M1Pro Mac optimisation for premiere?

[jonh91216198]

Hi Guys,

    Just wondering if Adobe or any community members can help with optimisation of premiere for the macbook pro with M1Pro chip/16gb ram...

I purchased this machine after seeing many rave reviews about the original M1, and then even more praise for the M1 pro and Max versions... 

I had hoped it would improve my workflow and allow me to work on location or just away from my office/desktop setup. However, Premiere is a big part of my daily workflow, and it appears that either the newest Premiere version that is supposedly optimised for M1 macs actually isnt - OR - I have some kind of settings completely missed because the software just seems to be FULL of issues that dont work as they should, for example...

1- RENDER ERRORS AND GLITCHES -

Yes, regular glitches in rendered projects (often just short, not overly complicated sequences of just 1 min or so in length) come out with glitches that are not present in the timeline - The only solution i have that seems to work for this is to build the sequence in premiere, then save, close premiere, reopen the intel version of premiere and export from that. NOT an acceptable workflow for an expensive subscription software.

2 - THUMBNAILS NOT DISPLAYING - 

Not a huge deal, but thumbnails in the prject bins often dont display - instead you get a yellow 'media pending' thumbnail unless you hover mouse over the clip.

3 - 2x PLAYBACK FREEZES

This is really a big issue as it slows down my workflow by a big margin - but using the L key to do 2x playback results in the sound continuing but the playhead freezing and the stop button or spacebar not working - eventually it will stop of you keep clicking/tapping space

4 - LAYOUT ERRORS

I have a couple of saved workspaces depending on if im using the laptop on its own or with a monitor, either way - when ever i start a new project or load a new project, the layout is never quite right, mostly the PROJECT WINDOW conaining all the media bins ect is not where i ALWAYS place it (it seems to want to jump up and appear with the effects panel and essential graphics panel despite me contiuously moving it to be at the side of timmeline and making regular new workspace ssaves.

I'm sure there is more - these are the things that I have come across just today. Im aware that FCPX is supposed to be optimised, as well as resolve, but i like premiere on the odd occasion it actually works as advertised, and I dont really have the time to learn a new editing software and workflow - having said that I also dont have the time to constantly troubleshoot issues with premiere (I thought thats what BETAS were for). ive already lost nearly a whole days work this week trying to get some sequences exported without glitches before i found that intel version would do it.

C'mon Adobe - this is a paid software, so many simple small bugs that should not be an issue but are - i know ive missed loads of smaller stuff off this list, but these are the things ive noticed today.

[Joost van der Hoeven]

Can you please share your system info? Like OS and Pr version? Thanks. Also a screen grab of your issue will be helpful. And it would be helpful to know the resolution and codec of your footage and your sequence settings. 

FAQ: What information should I provide when asking a question on this forum?
https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-discussions/faq-what-information-should-i-provide-when-a...

[jonh91216198]

As stated in previous post its a new m1 pro macbook - so latest mac os - again, the pr version is the latest version that is supposedly m1 compatible.

as for the other points, it would be helpful if you read the post - this is not one peice of footage this happens on all projects no matter footage or codec type as far as i can tell.

[jonh91216198]

Also, im not sure what relevance or help screen grabs would be of the well known "media pending" images that get displayed instead of thumbnails, or screengrabs of layout issues (as no one wouldknow the difference between the image and my layout) or any of the others - yes possibly the glitchs, but cant share them as its client footage. 

essentially the glitches seem to be a well known problem, im just venting my frustration at this so called professional software in the hope that enough people do it and eventually adobe might actually fix things properly.

[Michael Grenadier]

unfortunately 16 gigs is not ideal for working with Premiere... but I was working with a m-1 macbookpro which only has 16 gigs as the maximum option with the glitching you describe and increasing the memory allotted to adobe in the premiere preferences:  memory helped a great deal (thanks Kevin M) .  I also found that using the intel version (from the creative cloud app) and changes to software rendering in the project settings also helped...  although playback of unrendered clips with fx was not great.     

[jonh91216198]

16 gigs should be fine for the type of editing im doing - ive never had a problem with it on non-m1 based machines! YES-more would be better for sure, but things like thumbnails, freezing 2x playback and having to render in the intel version are not ram related (otherwise the intel version would do the same).

I have tried software rendering of course, but that gives much the same result (only much slower) and the fact ive paid a lot of money for a machine with supposed great hardware says to me that the hardware encoding should be useable.

[Michael Grenadier]

did you try allocating more memory?   and although you may think Joost requests are unnecessary,  it's amazing how much crucial information is not provided on many threads here.  Just cause someone says they have the latest OS and Premiere version, doesn't make it so.  Not saying you're wrong, just saying we've wasted a lot of time here trying to troubleshoot problems when we're not provided with accurate or complete info...

 And as far as my experience goes, I tried to dissuade my client from buying the m-1 macbookpro cause I thought it was premature and it's not surprising there are issues with an entirely new chip...and I also thought the 16gig limitation was a deal breaker...   

