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Using MOV files in Premiere
Hey, guys! I have a fast computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Windows XP Pro, Premiere 2.0 Pro, 2 GB RAM, and a fast video card. I have a bunch of Apple DV mov files from Final Cut. Some of the file sizes are large (around 5gb). Premiere has a huge problem working with mov files. As soon as I import them, Premiere conforms them. I assume it writes it to the RAM. It slows down my entire computer to the point where I can’t use it. Is there a better way to work with Apple DV mov files in Premiere or do I have to convert the mov files to Microsoft dv avi files using After Effects? Even when I do that, I lose quality. Kind of like copying VHS to another VHS. Ideas?
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11 Replies
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Premiere doesn’t support quicktime, unless they were exported from Premiere on a PC.
The cheapest, esiest way. Get a copy of Qquicktime pro. From there, you can convert the files to DV, or uncompressed AVI.
Vince
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Well, I use After Effects and/or Cleaner XL. The 5gb mov file grows to 25gb with uncompressed AVI. The DV stream of MOV works well in Premiere? Any loss of quality?
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[DangerZone1223] “I use After Effects and/or Cleaner XL. The 5gb mov file grows to 25gb with uncompressed AVI.”
Try rendering out to Microsoft DV/DVCam avi format. It pretty much just repackages the data into the avi file. I always use QuickTime Pro as Vincent suggested. But I usually only have one or two files.
You can stick with the QT files in Premiere but you won’t get realtime performance. The system should get less sluggish after all the imported QT files are conformed but it will still be
less snappy than if you use avi files.Dave
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Wait a moment….
I have no problem using Quicktime files from a Mac. It is easier when I import one and then export it immediately to DV AVI and use the new file in my project. But I have no problem doing that.
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Use AE to convert QT to uncompressed AVI.
Another thing, I’ve notice is AVI files are always faster to encode on PC side. It may not be a PPro issue but may be QT/Windows interface. For example MPEG-2 encoder would take four time more time to encode the QT then AVI ver of the same QT on same PC. -
Steven,
I’ve got to tell you, I exported a DV mov a while ago to my hardrive from a client and Premiere wasn’t happy with it. Pops on the audio track, and out of sync after a few minutes, both not present in FCP. I did have more success with the animation codec, but it could certainely be an issue on my side.
Vince
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What gets me is why Premiere doesn’t play nice with MOV, but supports an outdated format (AVI).
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DV AVI is pretty much a file transfer from how MiniDV is stored on the tape. How is that outdated? It is no different than Quicktime Dv from a Mac other than the wrapper around it. As I said, I can capture DV on a Mac, bring it to a PC, and use it in Premiere Pro. FCP can’t do that with a DV AVI, so which program is more advanced in that respect?
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Don’t forget that Quicktime is an Apple product, and for several years, Premiere has been a PC product. Not sure what you man by outdated on the AVI side. AVI was here first, and it’s here to stay. Most of us use it every single day. The fact that Apple chooses to ignore it in FCP doesn’t make it outdated, it just leaves Steve Jobs ego untouched 🙂
As Steven said, there isn’t any difference between DV Mov and AVI mov, except for the packaging, but using Quicktime to convert to DVAVI is really fast as well. It doesn’t work for me either, maybe a system issue.
Vince
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I have an FCP system and a Premiere Pro system running side by side and I often take DV AVIs from the PC and edit on the Mac. I will sometimes take DV MOV files from FCP and cut them on the PC. The DV MOV files are a bit sluggish in Premiere but it is still useable.
I think the hardware is key. The FCP system is a MacPro quad Xenon, the PC is a 3ghz P4. It is understandable why the PremPro machine gets a bit bogged with the QT files.
Sometimes the Premiere Pro and After Effects is the place to do the work, sometimes FCP is.
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