Quick question re: Premiere Pro CC and MacBook horsepower... at DVinfo.net

Scott Wilkinson · February 25th, 2015, 03:49 PM

Hi All:

I just bought a brand-new (mid-2014) MacBook Pro, maxed-out on specs for video editing. Here are the specs...

• 2.8GHz Intel Core i7
• 16GB 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM
• solid state drive
• NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2048MB

That's as pumped-up as a MacBook can currently get. And it handles basic editing in Premiere Pro CC effortlessly...except...I've noticed that when doing pan & scan moves on still photos, playback/preview is REALLY herky-jerky. Not smooth at all.

The final video after export looks good---pan & scans are nice and smooth. Changing display quality in Premiere doesn't make any difference---moves are still herky-jerky.

The still image size I work with is pretty big (like 5184x3456px) just to enable me to push in more on the images. But they're JPEGs so file size is pretty small (like 700K to 1.3MB).

Any ideas or suggestions? As long as exported video looks good I guess I can live with it, but it's hard to judge pan & scan moves accurately when preview is so jerky.

It doesn't seem like doing moves like this on still photos would be processor-intensive (they're just stills, after all)...but maybe they are? And maybe my MacBook is just too slow?

Thanks!
Scott

Andy Wilkinson · February 25th, 2015, 03:54 PM

You are using a fast external drive (e.g. a G-Tech RAID 0) via, ideally, Thunderbolt 2 or USB3 for your project media, right?

Scott Wilkinson · February 25th, 2015, 04:10 PM

Hi Andy—nice to see another Wilkinson here! :-)

No, I'm not using a fast external drive at the moment (but could get one). I assumed (perhaps erroneously) that the Apple SSD in my MacBook was plenty fast enough. But now that you mention it, I've never even checked to see how fast it is?

If a fast external drive (like the G-Tech RAID 0) makes all the difference, then I will get one! :-)

Scott

Pete Bauer · February 26th, 2015, 10:06 AM

Scott, having always been a PC user, I bought the same machine to test the Apple waters.

Sorry to say I haven't put it through its paces yet to see how it really does with complex PPro projects, but I doubt the SSD is the bottleneck. I ran the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test on mine (the 1TB SSD), and as I recall it was somewhere around 950+ MB/sec.

Speculating, but wondering if it is using the Intel graphics, rather than the nVidia card, during your still image manipulation on the timeline? I'm not on the Mac right now, but I think in computer's system settings (not in PPro) you can change from automatic switching between Intel and nVidia graphics. Might be worth a quick try, anyway.

February 25th, 2015, 03:49 PM	#1
Scott Wilkinson Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Eugene, OR Posts: 183	Quick question re: Premiere Pro CC and MacBook horsepower... Hi All: I just bought a brand-new (mid-2014) MacBook Pro, maxed-out on specs for video editing. Here are the specs... • 2.8GHz Intel Core i7 • 16GB 1600 MHz DDR3 RAM • solid state drive • NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 2048MB That's as pumped-up as a MacBook can currently get. And it handles basic editing in Premiere Pro CC effortlessly...except...I've noticed that when doing pan & scan moves on still photos, playback/preview is REALLY herky-jerky. Not smooth at all. The final video after export looks good---pan & scans are nice and smooth. Changing display quality in Premiere doesn't make any difference---moves are still herky-jerky. The still image size I work with is pretty big (like 5184x3456px) just to enable me to push in more on the images. But they're JPEGs so file size is pretty small (like 700K to 1.3MB). Any ideas or suggestions? As long as exported video looks good I guess I can live with it, but it's hard to judge pan & scan moves accurately when preview is so jerky. It doesn't seem like doing moves like this on still photos would be processor-intensive (they're just stills, after all)...but maybe they are? And maybe my MacBook is just too slow? Thanks! Scott

February 25th, 2015, 03:54 PM	#2
Andy Wilkinson Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Cambridge UK Posts: 2,853	Re: Quick question re: Premiere Pro CC and MacBook horsepower... You are using a fast external drive (e.g. a G-Tech RAID 0) via, ideally, Thunderbolt 2 or USB3 for your project media, right? __________________ Andy K Wilkinson - https://www.shootingimage.co.uk Cambridge (UK) Corporate Video Production

February 25th, 2015, 04:10 PM	#3
Scott Wilkinson Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Eugene, OR Posts: 183	Re: Quick question re: Premiere Pro CC and MacBook horsepower... Hi Andy—nice to see another Wilkinson here! :-) No, I'm not using a fast external drive at the moment (but could get one). I assumed (perhaps erroneously) that the Apple SSD in my MacBook was plenty fast enough. But now that you mention it, I've never even checked to see how fast it is? If a fast external drive (like the G-Tech RAID 0) makes all the difference, then I will get one! :-) Scott

February 26th, 2015, 10:06 AM	#4
Pete Bauer Wrangler Join Date: May 2003 Location: Eagle River, AK Posts: 4,100	Re: Quick question re: Premiere Pro CC and MacBook horsepower... Scott, having always been a PC user, I bought the same machine to test the Apple waters. Sorry to say I haven't put it through its paces yet to see how it really does with complex PPro projects, but I doubt the SSD is the bottleneck. I ran the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test on mine (the 1TB SSD), and as I recall it was somewhere around 950+ MB/sec. Speculating, but wondering if it is using the Intel graphics, rather than the nVidia card, during your still image manipulation on the timeline? I'm not on the Mac right now, but I think in computer's system settings (not in PPro) you can change from automatic switching between Intel and nVidia graphics. Might be worth a quick try, anyway. __________________ Pete Bauer The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. Albert Einstein Trying to solve a DV mystery? You may find the answer behind the SEARCH function ... or be able to join a discussion already in progress!