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Sliding sync issue when screening video exported from Premiere
Hi there – I recognize that this question might not be entirely related to Premiere but hope someone might have an answer for me. I exported a 45 minute video from Premiere using Match Source – High Bitrate setting. It was screened for the first time last week and there was an issue with sliding sync. I’ve never had this happen before. Unfortunately I was not present and do not have access to the person who was running the video. I did tell them to make sure to drag the mp4 from the USB onto their desktop and to play it from there. The mp4 was about 8 GB. What would have caused the sliding sync? Could it have been an issue with not enough RAM, old computer, old version of Quicktime? Is there anything I can suggest to stop this from happening again? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Adding this – would it make any difference to run the exported version through Hand Break and check off “Constant Framerate”? Or would it be better to use VLC instead of Quicktime? Just grasping at straws here ….
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7 Replies
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Hey Wendy,
How frustrating.
Did you do spot check on the file before handing it over?
Always, a good idea to do.
More to the point, the people who showed the file, should have spot-checked whether it was in sync before arrival of the audience.However, if it’s in sync on your timeline, it should have been in sync on playback file.
Did you render direct to the USB drive?
Are you PC or Mac (Guessing PC, but would be good to know your specs)You might have thought it finished, but managed to disconnect the drive before the file closed (unlikely, but it does happen).
CBR (Constant Bit Rate) at that kind of size file is always a good place to start.
Maybe also supply a medium size file, in case the system can’t hack it.
Buffering in the background of playing back the file, could potentially be an issue.When it comes to Digital Cinema, there is a number of places that it can go wrong, including to what kit was between the play-out device, and the projector and speakers.
And, QuickTime player is no more – even Apple has discontinued it.
H264/H265 and/or ProRes is the formats to use these days. Unless you have a format that you prefer and know is working.Hope that this helps.
Atb
Mads -
Thanks so much for your reply. I originally exported it onto a LaCie harddrive and then transferred the file to the USB. I did spot check it and the video was fine so that’s why I am perplexed. I use an older iMac and am editing on Premiere 24.5.0 … Since the first screening my colleague has tested it on her macbook pro and it plays through from beginning to end without an issue. I’m hoping she’ll screen it from this computer next time. I had originally given her two files – one exported for Vimeo (lower res) and one exported at highest resolution. I’ve suggested she compare both when she’s set up for the screening and if the quality difference isn’t huge she should use the mp4 exported for Vimeo. Really hoping it doesn’t happen again but wish I could figure out why …
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Hey Wendy,
If it works on your system, and it works on your colleagues MacBook Pro, then short of being in the actual room yourself, there is nothing that you can do to fix what has already happened.
Best thing is to ask the place that did the play-out for their file specs, and maybe inquire as to what kit that they are using.
Question to ask is whether your colleague handed over the file, and if the person doing the playout, dragged the file into a thirdparty software like OBS or similar – should not have made a difference, but it could have done. Same goes if the video plays at fps, and the audio plays in milliseconds in units. Or, maybe someone took it up on themselves to transcode the video to another format, like DCP or similar.As you were not there, you can’t possibly guess what might have gone on.
But lesson to learn is either to ask for specs from the people playing out the file, or bring your own player (MacBook Pro or similar).
Atb
Mads -
Hi,
It is most likely from their playback computer and USB drive – if they played it from USB.
As it is a 45-minute video, it is a long duration for lower-spec systems to play 45 minutes without dropping frames. And always go for CBR exports.
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Thanks so much Devrim. When you say “always go for CBR exports” is there a way to do this within Media Encoder or should I do it afterwards with Hand Break?
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Yes, of course, either in Premiere or Media Encoder, you can select CBR or VBR, it is under the video section of export settings where you enter a bit rate for your encoding. It is always healthier to choose CBR as this is a constant encoding option throughout the entire video.
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Thanks Mads … I know they are screening it again today using their own computer, and they have watched it through with no sync issues, so fingers crossed all goes well. The first screening was at a community centre and I’m guessing it was user-error with the computer (likely they tried to just play it off of the USB). Unfortunately it’s another city so I can’t be there. Fingers crossed it goes better today and I can stop worrying! Thanks again, Wendy
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