Why cant Premiere playback h264 files when Da Vinci Resolve and Quicklook handle them no problem?

[larsons33339758]

Can anyone at Abode clarify why Premiere wont playback h264 files without stuttering, when the exact same files play just fine in Da Vinci Resolve and even play just fine by hitting the space bar in Finder and just using Quicklook?  This happens with any h264 files I put into Premiere, coming off the same drives, internal or external.

Im running a 2017 iMac, 40gb ram, 8GB Radeon Pro 580 GPU.  

Thanks

[Mike Dziennik]

Do you have GPU acceleration ON in File>Project Settings>General?

[larsons33339758]

Yes GPU acceleration is on.  

[larsons33339758]

So I just found out that Premiere does not use the GPU for playback.  Any reason for this?  Just about every 4k clip I put in here wont play, but they all play totally fine in Resolve.  I much prefer to use Premiere for editing, but if I can just throw 4K into Resolve and it just goes it saves so much time and headache!

[larsons33339758]

I might add this happens to 4k footage coming off my FS7 as well.  I've got a a two angle multicam (one clip FS7 4K and one clip A7 1080) and they wont play smooth at all in multicam.  Not even when rendered.  Stick them in Resolve and they fly like butter.

[R Neil Haugen]

Each of these apps is built around different assumptions for the main user needs for various hardware resources ... so they will always use the hardware differently. Some will handle certain tasks better than others. That's for starters.

That said, in the public beta app they are working on getting some GPU encoding use for more H.264 things. So we'll see how soon this comes into use in the 'regular' version.

Neil

[larsons33339758]

Its a real shame that Premiere wont use the GPU that is just sitting there.  I got this computer thinking it would be able to handle 4K, I was a bit disappointed to find that Premiere couldnt do it.  Then I find that Resolve can just fine.  So the computer is not the problem, it's Premiere's inabilty to use what resources the computer has.  As much as I prefer to edit in Premiere, I'm going to have to switch to Resolve until Premiere can catch up.

[Andy 1968]

Premiere Pro can play 4K H.264 files with or without the GPU acceleration as seen in the video link below. You need a well balanced system. You might have a weak CPU.

https://youtu.be/drF66pgnK7U

[larsons33339758]

I've got a 2017 5k Imac, 40GB Ram (30GB alloted for Premiere), 3.8Ghz i5 processor, 8MB 580 Radeon GPU, plenty of free space on the internal drive where the files are being played from.  

I can play any 4k file in the finder with Quicklook no problem, so the underlying hardware setup is fine.  Resolve plays anything I can throw at it, so again, the compuer is fine.  4K files off my FS7 are usually, but not always, ok in Premiere.  4K H264 files never are without a pre render.  This multicam I have setup now is miserable in Premiere, buttery smooth in Resolve.

No, it is not a weak CPU or the system.  Its something happening in Premiere.  

[larsons33339758]

Here it is, not working at all in Premiere and working as you would expect a video editing system to work in Resolve

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHjbLyZpYtw

[Andy 1968]

As you can tell my system can play it back just fine. With my system Premiere Pro plays 4K H.264 a little better than Davinci Resolve but both work OK. Are you trying to play it back at full resolution with the i5? That being said an i5 from 2017 is considered a weak CPU in 2020. The CPU might be to old to use Intel's Quick Sync as seen in the video link below.

https://youtu.be/pE6t1ryanO4

[larsons33339758]

It wont play it back even at 1/4 resoltion.

Ok, its a "weak" CPU, fine.  I still think you are failing to address my question, why is it that Quicklook and Resolve will play all these files back just fine when Premiere cant?  The system cant be that weak if Resolve and Quicklook can handle the clips just fine.  

[Andy 1968]

You could try downloading a newer GPU driver. That might help.

[Kevin-Monahan]

Not possible on Mac.

Kevin

[Kevin-Monahan]

Larson,

An i5 Gen 7 CPU is at the bare minimum for 4K and even less so for H.264 media. Is it 4K H.264 files you are trying to use? According to system requirements, an i7 is recommended at the minimum. Let us know.

Thanks,
Kevin 

[Christian.Z]

I believe Neil answered your questions. If i'm not mistaken, Davinci uses the GPU at all times because in essence it's a coloring software.

The Mac Preview does nothing else except previewing, when you play in Premiere there are so many things happening in the background for Premiere to be Premiere. 

That's the answer to your question, now if you are looking for a solution, the best course of action would be to rely on proxies, however keep in mind that resolution will not necessarily put a strain on your system as much as bitrate does.