MOV files with CS4
 

I am trying to edit .mov files using Premiere CS4. They import fine, and it allows me to drag them down to the timeline. Once I tap the spacebar to play the preview will play fine for the first second or two then it becomes very very jerky. I would guess it is playing at 10-12 frames/second.

If I tap the spacebar to stop the playback and then immediately start the playback it will play fine for 1-2 seconds then very jerky.

I am really pulling my hair out on this one, I have just upgraded computers and have a fresh install, my last computer edited mov files with no problem. Heck I even threw the files on my Macbook air and it edit fine with imovie.

I am on Vista 64, i7 920, with 6 gigs of ram. My quicktime is up to date.

If someone could help I would really appreciate it.

Thanks,
Todd

Alright well I found a work around, if I add a transition and then render the files everything seems to play smoothly after the render.

It's unfortunate because it is really going to slow me down, I would have never thought I would be able to edit better on my MacBook Air then Premiere Pro on an 8 core machine.

If anyone has any other ideas please let me know.

Thanks,
Todd

Sounds like your hard drive can't keep up. By rendering, PP builds pre-rendered files designed for smooth playback. I have no real comprehension of what's going on in the engine room with this. All I know is that I can take very lightly compressed .mov files that won't play from an internal SATA II drive without stuttering, render them, and then they play just fine.

You don't indicate the compressor you're using inside the QT wrapper. That'll make a huge difference in the data rate for the video you're trying to play. For example, the Animation codec is effectively lossless but creates huge files and would need a fast array of drives to play smoothly. On the other hand, h.264 compression should be easily playable because it's highly compressed with a low data rate.

Check the codec you are using and its parameters. That should get you started on the road to a solution.

I've only tried one quick test clip with a short .mov file from the Canon 5DII, and it was sluggish as you describe (my current system is CS4 w/o Cineform, Vista x64 on a QX6700 with 8GB RAM), whereas AVCHD and Canon F mode play smoothly in the timeline until effects are added, which per normal for HD requires rendering.

I suspect that Mac/FCP is optimized for .mov, whereas it is just "suppported" but harder to handle for Adobe. But again, my experience with .mov is VERY limited.

Thank you both for the reply.

It is a H.264 compressed MOV file. It is off of a cheapo Aiptek handycam.

I have installed the codecs that came with the camera and no success. It just really bugs me becase before I upgraded computers I never had any playback problems, so much for an upgrade.

I can drag in clips from the HMC-150 (sample clips that Mark Von Lanken posted) and they playback fine. No studdering.

My boot drive is a raptor 10k drive, I only have 16gb free, I know this isn't very much. Is this a problem? I have the projects stored on WD 1 TB Black drives. They are mostly free.

Thanks again.

Drive speed is no problem for H.264, but this is distribution codec, and VERY taxing for CPU to playback. AVCHD is a pain and unless you have a REAL beefy 8-core machine, you wont be able to play these files back, and editing will be really painfull. I recommend converting these files to QT Motion JPEG or DVCPROHD for editing.

I would suggest making an "AVCHD with Premiere" pinned topic, as AVCHD is becoming (unfortunately) a widely available codec and question regarding crop up pretty often.

See that's the thing I do have a beefy 8 core machine, as I remember I never had a problem with the files on my old quad core.

When I look at my task manager my processor is hardly getting used. Maybe 25% Even when I render out files it is only getting ysed around +/-45%

I could convert the files but it would take an extra step, and extra time.

Either way, H.264 is NOT a codec of choice for editing and guarantees a painful experience.

A faster computer is always better and an intra codec version of a clip will edit faster, but Jiri, you are overstating things. See my comments earlier in this thread.

Well I solved my problem, yesterday I ordered a new drive for my OS, had it sent in overnight, because I was ready to pull my hair out. The raptor I was using was getting old and is very loud, I can live with both but I can't live with only 74gigs. I ordered the new velociraptor 10k 300gb drive.

I did a fresh install of vista 64 along with all of my other programs and now it is playing smoothly, without rendering.

Not sure if I had some confilcting codecs, or if a little breathing room in the drive did the trick.

Thanks for everyone who helped.

Please DON`T EVER install any codec packs on video production system. They WILL mess up your computer. If you absolutely need to, install ffdshow.

quicktime intermediate codec
 

I'm having the same issue with my latest and fully loaded MacBook Pro. I don't think it's either hard-drive or any other transcoders. Apparently Premiere doesn't like quicktime intermediate codecs.

For small .mov file you should be able to playback nicely in Source window without rendering it. Render .mov in timeline and you should be able to edit and playback nicely. The major issue to me is that I cannot edit in multi-cam monitor if I add any .mov (quicktime) file in the sequence. It is way to stuttered and choppy.

Isn't quicktime primary codec for NLE in Mac? I just don't get that. If this is the fact, Adobe shouldn't have released the product for Mac. Any thoughts? Thanks!