FCP slowdown on dual G4 -- any reason why? at DVinfo.net

Rob Moreno · December 10th, 2003, 10:38 PM

Has anyone experienced extremely sluggish performance on FCP 4 after editing a project to some extent? I'm working on a dual G4 800 with 1.5 GB of RAM at work, and every time I get part way into a project my system slows down to a point where it's virtually unusable. For example, just moving a clip in the timeline results in the "preparing for display" progress bar to show for about one minute! I've found that by reducing the viewer window to about 25% helps to a point, but after making more edits and sequences, the problem comes right back. Disabling external video doesn't help. I used to experience similar behavior in After Effects, but after restarting the application everything would run fine for about an hour before slowing down again. In FCP, the slowdown is present as soon as I open my project. I don't think it's a hardware problem, because I had the same experience using a dual 1.25 G4.

Jeff Donald · December 10th, 2003, 11:22 PM

How full are your drives? How big is your project, how many scenes, clips. If you've moved media you might try relinking your media. This problem has also been associated with longer projects (but not always) clips with speed effects (but not always), more Ram always helps, shorter timelines seem to help.

If all else fails or perhaps for a quick fix delete these files:

Your Hard Disk>Users>Your User Name>Library>Preferences Folder.
Inside the Preferences folder, com.apple.FinalCutPro.plist (move to trash).
Inside the Preferences folder find the Final Cut Pro folder and delete these two files>Final Cut Pro 4 Preference file and
Final Cut Pro v POA Cache (move to trash)

Now empty your trash. Then go to Applications>Utilities>Disk Utility and repair permissions on the startup drive. If it reports a lot of files repaired run it two or three times. Restart your computer.

Check your FCP settings, some may have reset to default settings. But they were possibly corrupt and causing your troubles. If this helps please post back.

Glenn Chan · December 10th, 2003, 11:52 PM

Hmm I ran into the situation. What helps:

Going from 256MB of RAM to 512MB to 756MB

Lowering the number of clips into the timeline. If you take one clip and make 9 edits, that becomes 10 clips.

Not using as much nesting. Cutting nests up slows down FCP dramatically.

FCP3.0.4/OS 10.2/DP500 Yikes G4

I've heard cutting and pasting would help. PVFD afflicts a lot of people.

Workaround: Edit in smaller chunks (use seperate sequences) and splice completed footage together using nests or reference movies.

Andrew Hogan · December 11th, 2003, 01:16 AM

Yes I have had the same problem, "Preparing for display", (Dual 800 G4, 768MB Ram) on a big project 90 minutes, 5 tracks of video, and LOTS of cuts on a Live concert 5 camera shoot. I figured little methods to avoid this slow down at the time such as deleting a clip instead of changing its opacity etc, according to my vague memory.

Rob Moreno · December 11th, 2003, 09:09 AM

Well, I guess it's good to know the problem isn't just with my system. I'll give the suggestions a try and let you all know what happens.

Thanks a lot, you guys are a great help.

Andrew Hogan · December 11th, 2003, 05:05 PM

... and yes cutting and pasting instead of dragging a clip to a different position too.....

December 10th, 2003, 10:38 PM	#1
Rob Moreno Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Tokyo Posts: 102	FCP slowdown on dual G4 -- any reason why? Has anyone experienced extremely sluggish performance on FCP 4 after editing a project to some extent? I'm working on a dual G4 800 with 1.5 GB of RAM at work, and every time I get part way into a project my system slows down to a point where it's virtually unusable. For example, just moving a clip in the timeline results in the "preparing for display" progress bar to show for about one minute! I've found that by reducing the viewer window to about 25% helps to a point, but after making more edits and sequences, the problem comes right back. Disabling external video doesn't help. I used to experience similar behavior in After Effects, but after restarting the application everything would run fine for about an hour before slowing down again. In FCP, the slowdown is present as soon as I open my project. I don't think it's a hardware problem, because I had the same experience using a dual 1.25 G4. __________________ Media Kobo Japan

December 10th, 2003, 11:22 PM	#2
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	How full are your drives? How big is your project, how many scenes, clips. If you've moved media you might try relinking your media. This problem has also been associated with longer projects (but not always) clips with speed effects (but not always), more Ram always helps, shorter timelines seem to help. If all else fails or perhaps for a quick fix delete these files: Your Hard Disk>Users>Your User Name>Library>Preferences Folder. Inside the Preferences folder, com.apple.FinalCutPro.plist (move to trash). Inside the Preferences folder find the Final Cut Pro folder and delete these two files>Final Cut Pro 4 Preference file and Final Cut Pro v POA Cache (move to trash) Now empty your trash. Then go to Applications>Utilities>Disk Utility and repair permissions on the startup drive. If it reports a lot of files repaired run it two or three times. Restart your computer. Check your FCP settings, some may have reset to default settings. But they were possibly corrupt and causing your troubles. If this helps please post back. __________________ Jeff Donald Carpe Diem Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Where to Buy? From the best in the business: DVinfo.net sponsors

December 11th, 2003, 09:09 AM	#5
Rob Moreno Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Tokyo Posts: 102	Well, I guess it's good to know the problem isn't just with my system. I'll give the suggestions a try and let you all know what happens. Thanks a lot, you guys are a great help. __________________ Media Kobo Japan

December 10th, 2003, 11:52 PM	#3
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	Hmm I ran into the situation. What helps: Going from 256MB of RAM to 512MB to 756MB Lowering the number of clips into the timeline. If you take one clip and make 9 edits, that becomes 10 clips. Not using as much nesting. Cutting nests up slows down FCP dramatically. FCP3.0.4/OS 10.2/DP500 Yikes G4 I've heard cutting and pasting would help. PVFD afflicts a lot of people. Workaround: Edit in smaller chunks (use seperate sequences) and splice completed footage together using nests or reference movies.

December 11th, 2003, 01:16 AM	#4
Andrew Hogan Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Canberra AUSTRALIA Posts: 169	Yes I have had the same problem, "Preparing for display", (Dual 800 G4, 768MB Ram) on a big project 90 minutes, 5 tracks of video, and LOTS of cuts on a Live concert 5 camera shoot. I figured little methods to avoid this slow down at the time such as deleting a clip instead of changing its opacity etc, according to my vague memory.

December 11th, 2003, 05:05 PM	#6
Andrew Hogan Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Canberra AUSTRALIA Posts: 169	... and yes cutting and pasting instead of dragging a clip to a different position too.....