Like I said earlier, Jeff, for all the short form pieces Ive worked on in the last 6 months (30 sec to 10:30 min) none have ever had playback issues. You can see my configuration by my signature.
The next time you need tech support, ask for Vinay. We spent lots of time troubleshooting a very complicated issue. He was knowledgeable and good to work with.And free, unlike Avid support which is $200 a ticket!
Hopefully I will continue the battle you have been fighting if I can get a demo unit of the AJA Ki Pro Mini to test out. Without some alternative to lengthy exporting, Adobe will find Premiere being used by very few professionals if this issue isnt resolved. Premiere Pro has a lot going for it now .I hope to act as a catalyst and get timeline timecode out of the Kona 3 and into the Ki Pro Mini.
Tom Daigon
Avid DS / PrP / After Effects Editor
http://www.hdshotsandcuts.com
Mac Pro 3,1
8 core
10.6.8
Nvidia Quadro 4000
24 gigs ram
Maxx Digital / Areca 8tb. raid
Kona 3