BUG: Use Previews....Doesn't Use Previews.

[Scott.C.]

This workflow has been broken for a long time and I would really love to fix this one. I know this used to be on uservoice but I can't find the old bug. 

Steps:

1. Set sequence preview file to "Apple ProRes 422HQ" or whatever your favorite is. 

2. Render Sequence to full green.

3. Go to Export, Select an H.264 preset, check "use previews"

4. Watch as PrPro doesn't acess a single preview on disk and instead renders the whole timeline from scratch. 

From my current example I have a .png sequence from blender than I've rendered to green in the timeline.

Export->H.264, use previews checked...

Look at windows resource monitor, why is premiere chewing up PNGs when it should just be referencing the preview files I JUST RENDERED. 

.aecache files being acessed for no reason. 

.png sequence being read. WHY. 

[Scott.C.]

I feel like this export workflow is extremely common. Maybe it has been frogotten becasue its been broken so many times over the years. I learned it early on when working under the gun for several GFX heavy award shows working in CS5.5/6, and I don't know how I would have finished them on time without this feature. It's alarming to see it just swept under the rug.  

@Ryan Fritzsche I've seen bugs/issues with two upvotes fixed...just saying. I've also seen issues/requests with 500 upvotes ignored, (*cough cough* background rendering, a non-intrusive auto-save in AE). I would like to see the bug left as open and not "solved" becasue it clearly isn't.  

EDIT:

Looks like they took off the solved check-mark so thats a postive step. I don't have a ton of hope anymore that they will fix this issue but at least it will remain a bug. 

[JonesVid]

I'd agree with all comments here.

I feel somewhat let down by Adobe as Smart Rendering was heavily promoted back in 2019/2020 by Kevin Monahan and the advantages were clear, and it worked.

Now, with the 'Use Previews' and Lost Previews headaches' I think this article should be withdrawn currently  https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-discussions/faq-what-is-smart-rendering/m-p/10648488

if Adobe have no intention of addressing the current problems.

I waste more time fiddling with these problems than editing and I am only a keen hobbyist.

For a professional editor  trying to earn a living with tight deadlines using these techniques to speed things up  it must be very frustrating.

As to how we get more votes to get fixes on this that is the big question.

More visibility on what it is and advantages are required. It's an awareness thing as @R Neil Haugen  says not many users are even aware of it.

What about Adobe featuring a new updated 2024 article on Smart Rendering raising awareness to see what interest / feedback it gets, however I expect all Marketing budget is fixated on Ai and the razamatazz, yawn.

Clearly its deadlock on this topic and we can't raise user awareness in the installed base any more than we already have by commenting on this Community Forum.

Its a double edge sword as this will create potentially even more unhappy users, but maybe that is what is required.

Any comments on this @Kevin-Monahan ?

[Peter Reef]

Wow. I didnt thik this would be possible. Right now I am in the finish line of a documentary which needs to be exported in XDCAM 50i. I set the sequence preview settings accordingly and for the export settings I chose "match previews" still no export possible, its stuck around some random percentage and nothing happens. And to get there it takes ages.. This can be a REAL danger if you have tight deadlines and adobe does not communicate those issues.

[Ryan Fritzsche]

Still not fixed.  *sigh*

It's been years.  It doesn't work the way Adobe says it's supposed to, much less the way it should.  this is a PROBLEM.

[Peter Reef]

Yes, exporting proresHQ from proresHQ previews works, this is my workaround now.. still far from ideal. 

[Ryan Fritzsche]

My own experience of late, and that of numerous other folks on this thread, seems to be that even that works only sometimes.  I routinely export things that are rendered in ProRes, into ProRes, "matching sequence settings", etc, and sometimes it uses the previews... and sometimes not.  

[Peter Reef]

@Ryan Fritzsche thats exactly the issue I have right now. 😉 First version was fine, now the next version without narrator takes ages. I tried the latest beta.. still the same.

[Peter Reef]

By the way whats your workflow then to quickly export a clean feed (without graphics) plus final version with graphics if this does not work? First export clean feed and then reimport and add graphics for final export?

[JonesVid]

I raised a support case on ‘Use Previews during Export’  again several months back.

I'm not sure ‘Use Previews’  works all the time either, despite always selecting Match Sequence Previews on Export Media (in my case ProRes 422).

Senior support did another Remote Desktop session with me on this – and saw the problem.

Alas no more news on this.

Will escalate again to Product Management along with  the ‘Losing Pro Res previews issue’ which I am still experiencing including 25.1

[Peter Reef]

Does it make a difference if "render in max bit depth" or "max quality" is selected in the export panel? 

Does it make a difference if any audio-effects like loudness adjustment are selected on export?

[JonesVid]

I think I saw a post on this a while back asking a similar question. I don't think this affects things. I recall trying max quality but makes no difference. Didn't try the audio loudness.

I will keep pushing on this problem into product management as we deserve this problem and losing previews to be fixed. If I get any update I will post here.

[Path 88 Productions]

More patience than I have.  Good luck.  Based on your anecdote I suspect the programmers got no clue how to effectively fix it, or it's too troublesome to fix it. 

Definetly post back when you can. 

As you can see from this thread, many people were suggesting "user-error" on this issue, or misunderstanding the actual complaint.

Meanwhile, those of us with a "use previews" workflow (that functioned just fine in previous versions) are now like, "Man, this ain't working no mores!"

[Scott.C.]

I see this is now ii the "discussions" section of the forum. Leads me to believe the devs (or their managers) have no interest in making this former feature available anymore. I guess, it is not considered a bug, even though the checkbox still exsists to mock us of how it used to work. I have been doing GFX work for the past year or so maybe I'll finally ditch and go to Resolve if I get back into the editing ring. This lack of TLC has always left a poor taste in my mouth when it comes to Adobe software. Seems like Adobe is just interested in chasing investor $$$ with splashy AI image gen tools vs actually making this the most robust post workflow availiable. Between this and the busted project manager and buggy multi-camera waveform behabior, this app really has some major holes they need to fill.  

[MobyTrix]

I'm working on a 4k hour-long project.  In the latest version (not beta): If I pick QuickTime ProRes 422 HQ as the preview format, render the entire timeline to it, then on the Export tab (stay in Premiere, don't lauch Media Encoder) pick Quicktime ProRes 422 and check "Use Previews", then touch no other options and export to a new file... it works as intended.  So while it's not a full return to the original functionality, it is acceptable.

(I have other issues with the latest non-beta version, such as the colorspaces snapping between settings randomly in clips... but at least this is working which makes fine tuning bearable on a 4k project.)

[Scott.C.]

I guess a step in the right direction, but not acceptable for software that costs 600$ a year to rent. 

[Ryan Fritzsche]

@MobyTrix Have you noticed whether or not things are holding when you do use AME and/or if you use any of the other flavors of ProRes?  Also...  unless it's working like it should when going to some other codec or format, this merely represents a return to the stated workflow of using previews when matching sequence, NOT the old (and desired) workflow of using previews whenever the box is checked, regardless of export format.  *sigh*

[JonesVid]

Last time I tried Use Previews I could only get it to work using 'Match Sequence Preview Settings'.

Trying to input ProRes 422 manually (same as preview settings) didn't work and it re-rendered the entire timeline again. Annoying eh?

[MobyTrix]

Adobe Media Encoder does not honor the Use Previews checkbox in any way that I have noticed.  I don't recall if it ever did.  And you're right, previews could be used as the source for different-format encodes in the past, and that is still broken.

[MobyTrix]

I agree, especially since it used to work better -- you used to be able to render to ProRes previews, then use those previews as the source for an h.264 export, for example.