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RAM upgrade to edit AVCHD?
I’m new to Premire Pro and I’m having issues with CS4 and native AVCHD footage from camera after edits.
Here’s what I have:
Computer
3.06 Intel core duo imac w/ 4GB (2x2GB) 1067 Mhz DDR3/
ATI Radeon HD 4670 Graphics card
and a NVidia MCP79 AHCI Hard drive (Seagate model#ST31000528ASQ)Camera-Panasonic GH2 shooting AVCHD and Intra-AVCHD
I learned the CS4 doesn’t support Intra-AVCHD so I downloaded the update. My footage freezes, jumps, skips and drops audio. Plays fine in camera or initially but won’t in Premiere. (File size?)
I switched back to using AVCHD which plays fine initially but get hung up with a larger timeline or after exporting.
I would like to be able to edit uncompressed HD (Intra) on this Mac. Is this possible with a RAM upgrade (4×2) or (4×4) and a faster internal Hard Drive?
Thank you for your help! -
4 Replies
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You’re disadvantaged is a few different areas. For starts, CS4 was barely compatible with AVCHD clips. This was resolved with the all-new 64-bit release of CS5, so it and CS5.5 handle pretty much anything natively now.
Next issue is the computer hardware is not up to the task. A Core i7 machine will do well with AVCHD. Memory is not going to make up for other hardware deficiencies on a Core 2 Duo.
Last issue – graphics card. CS5 and newer make use of GPU acceleration, but ONLY with select Nvidia cards, which are NOT available on new iMac or MacBook models. Only Mac option to support GPU acceleration with Premiere is a Mac Pro running a Quadro 4000.
When you say you want to edit UNCOMPRESSED HD, your system will not be up for that either, as uncompressed HD requires a large, expensive hardware RAID to support the data rate.
You might benefit from converting your AVCHD to an intermediate codec like Cineform Neo, try the free trial and test it.
Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor -
Thank you for the tips. I’ll look into to Cineform.
Due to lack of funds (spent most on HD equipment) what would you suggest is the best use of my money?
I’m planning an upgrade to CS5.5 ($500)
RAM from 4G to 16G (cost $90)
a faster drive (cost $190)I can afford these upgrades right away but will any of it help given the limitations of the graphics card?
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For any edit system, you don’t want to capture/play video from the system drive, you should have a second drive dedicated to video only.
As for RAM, additional memory never hurt anyone, it is a good thing.
That said, AVCHD is notoriously demanding to play back, so even if you add the memory and hard drive, those things may have little benefit in your situation. H.264 playback is very processor-intensive, so with the older, slower computer, and the less-efficient 32-bit CS4 that lacks the Mercury Playback Engine, you may never achieve smooth playback with your current hardware, sorry.
Jeff
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Jeff,
Thanks for quickly bringing me up to speed. It’s learning new hard/software systems and trying to trouble shoot can be tough. I appreciate your help! Have a great week!
-Ryan
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