Using Proxies as Optimized Media to finalize and export

[Guest]

I have tons of footage in XAVC-HS UHD 10 bit which has mediocre playback performance.

So I would prefer to work in prores.

Now I could transcode all my source footage to Prores 422 UHD BEFORE import, but this could cause some trouble later on if I want to archive the project and relink to the compressed files, plus I loose metadata from my sony files.

As there is no "optimized media" function in premiere like in FCPx I was wondering if its possible to just use proxies as optimized media.

Wich means I create a proxy preset for high quality transcoding like Prores 422 UHD and then just work with those proxies all the time and even on export select "use proxies". So I have my original files only as a backup or a fallback option.

Is this possible or will it cause problems later on?

Will the export quality be affected by using those high quality proxies on export?

[Guest]

I just rendered all proxies to ProRes UHD 10 bit and suddenly and scrubbing is still superfast like ine ProRes Proxy but I constantly get small dropouts of a few frames now. Strange performance and disk speed should be fine and I didnt have those dropouts on the original XAVC-HS codes, which is much more processor intensive..

[Guest]

Very strange.. when I disconnect my breakout box BM Ultrastudio 3G the skipping is gone.. BUT if I leave it connected and just disable proxies it plays back smoothly without those tiny jumps. (Although skimming around the timeline is not that fast without proxies..) Does anybody know whats going on? Shouldnt the output of premiere always be the same if I work in the same timeline? All should be converted to a 1080 25i output stream so the video file format shouldnt really matter. Or am I missing something?

[R Neil Haugen]

I've seen a number of issues concerning playback performance between BM signal devices and Premiere ... both here and on the BM forums. And frustration that some things that should work don't seem to do so as well as they should.

And that's among highly experienced  folks in using both the BM kit and Premiere together. That's ... bothersome. That folks that have been doing this (at least mostly) successful for some time are now struggling with the combinations.

@WesHowellPPro or @Bruce Bullis  ... anyone on the team have any suggestions or questins?

[Guest]

Thanks for your help! With ProRes Proxy UHD or ProRes 422 HD playback doesnt seem to stutter.. I think its only in ProRes 422 UHD. 

[Bruce Bullis]

"Should" is a very slippery word, at best tangentially related to actuality. 🙂

My under-informed suspicion is that BMD's transmit plugin is choking on the different frame sizes in use, when proxies are active.

[Guest]

Sorry for always comparing to FCPx, but there have never been any issues there. Is this a dedicated Adobe-Plugin from BMD or is it the BMD Desktop Video app that all NLEs are using?

[Bruce Bullis]

BMD and AJA have written plugins for PPro, that support their devices. 

[R Neil Haugen]

I've seen that posited as a cause on both LGG and the BM forums also, Bruce ... especially as some have noted that on X or Y framesize sequences, there's rarely a problem. But ... sequence with both X and Y ... problem ... or one or two framesizes, not much problem, but more than that, problem.

But they've been sporadic posts, without good solid reported troubleshooting. Sigh.

[Guest]

Just set up a new project.. Playback is stuttering with UHD 50p Footage in a 50p Timeline with output to BMD Ultrastudio Monitor 3g active, no matter if I generate Proxies or not. If I work in a UHD Timeline with UHD footage and select "downconvert" to 1080i in the playback setup of video output it works fine. In a 1080 25i timeline, playback stutters only with proxies, not with original media.. strange.. So working completely in UHD is fine but this could cause massive render files if I have to render the timeline in the end.

[Mike McCarthy]

I believe that your outlined solution should work, when selecting Use Proxies to Export, but why wouldn't you instead use the proxies functionality the way it is designed?  If you create Prores Proxy files in HD or UHD, for good playback response, and then export from the camera originals, the results should be higher quality (one less generation) and much less disk space wasted on duplicate media (ProResHQ at UHD is much larger than your source files, with no increase in quality).  Plus it should work better with your UltraStudio.

[Guest]

I was expection that different frame sizes cause problems as mentioned here. So I was hoping that sticking to ONE framesize - which means only UHD would make thinks easier..

Plus most performance issues come up at the final stage of editing, when I have to apply all effects and color correction - and this is the last stage where I definitely need to see my footage in full quality. I would like to avoid constand rerender or render and replace..

[Indie767]

Don't bother If you are creating proxy files from. MFX media. Media Encoder does not like .MFX. In any case, I find creating proxy files a useless excerise.  For one, once created, you have to import the Proxy file folders into your project manually which is a pain to organize if you have a lot of media bins. Two: Proxy files do not speed up editing as Pp still needs to render the orginal master files. It is not reliable tool. Not sure why this is even a feature. Transcode your media to a lower bit rate files. Once you finish editing, replace with the orginal media.