AVCHD Import is jumpy, laggy, and skips on Playback? at DVinfo.net

Johnnie Caraballo · July 24th, 2011, 10:44 AM

Hello,
I used my New Sony AX2000 (little brother to the NX5) and after importing my wedding I noticed on playback screen everything looks jumpy and sort of looks like its skipping during playback. Any time of movement or pan looks horrible yet when played on my camera it looks very very smooth.

Does my Preview window on FCPX just show it this way but the final product will be smooth?
Is it running this way because back ground rendering is still going on?

I never had this issue on previous (HDV) camcorders when importing.

Just wondering why nothing is smooth just sort of like playing back a YouTube video were your internet connection isnt fast enough so your video seems to studder - thats what I'm getting.

Very disaapointed.

Johnnie Caraballo · July 24th, 2011, 12:41 PM

Never mind.
Once FCP X finishes rendering at 100% the video plays very smooth in the preview window.

Noa Put · July 26th, 2011, 01:31 AM

Can I ask you what processor type your 8 core Mac has? I was planning to buy a Imac with fcpx but if your 8 core allready struggles that much with native 24mbs avchd footage I wonder how playback will be on a I5 processor during that background render process?

Johnnie Caraballo · July 26th, 2011, 08:50 AM

Hello,
I have the Octo Core 2.8 Xeon Processors.
The footage struggled on playback only while FCP X was rending in the background.
Once I waited for the background to render 100% - my play back was perfect.

I'm not sure if that has anything to do with the amount of System RAM I have (4GB) - other than that I have no issues at all.

Thinking about buying more memory but I'm broke from my camera purchase.
If its a New iMac (2011 Model) you should be just fine running FCP X - not sure about using it during background rendering.

In any case, if you wait you will be just fine : )

Noa Put · July 26th, 2011, 09:02 AM

thx for your answer, that it would work out fine after rendering I"d expect but that means you need a quite powerfull processor for realtime editing during converting like Apple advertizes. I"m curious to know whether other Imac owners have the same problem.

Ben Fullerton · July 26th, 2011, 01:23 PM

I've been working in FCPX on one of the new quad core i7 iMacs, and it's the upgraded 3.4 ghz versions It chokes pretty good if you're trying to edit while background rendering. I think you'd have to have a pretty diesel machine to being editing and playing back smoothly on top of background rendering.

David Knaggs · July 26th, 2011, 04:05 PM

Hi Ben.

I've got a new 3.4GHz iMac coming later in the week. If you don't mind my asking, how much RAM do you have in your iMac?

Ben Fullerton · July 26th, 2011, 04:12 PM

4gb. Shoulda gone for 8...

All in all, I love it. But it definitely can't quite handle everything X is capable of. I would love to see how fast X can be on a machine with big piles of cores and RAM.

David Knaggs · July 26th, 2011, 04:34 PM

Yeah, I've ordered 16 GB for the iMac. It's only about $200 (from a local dealer). I've noticed that OWC in the US has 16GB RAM for about $200 as well.

Ben Fullerton · July 26th, 2011, 08:31 PM

Yeah, I'd love to upgrade that. Well worth the price. Do you know if it voids AppleCare to upgrade RAM if it's not through them? Or are you getting it through apple for that price?

David Knaggs · July 26th, 2011, 09:45 PM

No. Apple charge $720 for 16GB RAM as opposed to the $200 (approx.) that I paid to local Aussie dealer MacFixit.

Apple have instructions on their own website showing how a user can self-install the RAM in an iMac:

iMac: How to remove or install memory

It says at the bottom to call them for help if you still have problems (which is presumably AppleCare?). It looks like Apple have gone out of their way to make it easy for the user to install RAM. But you could always ring them and check if you're not 100% sure about the AppleCare being voided.

Here's the link to OWC (in the US) for 16GB of iMac RAM (it's currently $158 at OWC):

OWC 1333DDR3S16S 16.0GB (4x4.0GB Kit) PC3-10600... in stock at OWC

OWC also have a great video showing you exactly how to install the RAM, step by step:

iMac Installation Video at OtherWorldComputing.com

Ben Fullerton · July 26th, 2011, 10:58 PM

Awesome, thanks! That's definitely an upgrade I'll be doing soon. A lot of bang for the buck!

Johnnie Caraballo · July 27th, 2011, 05:09 AM

I wish that was true for the Mac Pro.
16GB of RAM = $557.00
8GB of RAM = $280.00

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memor...ory#800-memory

David Knaggs · July 27th, 2011, 08:12 AM

Yeah, it's an amazing difference between the 2008 and 2009 Mac Pros (in terms of RAM pricing).

$557 for 16GB for your 2008 Mac Pro.
$184 for 16GB for a 2009 Mac Pro model.

I've no idea why.

July 24th, 2011, 10:44 AM	#1
Johnnie Caraballo Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Coral Springs, Florida Posts: 144	AVCHD Import is jumpy, laggy, and skips on Playback? Hello, I used my New Sony AX2000 (little brother to the NX5) and after importing my wedding I noticed on playback screen everything looks jumpy and sort of looks like its skipping during playback. Any time of movement or pan looks horrible yet when played on my camera it looks very very smooth. Does my Preview window on FCPX just show it this way but the final product will be smooth? Is it running this way because back ground rendering is still going on? I never had this issue on previous (HDV) camcorders when importing. Just wondering why nothing is smooth just sort of like playing back a YouTube video were your internet connection isnt fast enough so your video seems to studder - thats what I'm getting. Very disaapointed. __________________ Sony HDR-AX2000 • Mac Pro 8 Core w/30" Cinema Display & Final Cut Pro X

July 24th, 2011, 12:41 PM	#2
Johnnie Caraballo Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Coral Springs, Florida Posts: 144	Re: AVCHD Import is jumpy, laggy, and skips on Playback? Never mind. Once FCP X finishes rendering at 100% the video plays very smooth in the preview window. __________________ Sony HDR-AX2000 • Mac Pro 8 Core w/30" Cinema Display & Final Cut Pro X

July 26th, 2011, 01:31 AM	#3
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,510	Re: AVCHD Import is jumpy, laggy, and skips on Playback? Can I ask you what processor type your 8 core Mac has? I was planning to buy a Imac with fcpx but if your 8 core allready struggles that much with native 24mbs avchd footage I wonder how playback will be on a I5 processor during that background render process?

