Rotobrush Test
 

Uploaded a test using the Rotobrush (first scene uses the pen-mask tool for comparison). First time since 2002 that I have used these programs after a long hiatus (Trail Versions).

10,000 Marines Clone Test with Roto Brush

Overall AE CS5 worked well, Premier CS5 crashed a lot (I mean a lot). To the point where I just converted the file to mp4 and posted in on the internet even though there is a blip in the video track. Sigh...

Mac Pro 2GHZ x 4 core, 9GB of Ram
Footage Shot on a D90 (720p 24fps)
CS5 AE and PR used only.

Graeme - this is the 3rd or 4th posting I've seen that mentions frequent crashes of CS5.

Can you give any details or insight as to the cause or situation that leads to crashes?

Your system is ample enough.... I wouldn't suspect hardware performance issues.

Stability is such a cornerstone issue for many.

I guess this is one reason that as much as I'd love to be an early adopter and be the first on my block to have the new tools, I've learned to let someone else be on the bleeding edge. I can feel my enthusiasm cooling....

And stability is what Adobe fails to deliver time after time. I am sure some people will have no problems at all, but I keep having problems on multiple systems with multiple operating systems (Windows XP, Windows 7, Mac OS X 10.5, Mac OS X 10.6). Photoshop and After Effects don't crash very often (practically never), but Premiere Pro and Encore are stability nightmares. Until Adobe fixes them, I am holding of my purchase. I really like what Adobe is doing, but until it is stable, I won't use it to earn my living. What I really don't understand is that they are unstable since CS2, and Adobe has launched CS3, CS4 and now CS5. Every time they let you pay a absurd price for an update, but they don't deliver a stable program. I am patient though, and will testdrive CS5, hope it will be stable again. But I am not holding my breath for updates as they seldom bring stability, only new features and bug fixes.

I really hope Apple does a big Final Cut Studio update as it is lacking behind in features and modern workflows, but in terms of stability, nothing can beat it (for me at least).

My sentiments exactly. Premiere is a no-go from stability standpoint.