Performance issues Premire CS5

Alan Emery · February 8th, 2011, 09:26 AM

I have an update on the memory issue with PProCS5. As I mentioned before, by tidying up all the drivers and updating all the 3rd party programs on which PProCS5 depends, I am able to edit large projects with large nanoflash files.

However, the initial challenge is to import and conform the files. Further work with Adobe technical staff has not solved the problem. They suggest that these files (usually between about 300 MB and 3GB per file, averaging just under 1GB per file) are very large and if there are too many of them imported at one time they reach the limits of the program.

I ran some experiments to see what those limits are. Here is what I found. My RAM size is 16GB.

1) If I import files in sets less than 80% of my RAM size and allow the program to complete both the importing and the conforming process, then let the computer have a short rest (1 minute), you can edit or can import another similar sized set of files without the computer freezing.

2) If I import a set of files that is greater than 80% of RAM, but less than my RAM size, the computer may or may not freeze.

3) If I import a set of files that is greater than my RAM size the computer freezes for sure. I tried allowing the computer to unfreeze itself with a set of files imported at 17.9GB (just about 2GB greater than my RAM size) and it was still unrepsonsive after 45 minutes.

4) I got the impression although could not prove it that if the files are smaller -- less than 1.5GB each (even if the total size of the set is equal), PProCS5 has an easier time dealing with them.

So to summarize, it is best to import and conform nanoflash files in sets of files less than 80% of your RAM size. If the program does freeze because it eats too much RAM, it is faster to end the program and restart the computer than to wait for the memory to become unclogged.

Hope this helps and I will report back if there is any further advice from Adobe.

Alan

Steve Kalle · March 15th, 2011, 11:41 PM

Hey Alan,

I found a semi-stupid temporary go-around for this problem: I open and close a bin while conforming nano files and the ram magically gets cleared. The only caveat is you must keep doing this while the ram usage continues to climb during conforming. With my home PC and 12GB of ram, I went through 36GB of nanoFlash files without restarting Premiere once. If it matters, the bin had XDCAM EX footage in it.

Alan Emery · March 16th, 2011, 12:23 PM

Hi Steve,

I love it!

Can't imagine what contorted programming logic makes that work, but I will definitely use the "semi-stupid temporary go-around" you discovered. It is much more efficient that stopping and starting the entire program.

Alan

Steve Kalle · April 7th, 2011, 02:45 PM

Hi Alan,

Did my semi-stupid temporary go-around work for you? You know you like my name for it :)

Since I last posted about this process, it has not worked for me again :( I have tried multiple projects with various flavors of nanoFlash files and both my home PC (custom built) and my studio HP Z800.

On a side note, have you ever tried converting nano files to Cineform? Apparently, MXF nanoFlash support was added 6 or so months ago to Cineform.

Alan Emery · April 7th, 2011, 06:08 PM

Hi Steve,

I briefly convinced myself it was working, but then it became abundantly clear the "semi-stupid temporary go-around" (I do love the name!) didn't work -- at least it was fun for a few moments to imagine what wildly contorted logic would make that happen.

I have never tried Cineform so I can't offer any observations on that front. Maybe someone else is in the same pickle and can try it out.

Alan

March 15th, 2011, 11:41 PM	#17
Steve Kalle Trustee Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 1,554	Re: Performance issues Premire CS5 Hey Alan, I found a semi-stupid temporary go-around for this problem: I open and close a bin while conforming nano files and the ram magically gets cleared. The only caveat is you must keep doing this while the ram usage continues to climb during conforming. With my home PC and 12GB of ram, I went through 36GB of nanoFlash files without restarting Premiere once. If it matters, the bin had XDCAM EX footage in it.

March 16th, 2011, 12:23 PM	#18
Alan Emery Major Player Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Janetville Ontario Canada Posts: 210	Re: Performance issues Premire CS5 Hi Steve, I love it! Can't imagine what contorted programming logic makes that work, but I will definitely use the "semi-stupid temporary go-around" you discovered. It is much more efficient that stopping and starting the entire program. Alan

April 7th, 2011, 02:45 PM	#19
Steve Kalle Trustee Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 1,554	Re: Performance issues Premire CS5 Hi Alan, Did my semi-stupid temporary go-around work for you? You know you like my name for it :) Since I last posted about this process, it has not worked for me again :( I have tried multiple projects with various flavors of nanoFlash files and both my home PC (custom built) and my studio HP Z800. On a side note, have you ever tried converting nano files to Cineform? Apparently, MXF nanoFlash support was added 6 or so months ago to Cineform.

April 7th, 2011, 06:08 PM	#20
Alan Emery Major Player Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Janetville Ontario Canada Posts: 210	Re: Performance issues Premire CS5 Hi Steve, I briefly convinced myself it was working, but then it became abundantly clear the "semi-stupid temporary go-around" (I do love the name!) didn't work -- at least it was fun for a few moments to imagine what wildly contorted logic would make that happen. I have never tried Cineform so I can't offer any observations on that front. Maybe someone else is in the same pickle and can try it out. Alan

February 8th, 2011, 09:26 AM	#16
Alan Emery Major Player Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Janetville Ontario Canada Posts: 210	I have an update on the memory issue with PProCS5. As I mentioned before, by tidying up all the drivers and updating all the 3rd party programs on which PProCS5 depends, I am able to edit large projects with large nanoflash files. However, the initial challenge is to import and conform the files. Further work with Adobe technical staff has not solved the problem. They suggest that these files (usually between about 300 MB and 3GB per file, averaging just under 1GB per file) are very large and if there are too many of them imported at one time they reach the limits of the program. I ran some experiments to see what those limits are. Here is what I found. My RAM size is 16GB. 1) If I import files in sets less than 80% of my RAM size and allow the program to complete both the importing and the conforming process, then let the computer have a short rest (1 minute), you can edit or can import another similar sized set of files without the computer freezing. 2) If I import a set of files that is greater than 80% of RAM, but less than my RAM size, the computer may or may not freeze. 3) If I import a set of files that is greater than my RAM size the computer freezes for sure. I tried allowing the computer to unfreeze itself with a set of files imported at 17.9GB (just about 2GB greater than my RAM size) and it was still unrepsonsive after 45 minutes. 4) I got the impression although could not prove it that if the files are smaller -- less than 1.5GB each (even if the total size of the set is equal), PProCS5 has an easier time dealing with them. So to summarize, it is best to import and conform nanoflash files in sets of files less than 80% of your RAM size. If the program does freeze because it eats too much RAM, it is faster to end the program and restart the computer than to wait for the memory to become unclogged. Hope this helps and I will report back if there is any further advice from Adobe. Alan