July 26th, 2011, 08:50 AM	#4
Johnnie Caraballo Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Coral Springs, Florida Posts: 144	Re: AVCHD Import is jumpy, laggy, and skips on Playback? Hello, I have the Octo Core 2.8 Xeon Processors. The footage struggled on playback only while FCP X was rending in the background. Once I waited for the background to render 100% - my play back was perfect. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with the amount of System RAM I have (4GB) - other than that I have no issues at all. Thinking about buying more memory but I'm broke from my camera purchase. If its a New iMac (2011 Model) you should be just fine running FCP X - not sure about using it during background rendering. In any case, if you wait you will be just fine : ) __________________ Sony HDR-AX2000 • Mac Pro 8 Core w/30" Cinema Display & Final Cut Pro X

July 26th, 2011, 09:02 AM	#5
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,510	Re: AVCHD Import is jumpy, laggy, and skips on Playback? thx for your answer, that it would work out fine after rendering I"d expect but that means you need a quite powerfull processor for realtime editing during converting like Apple advertizes. I"m curious to know whether other Imac owners have the same problem.

July 26th, 2011, 01:23 PM	#6
Ben Fullerton Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 95	Re: AVCHD Import is jumpy, laggy, and skips on Playback? I've been working in FCPX on one of the new quad core i7 iMacs, and it's the upgraded 3.4 ghz versions It chokes pretty good if you're trying to edit while background rendering. I think you'd have to have a pretty diesel machine to being editing and playing back smoothly on top of background rendering. __________________ Fullerton Images - Vimeo - FaceBook

July 26th, 2011, 04:05 PM	#7
David Knaggs Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 826	Re: AVCHD Import is jumpy, laggy, and skips on Playback? Hi Ben. I've got a new 3.4GHz iMac coming later in the week. If you don't mind my asking, how much RAM do you have in your iMac?

July 26th, 2011, 04:12 PM	#8
Ben Fullerton Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 95	Re: AVCHD Import is jumpy, laggy, and skips on Playback? 4gb. Shoulda gone for 8... All in all, I love it. But it definitely can't quite handle everything X is capable of. I would love to see how fast X can be on a machine with big piles of cores and RAM. __________________ Fullerton Images - Vimeo - FaceBook

July 26th, 2011, 04:34 PM	#9
David Knaggs Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 826	Re: AVCHD Import is jumpy, laggy, and skips on Playback? Yeah, I've ordered 16 GB for the iMac. It's only about $200 (from a local dealer). I've noticed that OWC in the US has 16GB RAM for about $200 as well.

July 26th, 2011, 08:31 PM	#10
Ben Fullerton Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 95	Re: AVCHD Import is jumpy, laggy, and skips on Playback? Yeah, I'd love to upgrade that. Well worth the price. Do you know if it voids AppleCare to upgrade RAM if it's not through them? Or are you getting it through apple for that price? __________________ Fullerton Images - Vimeo - FaceBook

July 26th, 2011, 09:45 PM	#11
David Knaggs Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 826	Re: AVCHD Import is jumpy, laggy, and skips on Playback? No. Apple charge $720 for 16GB RAM as opposed to the $200 (approx.) that I paid to local Aussie dealer MacFixit. Apple have instructions on their own website showing how a user can self-install the RAM in an iMac: iMac: How to remove or install memory It says at the bottom to call them for help if you still have problems (which is presumably AppleCare?). It looks like Apple have gone out of their way to make it easy for the user to install RAM. But you could always ring them and check if you're not 100% sure about the AppleCare being voided. Here's the link to OWC (in the US) for 16GB of iMac RAM (it's currently $158 at OWC): OWC 1333DDR3S16S 16.0GB (4x4.0GB Kit) PC3-10600... in stock at OWC OWC also have a great video showing you exactly how to install the RAM, step by step: iMac Installation Video at OtherWorldComputing.com

July 26th, 2011, 10:58 PM	#12
Ben Fullerton Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 95	Re: AVCHD Import is jumpy, laggy, and skips on Playback? Awesome, thanks! That's definitely an upgrade I'll be doing soon. A lot of bang for the buck! __________________ Fullerton Images - Vimeo - FaceBook

July 27th, 2011, 05:09 AM	#13
Johnnie Caraballo Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Coral Springs, Florida Posts: 144	Re: AVCHD Import is jumpy, laggy, and skips on Playback? I wish that was true for the Mac Pro. 16GB of RAM = $557.00 8GB of RAM = $280.00 http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memor...ory#800-memory __________________ Sony HDR-AX2000 • Mac Pro 8 Core w/30" Cinema Display & Final Cut Pro X

July 27th, 2011, 08:12 AM	#14
David Knaggs Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 826	Re: AVCHD Import is jumpy, laggy, and skips on Playback? Yeah, it's an amazing difference between the 2008 and 2009 Mac Pros (in terms of RAM pricing). $557 for 16GB for your 2008 Mac Pro. $184 for 16GB for a 2009 Mac Pro model. I've no idea why.