Media Encoder slow to export on Mac

[patrickh27764550]

My Premiere Pro Project is extremely slow on Mac when exported with Media Encoder.

Source File:  59.94FPS, 3840 x 2160 ProRes 422

Destination File:  59.94FPS, 3840 x 2160 Pro-Res 422HQ

Mac M1 Ultra 128GB Ram with 20 Cores

Media Encoder version 24.4.1

Premiere Pro version 24.4.1

Video is exporting at about 1 minute per hour.

Any advice is appreciated.  Thanks

[Carlos Ziade]

Can you please provide more info on whether you are using any third party plugins,

or what effects are you using inside Premiere Pro? Is there nesting or adjustment layers?

Anyway try:

If your project has a lot of complex compositions or dynamic links, try using the Render and Replace function to convert these to simpler video files within Premiere Pro before exporting.

Render your timeline before exporting by going to Sequence > Render In to Out. Then, when exporting, check the option to use Previews. This can sometimes speed up the export process.

Sequence Settings -> Video Previews -> Preview File Format (set to QuickTime) -> Codec -> try ProRes,

render then export.

Check renderers in Premiere Pro and Media Encoder.

[patrickh27764550]

The video has the following edits:

1. 15 seconds of black added in the beging and at the end with a cross disolve at both sides.

2. Fading the soind in and out at the begining and end.

3. 2 10-second long text clips added at the begining.

4. A 3rd party plug-in to add clarity to the video as an adjustment layer.

I've changed preview render codec to "Apple ProRes 422"

I'm running the "Render in to out" now.  Looks like it will take over an hour.

I don't understand what you mean by "Check the renderers in Premiere Pro and Media Encoder."

(I've done similar edits before, only using a 1080 video, and it's worked much faster.  I understand the 2160 is 4x as taxing on my computer, but I didn't expect it to go to 10 times as long.)

[patrickh27764550]

Update:  After 35 mins of rendering, when it was about 66% done, it slowed down and is now rendering at about 4 frames per minute.

[Carlos Ziade]

by renderers i mean software only or GPU acceleration (Metal)?

What if you try to export without the third party plugin?(turn off your adjustment layer)

how long is your video?

[patrickh27764550]

The Rendereer is on GPU.

Turning off the adjustment layer sped things up big time - it's down to a 30-minute export.

I like the effect of the plug-in.  What can you recommend regarding that?

[patrickh27764550]

OK - another piece to the puzzle - I have multiple videos to render.  Since I figured I would just have to work through the slow speeds to get what I'm looking for, I set up a second Mac Mini M1, which has significantly less ram and processing power.  The video is exporting on that machine in about 3 hours, much less than the 18 hours I'm getting on  my big machine.  

I'm assuming I have a setting incorrect somewhere.  Any ideas, please share.

[patrickh27764550]

Yet another clue - I opened Media encoder on both machines on 2 different monitors and compared the preferences side by side.  On the machine I want to work on, the Mac Studion, the "Import Sequences Natively" was unchecked.  I checked it sand now am getting a warning about offline files.  I looked online and everyone says just to uncheck that box, but I suspect that whatever is causing the files to show up offline on the Studio is what's causing it to take forever to render.

[patrickh27764550]

OK, the offline file issue was resolved  (I was using files from an external SSD).  However the slow render continues on this machine only.  Any ideas are appreciated.  Thanks

[Carlos Ziade]

is your final exported movie gona be in that resolution?

if not and just Full HD, you can change your sequence settings to Full HD,

and encode your source footage to full HD as well...

If you are going to deliver in that same res, try to export everything without 

the effect on your adjustment layer, then use that export to apply the adjustment layer

with the plugin on. Check if that speeds things up a bit...

Did you try to export directly from Premiere Pro?

Try also to reset the preferences by holding Option when Premiere Pro is launching.

And personally, I always prefer to edit on local drives and keep externals for backups only...

[patrickh27764550]

1.  Did you try to export directly from Premiere Pro?   Yes.

2. Try also to reset the preferences by holding Option when Premiere Pro is launching.  Already Done

3. I also tried the Beta version of Premiere and ME.  No good.

I'll just use my other machine to export for now, since it can export in 3 hours while this machine takes 18.  I'd still like to get to the bottom of this and not have to use workarounds.

[patrickh27764550]

Final will be in 4k

[PaulMurphy]

Why do you need to export ProRes 422 HQ when your source is Pro Res 422?

And can you tell us what this third-party plugin effect is?

Cheers,

Paul

[patrickh27764550]

In all honesty Paul, I know very little about codecs.  I just know that's the one I've always been using.  I'm sure I read somewhere to use that, but it's been a while.

The 3rd party plugin is a clarity enhanser.  https://www.chungdha.nl/?p=4636  this might be it.

[PaulMurphy]

If your source footage is ProRes 422, there will be no quality gain exporting at ProRes 422 HQ. The only result will be a longer export time.

Also, 59.94 fps is a very high frame rate, which will add to your encoding time. Is there a reason you're recording and exporting at this rate?

Even so, it's a real mystery why it's exporting faster on the Mac Mini vs. your Mac Studio. Are they both on the exact same version of Premiere Pro?

Cheers,
Paul

[patrickh27764550]

Sorry for the delay.  I had a few other things to take care of.

1. I was shooting at 59.94 because part of the video has the background moving at a high speed relative to the camera.  I make videos out the windows of planes as they take off and land.

2. After talking with 3 Adobe associates, one recommended that I delete and recreate the adjustment layer - and it fixed the issue.  

I have no idea why it rendered faster on my older computer than my newer beefier onme, but it's remdering at appropriate speeds now.  Both machines have the same version of Premiere and ME, so who knows.

Thanks for the help all.