FAQ: Issues with screen recorded footage in Premiere Pro

[caroline_edits]

If you're a gameplay editor, you've probably noticed by now that your footage makes Premiere behave strangely. This can look a few different ways...

• Slow import processes
• "Not Responding" hangs and freezes
• Bad playback or strange interface behavior

This poor performance arises from the fact that screen recorded footage is shot in a variable frame rate, meaning a single clip can be 30 fps as a baseline, but the frame rate will speed up or slow down in order to accommodate the visual onscreen. Here's an example. If you're playing a game, the frame rate may slow down if you're hiding as your health recovers but speed up as you run, jump, and fight your way through the game. As the visuals vary, so does the rate at which frames are displayed.

Premiere Pro favors footage shot on a camera due to the constant frame rate of the footage. This kind of footage is easier for computers to process so that we can cut, adjust, and manipulate the images. However, online content is growing rapidly and we intend on supporting all emerging creators! Our developers are in the process of supporting modern video capture. Members of our video community will have access to the improvements as soon as we know they work!

Here's how to move forward. The guaranteed way for your footage to behave as expected in Premiere is to transcode your footage before importing it. This will repackage your recording as a constant frame rate piece of footage. You can use Adobe Media Encoder to perform this step!

• Adobe HelpX documentation
• Artlist.io "Beginner's Guide to Transcoding with Adobe Media Encoder"

You can also use a third-party service like Handbrake to repackage the file.

• Handbrake

If you'd like to help us solve this issue faster, please send me a private message here on our community! We're looking for folks who are willing to share test files with us so we can assure proper performance. To share your screen recording, upload the file to a share service like Google Drive or Dropbox and send me the link! I'll get it into the right hands.

Happy to answer any follow-up questions as well!

- Caroline

[dariov44177707]

Is there an ETA on this? I'd be happy to share a test file if that would still help.

[Kevin-Monahan]

Very sorry that the exact timing of the fix is not available, but the issue is actively being worked on.

[Dutch Smiling Yogi]

Premiere Pro 2022 is out, but the problem hasn't been fixed. When will it be fixed? It's been a problem for years. 
It used to work. I still have a Premiere Pro on an old computer (>6 years old) which doesn't have the problem. I can look up the version if it's of any help to you. 

[Targa VFX]

Because for some weird reason, designing a brand new create project interface has more priority in the eyes of Adobe than this and other crucial bugs that have been around for years. It's almost 2023 and this problem still exists. But hey, you can create a new project looking at a confusing as hell project panel now so, cheer up.

[Kevin-Monahan]

One thing that might be mentioned about this issue. The files will import. You just need to wait a long, long, while. Very sorry about this!

Kevin

[Ann Bens]

This will repackage your recording as a constant frame rate piece of footage. You can use Adobe Media Encoder to perform this step!

AME is not the tool to fix variable framerate. Audio goes out of sync. Handbrake is the way to go.

[Jeff Bugbee]

I encourage users to change the settings in their screen recording application from the default VFR to CFR.

[MorseB]

Thanks, Jeff. Do you happen to have a suggestion for an app for a screen recording app for Mac that allows you to change to CFR? Thanks.

[Jonagrey]

The freen app Loom.com (desktop app only) screen records up to 4K. Works perfect.

[caroline_edits]

Hey gang!

Our engineers have released some improvements for screen recorded footage in the latest release of Premiere Pro, 14.1

Someone wanna take it for a test drive and let me know how it's working?

How to update your CC apps

Caroline

[thorms11]

Hey Caroline, 

I just tried a clip I have that is a VFR clip and the issue is still happening. I updated to the latest version of Premiere that came out yesterday. 

[dariov44177707]

Just tried it with a bunch of OBS and ShadowPlay clips and everything works fine for me now.

Many thanks!

[caroline_edits]

@dariov44177707 I'm so glad! Thanks for letting us know, our engineers will be happy to hear you found success.

@thorms11 That's a huge bummer. Would you mind sending me a DM with your system specs and we'll see if we can sort it out?

And to anyone else, please comment below with your results! So far we have 1 win and 1 loss (which I'll do my best to turn into a win)

[Jose Mercado]

Is there a fix for this issue?

[Ann Bens]

Even though Premiere supports vfr in real live it does not handle it very well.

Only fix is HANDBRAKE,  do not use AME if you want to use the audio.

