Performance problems on 1TB iPad Pro M4

[alanshi]

Hi, I have been using Rush on my first gen iPad Pro, and found performance was not great, with really choppy playback at times on fairly simple projects. Upgrading to the newest 1TB M4 iPad Pro, I expected these issues to be completely eliminated but was disappointed to find that basically on every transition across clips, Rush will go through about 20 seconds or so of playback where the framerate is just atrocious, super choppy, almost unusable. Is anyone else seeing this? This can't really be a hardware problem can it?

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi @alanshi,
Thanks for the note. Bad performance problems, eh? That's not fun. What kind of media are you editing? Are iOS and Rush updated? Please provide more information so we can help you.

Thanks,
Kevin

[alanshi]

Hi @Kevin-Monahan, thank you so much for the prompt reply. I am a super casual Rush user. I am basically editting GoPro footage (usually 2.7k 60fps) from vacations, and do little more than string together a few clips, pictures, and music with light transitions and maybe tweaking the speed to highlight some portions. Clip lengths are generally anywhere from 10-25 seconds each, with the entire project less than 5 minutes.

Yup, using the latest iOS and Rush (these were just updated when I received the brand new M4).

I only have a few projects (half a dozen or so), and every single one has several segments where the playback seems to drop to maybe 1 frame per second or less (audio is still running fine, and the video eventually catches up and returns to normal).

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi @alanshi,

Thanks for the added info. I feel your footage might need to be transcoded to work with Rush. It could be 4:2:2 10-bit HEVC. You'd need to inspect a file in MediaInfo to know for sure. If that is the case, you may need to use a third-party encoder to create files to edit with. I like to use Shutter Encoder for this task. You probably need to do this work on the desktop, however. I recommend ProRes LT if you have the space (large files but great for performance). If storage is an issue, you can encode files to HEVC or H.264 8-bit 4:2:0.  It is common to use transcoded files in an editing workflow. Native video files coming straight off the camera are often too compressed for powerful computers to play back. That's just the nature of the beast. Try a test and report back. Hope it works!

Thanks,
Kevin

[alanshi]

Thanks, @Kevin-Monahan! I will try that out on future projects to see how it goes. Can you help clarify what encoding I should be targeting before importing to Rush? Are there any alternative approaches (even if requiring multiple tools) whereby I can completely edit my footage without having to go between a desktop and my iPad? One of the main draws for me to use Rush was the convenience of doing this while on the road, and it was a big draw for me over using something like Premiere.

[Kevin-Monahan]

Oh, I can help you with that. Which specs is the camera capable of shooting? Can you shoot in 2K 8-bit 4:2:0? That should work, for example.

[alanshi]

Hi @Kevin-Monahan , I believe my GoPro will produce 2.7K 10-bit 4:2:0 H.264 files (sometimes I also record at 4K 10-bit 4:2:0). What are the maximum specs that you think will be supported for video files before transcoding on a desktop is required ahead of using Rush on an iPad?

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi @alanshi,

Thanks so much for the info and your question. The 8-bit version might be more performant. Let me know what shakes out.

Since you are shooting at a resolution other than the target resolution in the sequence settings, scaling might also strain the iPad's performance. To avoid scaling as you edit and in the export process, you might consider shooting in HD or 4K.

I hope the advice helps.

Take Care,
Kevin

[Kevin-Monahan]

BTW @alanshi - I have worked up a preset for exporting to 2K if you are interested in using the desktop application. That way you can avoid the scaling to 2K export issue on your computer or laptop (it's more performant). Let me know if you or anyone else is interested. I tested it, and it works well.

Cheers,
Kevin

[Kevin-Monahan]

Are there any alternative approaches (even if requiring multiple tools) whereby I can completely edit my footage without having to go between a desktop and my iPad? One of the main draws for me to use Rush was the convenience of doing this while on the road, and it was a big draw for me over using something like Premiere.

By @alanshi

Yes, I understand. I am a Rush user too and really miss the Creative Cloud sync option. We do have a workaround to get Rush projects from an iPhone to desktop, but no known way to move Rush projects back to the mobile device.

As far as transcoding media goes, there may be a way to do it all on the iPad but I have not discovered that yet. Perhaps someone in the community can chime in. I will, however, keep an eye out for such a solution in the meantime.

I apologize for the frustration on this one.

Take Care,
Kevin