Eric Addison
Forum Replies Created
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Not sure how to help being that I’m not a Mac user, but you’re right in that you shouldn’t need anything from FCP to use XDCAM EX footage. The footage should connect.
Can you import any XDCAM EX footage into the OSX version of PPro…can you import in the BPAV folder and see the footage?
—Eric
Owner | 100 ACRE FILMS
https://www.100acrefilms.com -
“Actually, i think that the lack of H.264 (Canon DSLR) presets is completely unrelated to licencing reasons.”
Are they not in the trial version PPro? I had heard that they were…
—Eric
Owner | 100 ACRE FILMS
https://www.100acrefilms.com -
“@Eric – who are you? ”
I’m just a guy who edits with PPro…I do run the local Premiere Pro User Group.
I can’t say how things used to be with Adobe, but I can say that things seemed to have changed quite bit since then. They are eager to hear what users think, and they do listen.
As for a disclaimer about the trial, it’s right there on the bottom of the page where you download the trial…
“*The trial version of Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 does not include some features that depend on software licensed from parties other than Adobe. For example, some codecs for encoding MPEG formats are available only with the full version of this product.”
Now, I would agree that this needs to be a little clearer, but it is there. And I agree that Adobe should change the trial version to be complete, or get rid of it.
As for Avid – my bad…I was given bad information. I’m not trying to mislead anyone, or post bad information. I asked someone who gave me obviously the wrong info.
I responded to the posts here to try and help, and to share some information. You’re right – you and Eric M. have every right to vent your complaints and gripes. Don’t let me stop you. But for the benefit of other users, I thought I’d try and shed some light on what was going on.
I’ve been lucky to have had the chance to play with CS5 for some time now, and I can tell you…this isn’t the PPro you may have used in the past. It’s really, really good. Much more stable, lots of improvements, and Mercury is just amazing. People can post here about how it’s the same old PPro, blah, blah, blah. But unless you’ve used this version, I don’t think it’s fair to make critical comments about it. I’ll admit, previous versions have been less than perfect. And this one isn’t perfect either (no NLE is) – but it’s a hell of a release. The best one ever in my opinion, and I’ve been using Premiere since 1996. It’s what I use to make a living, and it’s never let me down.
But if you want this thread to just be a rant-fest, then I’ll just step aside and let you all have at it. Again, I was just trying to help out.
—Eric
Owner | 100 ACRE FILMS
https://www.100acrefilms.com -
@ Lance – It’s not a matter of Adobe being short-sighted. It’s a matter of them not wanting to have to pay the huge license fee to allow MPEG technology to be in the trial version. I know if it were up to them, they would want you to be able to use it, but as they have to pay a license fee for each copy of PPro, they can’t afford to just give it away. What Adobe does do is offer a 30 day money back guarantee. If you’re not happy, just return it.
Also, you’ll notice that both Apple and Avid don’t even offer trial versions – so at least Adobe is willing to let you try out most of PPro.
@ Eric -I think Adobe really has done a great job this time around talking to users, and communicating with them about what they will need for CS5 (64bit OS, video cards, etc.). They’ve got video demos all over the web showing what CS5 can do. Now, if you are referring to the trial not being able to support MPEG based codecs, they do have it stated on the trial download page what the limitations are.
As a long time PPro user, I see this every release…EVERY release. And as much as some of us users have lobbied to have Adobe not issue a trial because users always complain about this, they continue to do it because they want people to have the option to try it. I can understand that, but as we move into a world where most cameras are shooting with some form of MPEG based codec, they finally might need to re-think the whole “trial” version.
Hope that helps!
—Eric
Owner | 100 ACRE FILMS
https://www.100acrefilms.com -
“So, since the only way that CS5 will seem to benefit me is if I buy a $4000.00 Quadro card…”
Not true at all. I’ve got it running on my laptop without CUDA acceleration, and I still get the benefit of the Mercury Playback only it’s not as powerful at with the Quadro or GTX card.
As an example, I laid down some greenscreen footage shot XDCAM EX 1080 30p on a timeline, used the new Ultra keyer, and the keyed footage played back in realtime without needing to render. I could not do that in CS4 (or FCP).
Now, if you don’t have that powerful of a system, your results may vary – my laptop is a i7 920 2Ghz with 8GB RAM and a GTX 230M 1GB video card. But just know that you don’t need the Quadro is see improved playback…it just won’t be quite as powerful as with the card.
Oh, and you don’t need to spend $4000 for a card – the GTX 285 is around $400, and the Quadro 3800 is about $700.
—Eric
Owner | 100 ACRE FILMS
https://www.100acrefilms.com -
Hey Eric,
With some of the MPEG based formats (AVCHD, XDCAM HD,etc.) the reason there is no support in the trial is because Adobe has to pay a licence fee for each copy that that contains MPEG support. If they included it in the trial, it would cost them a fortune. It’s rough I know, but I understand why they can’t…as for RED, I assume it’s the same thing – or something similar.
As for how CS5 handles AVCHD, from my experience so far it’s very good. Better then CS4.
—Eric
Owner | 100 ACRE FILMS
https://www.100acrefilms.com -
Thanks!
Ahh…sorry, I was responding to the original poster who had 4GB of RAM. 8GB should be fine – that’s what I have in my workstation and it cuts the footage fine. Are you running a 64 bit OS? That helps too.
Yes – copy the whole BPAV folder from the SxS card to your drive, then in PPro, use the import folder selection and choose that folder.
What I normally do on shoots with more then one card worth of material is create (on my hard drive) folders called Card 1, Card 2, etc., and then as I dump footage I put it in those separate folders…you don’t want to combine BPAV folders. Then once in PPro, I just import the whole “Card__” folder. That way the footage is somewhat organized in my bin.
Hope that helps!
—Eric
Owner | 100 ACRE FILMS
https://www.100acrefilms.com -
From what I understand, it does…there is a lot of metadata in there that (again, from what I understand) helps PPro. You’ll get an error message when importing that it doesn’t know what to do with all those extra files, but just skip past it. It’ll then import in all the footage from the folder.
Looking over your specs, your RAM isn’t the highest, but I’ve cut XDCAM EX footage on my laptop with 2GB and not had any problems – although I did adjust the playback to draft for smoother playback. Having more RAM always helps.
—Eric
Owner | 100 ACRE FILMS
https://www.100acrefilms.com -
I’m wondering if the way you are importing the footage has something to do with your problems. You really should import the whole BPAV folder straight from the SxS card – not doing that (from what I understand) can cause problems.
I shoot with an EX3, and edit it all in CS4, and that method has always proven to provide a smooth editing experience.
—Eric
Owner | 100 ACRE FILMS
https://www.100acrefilms.com -
What does PPro CS5 have that FCP doesn’t – Mercury Playback Engine. See it work, then tell me that PPro hasn’t gained ground on(or passed) FCP.
PPro works great for me – it’s my goto NLE, and it’s never let me down.
Quick story from this past weekend – on a shoot with my EX3. Over lunch, the client asked to see the footage. I pulled the SxS card, put it into my laptop, and without even copying the footage from the card, I cut together the first four scenes in PPro and showed him this “rough cut”. It played back smooth with no problems – again, all playing native right from the SxS card…sorry – can’t do that in FCP.
FCS has some great features, is dependable, and it has large market share. But I just got back from NAB, and a LOT of people were talking about PPro CS5. Before anyone just writes it off, you should really check it out – it’s really amazing.
—Eric
Owner | 100 ACRE FILMS
https://www.100acrefilms.com