[MorseB]

Thanks, Caroline, and appreciate that Adobe is working on this. Do you or anyone have a suggestion meanwhile for a screen recording app that can record in CFR (per Jeff Bugbee's suggestion below)? And am I understanding correctly that it's still the case that Media Encoder is not ideal for transcoding to change the frame rate (i.e., better to use Handbrake due to audio issues in AME)? Thanks. 

[Douglas5ED2]

Hi, I have been encountering what sounds like this or a very similar issue with footage recorded from a computer into another computer running wirecast. It's weird because the file plays back fine in Premiere until I render or export. I've tried multiple different workflows to get around it. Even set at 1080p 30fps on the recording in wirecast, it always indicates that frames are dropping, my understanding is that this may be where the variable frame rate metadata is coming from. 

Is there a team working on this? I've been suspecting this could be what's going on. I'd be happy to send any files I have where I encountered this. Using a workaround to record in Zoom. For whatever reason their recording of the same event has not had this issue. 

[Sinejan5FB2]

So If my video is already edited in PP but still have the issue when exportet. I cannot transcode the edited video in Media Encoder or Handbrake - instead I need to do everything all over again? So I need to import the video in PP after using ME or Handbrake? 

[Ann Bens]

No, you transcode your footage in Handbrake and Replace Footage in Premiere but that would be one clip at a time but you dont need to re-edit. Might need to do some adjusting here and there.

[Maya5EB3]

Hi, I am not very tehcnial and I'm having this issue too. I've read the comments and have some questions- Which is best to trascode my screen recorded footage- Media encorder or handbrake? I have a Mac. Also is there a way or sugguestion to screen record the right way to avoid having to transcode the footage in the future? I think someone mentioned something about CFR (although im not sure what they is or how to change it) I'm currently using Quick Time player to record. Please please help me as my work depends on this!

[sinejana1234098]

Hey! I just had the same issue, but was able to solve it with Handbrake. Its very simple. Just download and open Handbrake, open your Video in Handbrake and click on "constant frame rate" in the Tab "Video", because right now it is a "variable frame rate", which causes the glitching. Then you just need to start the transcoding and it's done! 
A little tip: My Video had a different size after transcoding, maybe you should check the settings before clicking on start, because I had to redo it all over again because the size change 🙂 

[Maya5EB3]

Hey, thanks for letting me know, I'm currently converting it, but its causing super high cpu and my fans going crazy! It also has a ETA of 6 hours?! is there a way to reduce cpu and speed the conversion process? 

[Dutch Smiling Yogi]

I'm happy to share footage. 
I shoot on Panasonic. The camera starts a new file automatically after 17 minutes. If I import that file in Adobe Premiere Pro it's out of sync, but if I watch the file (.mts) in VLC player (for example) it's perfectly in sync. 
It means that when I film I have to stop before I hit 17 minutes and start again, if I don't want to have this problem. But I often do recordings longer than 17 minutes that don't give me that option. 
I can and can't solve the problem with Handbrake, because if I go from flexible frame rate to a fixed frame rate, Handbrake just adds 'black' frames. 
I'm happy to sent you a file, but I can't add a .mts file and that's where the problem is happening. 

[Averdahl]

I shoot on Panasonic. The camera starts a new file automatically after 17 minutes. 

By @Dutch Smiling Yogi

This is something called spanned clips.

Premiere Pro do handle spanned clips without issues most of the time, but one must transfer the whole file/folder structure from the memory card to the computer without renaming or changing anything. The top folder is the PRIVATE folder and it´s name and all subfolders name must be leaved as is, iow do not rename them. 

If you have several cards, make a top folder for each of them such as D:\Project A\Media\Card-01 and D:\Project A\Media\Card-02 and D:\Project A\Media\Card-03 etc. Place each PRIVATE folder in the Card-0x folder to keep them separated.

If you only copy over either the STREAM folder or just the files within Premiere Pro won´t handle those spanned clips at all.

If you have renamed/modified the folders/clips you must merge the clips so that Premiere Pro playback them as one take. Google merge mts files for tons of options.

The method i used is:

1. Press WIN+R
2. Type cmd and press Enter
3. Navigate to the folder where the files are located
4. Type copy 00000.mts /b + 00001.mts /b + 00002.mts /b output.mts
5. Press Enter
6. Wait until it is done. (It takes several minutes to complete.)

Done! The file output.mts is the file you want to import.