I wish FCPX adopted these Premiere Pro features

[Steve Connor]

I hope you’ve sent that list via the feedback form!

[Oliver Peters]

I have.

– Oliver

Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com

[Steve Connor]

So it’s not just me, the UI responsiveness in PPro is much better for you as well?

[Michael Hancock]

[Steve Connor] “So it’s not just me, the UI responsiveness in PPro is much better for you as well?”

PPro is WAY more responsive than FCPX for me, using the same machine and same footage for comparison. Selecting clips, moving them around, waveform drawing, playing at double and triple speed, and basic editing commands all seem to have small delay in FCPX, whereas in Premiere it’s immediate (except playing in reverse – terrible lag in Premiere).

I just started using FCPX with 10.2.1, which is supposed to have improved the responsiveness a lot, right? I can’t imagine what it was like prior to that. I find myself waiting for the program to catch up quite often.

—————-
Michael Hancock
Editor

[Oliver Peters]

I’m finding the same thing, even on the newest machines. Simple things, like clicking on a different effects category in the filter palette. That should be instant and it’s not in FCPX.

– Oliver

Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com

[Bill Davis]

I’m not sure it’s fair to do a “responsiveness” assessment outside the context of the hardware involved.
My older big expensive desktop system is an arthritic turtle compared to my current generation laptop. And I suspect that Intels Skylake rev will change the editing fluidity dynamic yet again. (Tho honestly, I can’t imagine things getting any smoother in my work today)
You want silky smoothe UI performance? The latest off the shelf hardware is waiting that can absolutely give you that.
So the question you are really testing is “what software runs smoother on my older hardware?”

Which is fair, but a question that only really matters while you HAVE older hardware – and vanishes when you no longer do.

I’m sure some will quibble about having to work directly with 4, 6, or 8k originals and bogging down, but that’s why programs have proxy workflow options. And IME, I often forget whether I’m in Original or Proxy mode since modern Proxies can look so amazingly, astonishingly good.

Just another opinion.

Know someone who teaches video editing in elementary school, high school or college? Tell them to check out http://www.StartEditingNow.com – video editing curriculum complete with licensed practice content.

[Steve Connor]

[Bill Davis] “I’m not sure it’s fair to do a “responsiveness” assessment outside the context of the hardware involved. “

Yes it is as most people aren’t using “the newest machines”

[Bill Davis] “You want silky smoothe UI performance? The latest off the shelf hardware is waiting that can absolutely give you that. “

I believe Oliver is talking about performance on the newest machines as well

[Bill Davis] “So the question you are really testing is “what software runs smoother on my older hardware?”
“

No we’re not.

[Bill Davis] “Which is fair, but a question that only really matters while you HAVE older hardware – and vanishes when you no longer do.”

I believe it doesn’t vanish when you do, I’m sure it improves but there is still a difference and as you are so fond of pointing out Bill we are people who actually USE both

[Michael Hancock]

[Bill Davis] “I’m not sure it’s fair to do a “responsiveness” assessment outside the context of the hardware involved.”

My experience is on a 5k iMac that was purchased 2 months ago. Processor upgraded to the 4GHz i7, 32GB RAM, upgraded 4GB graphics card, 1TB Fusion drive. So everything maxed out except the system drive (could have been upgraded to an SSD). The footage is ProRes 422 or 444 from the Amira, both HD and 3.2K. Storage is a PROMISE Pegasus2 R6 12TB Thunderbolt 2, about 40% full. So in my case, the hardware is as new as you can buy from Apple with storage that far exceeds what is necessary to playback my edit.

[Bill Davis] “Which is fair, but a question that only really matters while you HAVE older hardware – and vanishes when you no longer do.”

That hasn’t been my experience. I have all new hardware, and on my set up the Premiere UI (CC2015) is noticeably faster than FCPX (10.2.1) with the exact same footage and the exact same edit. I even took a FCPX timeline, exported an XML, took it through XtoCC and imported it into Premiere to ensure I had an accurate and fair comparison. And the Premiere UI was more fluid and responsive than it was in FCPX.

Are you seeing different results? You just got the new 15″ Retina, didn’t you? Is FCPX more responsive than Premiere on that machine?

—————-
Michael Hancock
Editor

[David Roth weiss]

[Bill Davis] “I’m not sure it’s fair to do a “responsiveness” assessment outside the context of the hardware involved.

I certainly hope Apple is paying Bill – if not, then we know for sure the Koolaide is spiked.

David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor/Colorist & Workflow Consultant
David Weiss Productions
Los Angeles

David is a Creative COW contributing editor and a forum host of the Apple Final Cut Pro forum.

[Bill Davis]

Are you seeing different results? You just got the new 15″ Retina, didn’t you? Is FCPX more responsive than Premiere on that machine?

—————-
Michael Hancock
Editor

I can’t do a fair comparison since I don’t use Premiere Pro. All I can say with confidence is that for the past 3 months, the only time I’ve had anything but near instantaneous UI performance was that situation I wrote about elsewhere when I imported 10,000 GoPro Timelapse stills into X and noticed that my Project launch slowed WAY down until I Shared the Timelapse into a master and dumped the stills out of my Library. Even then, the edit performance was fine, just really sluggish library loading until I got the original stills out. I’m helping a guy on another site and he has sluggish Library performance as well. We just discovered he has a 7.5 hour stringout in a single project file. I bet the render files for that in his Package Contents are what’s bogging his system down, but we’re testing the hypotheses now. Basically, this is just like running NLEs has always been. You’ve got to learn understand your program’s quirks if you want the smoothest experience. And it’s why if one person says “my timeline is slow” it’s smart to hear from others as to whether theirs is as well. On my laptop my timeline performance is currently wicked fast. Not because I’m a fanboy, David. Exactly the opposite. I’m a fanboy BECAUSE my X system is running that well.

Know someone who teaches video editing in elementary school, high school or college? Tell them to check out http://www.StartEditingNow.com – video editing curriculum complete with licensed practice content.