Struggling with DJI Mavic 3 H.265 video files on new MacBook Pro (2025) in Premiere Pro

Report · Apr 17, 2025

Just wondering if anyone else is running into this: I recently got a new MacBook M4 Pro and I'm trying to edit 10-bit H.265 (HEVC) footage from my DJI Mavic 3 in Adobe Premiere Pro. Everything is fully updated—macOS, Premiere Pro, firmware. But playback in the timeline is terrible. Constant stuttering, even with 1/4 resolution and hardware decoding enabled. Sometimes it does not play at all ... (see attached video)

These exact same MP4 files play smoothly on my older Windows desktop in Premiere. No proxies needed. Files are UHD (3840x2160), 29.97fps, 10-bit, Rec.709 — standard stuff from the Mavic 3.

Anyone else dealing with this? Is it just Premiere on macOS struggling with DJI’s flavor of H.265? Would love to hear if anyone found a reliable workaround (besides transcoding everything to ProRes).

Report · Apr 17, 2025

Hi @Parafox2000 ,

Sorry to hear you're facing this issue. Could you please share some of the problematic media or project files? That would help us recreate the scenario locally and provide more accurate suggestions.

Thanks,
Mayjain

Report · Apr 21, 2025

Same exact issue here. I beleieve it started just a short while after the most recent Premiere update, because these files were verified all working fine previous to that somewhere around a week ago as of this post. Again, I was able to edit them perfectly without ay delay around a week ago. The issue is NOT limited to realtime playback. It will render the media the same way if you render it out. Meanwhile PPRO BETA version does NOT have the issue in its current release.

My current workaround has been to have to create an HQ transcoding of the file in Media encoder and replace footage in the project andit plays fine. Ive atatched a small clip in the file format noted from the DJI MAVIC 3 PRO.. using the same codec as the MAVIC 3 uses in this instance. Wouldbe great if this would get resolved asap because portingthe projects to BETA means I cannot open them in the standard program again until the release version is greater than BETA currently is so they are locked to BETA then 😞

Report · Apr 21, 2025

Have you tried deleting the Media Cache after closing all projects? This seemed to be the issue with my machine:

To delete all media cache, select File > Close All Projects. Now select Preferences (Windows)> Media Cache and Settings (macOS) > Media Cache.

Report · Apr 21, 2025

UPDATE:

it appears to work again after the 2nd time I cleared ALL media cache databse files.

must have been something that got changed after they were already cached?

anyway, apparently second times the charm. might want to give it a try Parafox2000