Green Flash frames in ProRes HQ 2k sequence crash

[Scott Robert]

Are you viewing it on a video monitor? It should be fine monitoring on that. I think the green flash only happens on the computer monitor.

[Kelvin Hutchins]

Hi Scott

I am viewing on a video monitor but also on my computer monitors as i am needing to scroll through material and edit and this green makes this impossible.

It happens on all edits that are over 2k in frame size. It is so strange if i drop the clips into anyting lower in frame size – 1920×1080 it is fine.

Kelv

[Scott Robert]

Are you seeing green in the video monitor? If so, that’s not common. I read somewhere that it may be the graphic card and it needs to be 512MB.

Mine is 256mb card and not all my footage is in green. I don’t know why it’s random. Maybe the files sizes varies, I don’t know. The green ones don’t show via the video monitor from the AJA HD card. I transcode via FCP Log & Transfer.

But I read that someone upgraded their graphic card and it solved the problem.

[Stuart Bruce]

I’m afraid I don’t have a solution and that this is a “me too!” post- I’ve started getting green flashes on playback.

However I’m working at 1080i using ProRes files generated using QuickTime Pro from image sequences, and outputting through a BlackMagic card. This suggests that it isn’t specifically a Kona issue or a Red issue or a 2k issue, as I’m not using any of those.

It wasn’t happening to me a couple of weeks ago, which means I have a couple of things I will check out to see if I can find out why it’s started happening now, and I’ll post if I get anywhere. In the meantime I’ll watch this thread with interest.

[Gary Adcock]

[Stuart Bruce] “‘m working at 1080i using ProRes files generated using QuickTime Pro from image sequences, and outputting through a BlackMagic card. This suggests that it isn’t specifically a Kona issue or a Red issue or a 2k issue, as I’m not using any of those.”

nope never was a kona issue either.

Those green flashes mean your machine is not keeping up with the ProRes de-compression on output.
from your note trying to deliver 60i content from a true progressive data stream is not something the BMD card can handle.

green flashes durning playback with ProRes materials are encode-decode errors from the CPU and have nothing to do with Cards.

gary adcock
Studio37
HD & Film Consultation
Post and Production Workflows

Inside look at the IoHD
https://library.creativecow.net/articles/adcock_gary/AJAIOHD.php

[Stuart Bruce]

[gary adcock] “from your note trying to deliver 60i content from a true progressive data stream is not something the BMD card can handle.”

Yep, this seems the case. The key being ‘progressive’. The default timeline set-up had Fields set to ‘none’, and the card was doing a decent job of playing it back, but with green (incidentally that would be 25p as we’re in the UK). Now that I’ve spotted it and set it back to Upper Field dominance, all appears to be well again so far.

Thanks

Stuart

[Todd Vanslyck]

I’m having TERRIBLE problems, screen intermittently turns green, computer crashes. A dozen times a day at least. I’ve checked my memory with the Apple Hardware Test (extended), re-installed FCP studio 2. I’m working with mixed footage (stock, EX1 footage, digitized from tape). I’m seriously at my wits end because I cannot nail it down. Apple Care hasn’t been much help either.

Mac G5 2×2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon
OS Version 10.5.5
Final Cut Pro Studio 2
After Effects 6.5
Photoshop CS3
Sony EX-1

[Alex Elkins]

Gary,

I realise this is a relatively old thread, but your answer has shed some light on a problem I’m having. The link seems to be that the flash frames appear with progressive footage – I’m actually working with a sequence rendering ProRes (progressive), shot as XDCAM EX 1080/25p. I’ve also noticed it with the transcoded Red footage I’ve used, which is also progressive.

However, you say it’s an issue with the CPU not keeping up… really!? I’m using an 8-core 3.2GHz Mac Pro, plus 16GB RAM and a good, solid RAID 5 over e-SATA which has so far never dropped a frame. If an Apple endorsed codec doesn’t work properly on a top-end system like that then there’s something very wrong with the way Apple are currently operating.

Best,
Alex Elkins

[Gary Adcock]

Alex
as a moderator, I get every single post in this forum sent to my mailbox.

[Alex Elkins] “working with a sequence rendering ProRes (progressive), shot as XDCAM EX 1080/25p. I’ve also noticed it with the transcoded Red footage I’ve used, which is also progressive.”

First off RED footage can be true P but the EX footage is always going to be PsF, if you encoded this as true P – there are some caveats with the workflow.

You say transcoded, you did this is as a software transcode on this same machine using what L&T or did you use compressor? OR was the content transcoded with a different set up like FCP (bad)?

[Alex Elkins] “you say it’s an issue with the CPU not keeping up… really!? I’m using an 8-core 3.2GHz Mac Pro, plus 16GB RAM and a good, solid RAID 5 over e-SATA “

With original post – yes it was an issue with the hardware config, it usually is. I do disagree that your machine should have no problems. My question is the flash frame every viewable in the QT file when not playing, ie: can you park the playhead on a green frame, if so then it was the encode to prores that is to blame, if it is only apparent during playback then there is something amiss with your configuration that is causing the issue. ( always look at the RAM first here)

Also -all the hardware spec in the world doesn’t mean a thing without the correct software versions for the OS, QT, FCP, capture card.

gary adcock
Studio37
HD & Film Consultation
Post and Production Workflows

Check out
https://www.aja.com/kiprotour/

Inside look at the IoHD
https://library.creativecow.net/articles/adcock_gary/AJAIOHD.php

[Alex Elkins]

Hi Gary,

Thanks for responding.
[gary adcock] “you did this is as a software transcode on this same machine using what L&T or did you use compressor? OR was the content transcoded with a different set up like FCP (bad)?”

The transcode was done using L&T.

[gary adcock] “is the flash frame every viewable in the QT file when not playing, ie: can you park the playhead on a green frame, if so then it was the encode to prores that is to blame”

I’m able to pause on a green frame. The strange thing though, is that the green frames aren’t always in the same place – if I restart FCP and start getting the green frames again, they don’t always appear on the same frames.

[gary adcock] “all the hardware spec in the world doesn’t mean a thing without the correct software versions for the OS, QT, FCP, capture card.”

OS 10.5.7
FCP 6.0.5
QT 7.6.2
Kona 3 Firmware Version: 2008/10/01
Kona 3 Driver Version: 6.0.3

Could there be a discrepancy with the above setup? I remember the most recent update for Quicktime that I installed was listed as including inmproved support for ProRes, but alas it doesn’t appear to have changed much.

Thanks for taking the time,
Alex Elkins