of it in CS5 and CS6 so Adobe has no immediate concern on fixing this horrible issue. You need to call Adobe and complain and demand a fix.

[gregb98056542]

Hi Jack Attack,

This seems like your issue is a separate issue to the one being discussed here.  If you bring attention to this in a new thread that will call attention to your issue.  Please provide the information in this thread (http://forums.adobe.com/thread/961741?tstart=0) so we can get a full picture of your system.

Also, filing a bug report is always a good idea.  You can do that here - https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform

[Guest]

thank you so much. I will do both things you suggested.

[MediaDog1]

Hi there,

I don't know if this is the same problem as you are having - but I just had a similar thing and it turned out it was a clip conforming issue.

I updated to 6.0.2 and all my audio vanished, waveforms, clips, everything.. I noticed at the bottom that it was conforming all the clips again (I'm using MXF's recorded on a Canon C300). Once they had comformed the relevant clips the audio reappeared. It was quite quick for me as I am running a powerful machine with 48gb of RAM, it may take longer for others. As I said - this may not be your issue - but thought I'd share my findings just in case, so you may want to check the bottom right of your display for a comforming bar before you try anything more drastic.

Good luck,

Gavin.

[juliusacena]

Hi guys,

I just encountered this similar problem today. I'm using an early 2011 macbook pro 4GB RAM i7 17-inch. My files are .mts and I suspect that it's a conforming issue. I'm using the trial version of cs6 and after some trial and error I figured out that copying the clip to another folder and changing the filename will make premiere read it as a new file either by importing it or by opening it via media browser. The trick is to avoid playing back the clip until it finishes conforming.

Julius

[the_wine_snob]

The trick is to avoid playing back the clip until it finishes conforming.

I recommend that one do no editing, until the Conforming process has completed 100%.

Glad that things worked for you.

Hunt

[UlfLaursen]

I think so too - I also have had problems, but after waiting it is ok.

/Ulf

[Minehunter2012]

Hi Folks,

I am somewhat still a newbie when it comes to videography and editing, but I have learned volumes while working my way up from Sony Vegas, to FCE4, and now Premier Pro C6 while using a prosumer camera for filming.

After much saving of my pocket change I am now in a position to be able to purchase a pro camcorder so I can continue the learning process. I have narrowed it down to several cameras, but one that caught my eye was the Cannon XF305. It seems to have everything I would want in a camera and beyond, and would end up being my primary device for many years to come.

I was elated to finally find the "right" camera until I started drilling down on the specs and found it used the MXF container, and that lead me to many web discussuons on how badly PPC6 playes with MXF files wrappers. Needless to say I was very surprised as I have always thought that PP was pretty rock solid.

So my question is: has Adobe actually solved the problem with handling MXF files, or is the jury still out?

I have a few "backup" camera choices such as the Sony PMW-EX3, the JVC GY-HM-650U, or my original choice the Sony HXR-NX5U. But when I learned of the problems with the MXF files in PPC6 I thought this might be a show-stopper for the XF305.

Any information, comments, or sugestions would be greatly appreciated!

Sincerely,

Mark

[Kostas Arvanitidis]

Hi Mark

Since 6.0.3 released the audio disapparing issue has gone for us (we're using SONY XDCAM MXF PAL @DV25 & IMX 30/40/50). The only issue we (still) have with MXF support is that (and this is only with MXF @DV25 PAL) importing MXF assets takes waaay too long (over 10 mins for a 6GB file) and affects the overall perfomance of the pc.

[DaveTrayers]

I can't verify if 6.0.3 has fixed it for me, but I've changed my workflow and I haven't had a single issue.  I use Canon's XF Utility to merge all the spanned clips into one big MXF file rather than allowing Adobe to string them together.  I backup the MXF file and also copy it to a local workdrive on my computer.  I use the local copy in the project, and PPr doesn't try to conform the audio, which I think is the casue of the problems.  Since I started to use the XF Utility to make one large video file, I haven't had a single audio issue.

[Minehunter2012]

Thanks Kostas and Dave - I really appreciated the feedback!

I'm stil on the fence on what camera to get, but at least if I ultimatly choose the XF305 it seems there is a way to make C6 work with MXF-based files.

Thanks again, and Happy Holidays!

Mark