[jonh91216198]

The memory allocation is already at the max it will allow (13gb leaving 3 for other progs).

Fair point over the post above I guess, I know it can be frustrating if you try and help someone and they give wrong or incomplete info.

Just to note this is not the m1 chip but the m1Pro chip.

I also held out on the m1 chip as it was new, but when I saw Adobe had releases a compatible version and we had 2 new faster chips I decided to go for it.

[Michael Grenadier]

have you tried switching the memory setting "optimize rendering" to memory?  Just a stab in the dark.  but worth a shot.    Since we're on the subject of basic info:  what are your source properties and sequence settings?  pixel dimensions, codec and frame rate are important.  Any chance any of your sources are from a smartphone or screen recording?  

[jonh91216198]

Hmmm, I think I've tried that setting,but will have to double check when I'm back at laptop to be sure. The source properties and sequence settings varies from project to project. I can say with some certainty that the majority of footage is either shot on dslr or c200, though some sequences occasionally contain mobile and/or screen recordings.

The thing is, these problems just seem to be generic with the premiere release, it doesn't seem to make a difference what footage I'm using, it simply has these problems 99% of the time no matter which project I work on. I have downloaded fcpx this afternoon, so going to give that a try on my next project and maybe leave Adobe for a bit until they have a release that is actually ready for professional consumer use.

[Michael Grenadier]

I understand your frustration but don't be surprised if fcpX is a better option since apple both makes the new chip, the computer and software...  No question that Apple has an advantage...  but I much prefer Premiere's editing interface.    That said, screen recordings and smartphone footage usually have a variable frame rate which causes well documented if intermittent and unpredictable issues.   Not sure how fcpX will handle this footage...    I pretty much work with material (even material that's constant frame rate but heavily compressed like h264) either transcoded to a more edit friendly all-iframe format like prores or work with proxies.   I work on a variety of windows and mac machines often shlepping drives around so it's advisable for me to work in formats that work smoothly on a variety of platforms.

but here's how to confirm the diagnosis and solve this particular issue

use mediainfo to determine whether your source is variable or constant frame rate
https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo/Download
if it's variable use handbrake to convert to constant frame rate setting the quality slider in the video panel to maximum
https://handbrake.fr
and here's a tutorial on how to use handbrake
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=34&v=xlvxgVREX-Y

Also, just a suggestion...  before you hit the "post" button, give yourself a minute or 2 and then re-read your post.  Your initial reply to Joost could be construed as somewhat snarky...  It's taken me a long time to learn to do this... and still I manage to offend some people (hard to imagine).     Gotta say I don't enjoy being the adult in the room.... so take this advice or not.   And stay tuned in.  Unlike the apple forums (at least back in the fcp1 -7 days), Adobe employees do participate here and if they can help, they will and will sometimes point you to features and fixes in upcoming and already available beta versions.    

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hey there, Jonh. I need to do more intensive editing on my M1 as I'm not hitting these issues. I still use my Intel CPU Mac a lot more. First of all, sorry for the frustration.

Here's my take as an editor and former editing instructor: The M1 is a different beast in my observation. It doesn't have a conventional GPU or CPU/iGPU setup, which Premiere Pro currently favors. It's very new on the scene.

I recommend patience as development continues for this reasonably new hardware. Patience is the hardest thing when awaiting improvements and changes for your mission-critical hardware. I know! I recall a reasonable six-month period in building an NLE BITD where I was shut down over hardware. I had to rent gear!

As an editor, I must admit that the M1 fills a gap of severely pent-up demand that some piece of significant hardware is offered to Mac heads like myself and mgrenadier (ask me about my Apple background later, I'm hardcore). No Mac Pros for years, and the snazzy-looking ones they came out with recently are not optimized for current video workflows (Xeon chips. Really?) Early reviews of the M1 machine seemed promising, so I understand why many leaped to get their hands on a rig. My manager dropped one-off in my lap even though I had no intention of getting one for at least a year.

When it comes to hardware and video editing, my experience is that you have to be old school and hardcore - very patient, too - when it comes to hardware and doing the gig. So, I prefer to move slowly and behind the curve, choosing to see other editors' pains and successes before I invest thousands into a computer system that best meets my needs - and right now, my needs are Quick Sync and a massive GPU. These new Macs have plenty of horsepower, but they do not have what I need for H.264 processing. 

I can understand the frustration and disappointment you must be having. Until the application has more work done for its ARM version, you may want to explore alternative workflows that take more advantage of its CPU power. Perhaps using proxies or transcoding might work better for you rather than native Long GOP footage, which to me, is always a pain to deal with in the performance department.

Let me know If you need help developing a better workflow for M1 and the footage you are currently using. We don't yet know what format you are editing with (C200 what? Raw? MXF? H.264? Which flavor?) and could perhaps provide some suggestions.

Thanks,
Kevin