Question for Premiere 6.x knowledgeable people

[imported_Phil]

Hi all,

(Okay, I admit it, I've no idea where this topic should go so it's going in Video )

I'm using Premiere 6.0 to edit a family home video with a MiniDV/Firewire video camera (JVC DVX4, not that it matters), and although capturing footage over Firewire is fine, trying to preview the files is a nightmare.

If I use the miniature preview thing (in the Bins window), which is like, tiny, then it jerks and stutters at about 5fps with no sound. If I use the previewing window (A-B Workspace, either the first or second Monitor), I get the same effect (no sound, too, is that normal?). Playing the clips with Windows Media Player 8 I get the same thing, jerky as hell no matter what size.

However, playing the clips with Winamp 3 at the full 720x576 size produces smooth, fluid, perfect video, with perfect sound (unless I mess up the sync'ing again). Sigh. Of course, this means trimming the In/Out points or producing anything remotely close to an average edit is nigh-on impossible. Time for the hair loss, and I'm only 21 still....

Here's my system specs:
Duron 700 (yes, I know, but it should be okay, right? Not anything great, but okay...)
256Mb RAM (can nick more from other PC if needed)
30Gb + 22Gb IBM disks (both 7200rpm, DMA100 & DMA66 respectively)
TexasInstruments standard OHCI-compliant Firewire card (bizzarely, works fine, despite the warnings plastered all over Adobe's alleged Support site)
TNT2 32Mb AGP card
Standard sound, DVD, CDRW, yada yada...
Latest (can't remember version, am on girlfriend's PC right now) nVIDIA drivers & 4-in-1 drivers

Is my spec the problem? Would using the 6.02 update for Premiere solve this? Maybe switching to Pinnacle Studio v8? Please don't say Premiere 6.5 as I can't afford the lorry-load-sized buckets o' cash that Adobe want for it.

Maybe offline editing using Batch Capture? If that's the solution, how, please? Can't figure it out.

If someone could help me out, I'd be sooo grateful, the DV camera has to be returned to the loanee (is that a word?) very soon and I *must* get this edited back onto MiniDV tape, stat!!

Thanks in advance,

Dopefiend

 

[imported_Phil]

Forgot to mention, it's WinXP, non-SP1 but patched to the gilt.

Dopefiend

 

[AnAndAustin]

I'd say your CPU is prob limiting more than anything else, I haven't heard of a SktA mobo which can't handle at least a Duron 1.2ghz which will give you a great speed boosta nd is well worth the $30ish it costs. If you can take an AthlonXP (older mobos won't) then even an XP1800+ isn't that expensive at all! As for the RAM WinXP is a big hog and will easily eat all 256MB just by booting up, I'd advise adding at least another 128MB if not 256MB, it's so cheap to buy PC133 it makes little sense not to, check out www.crucial.com (256MB PC133-CL2 $30ish). I'd advise a more capable and modern gfx card although this isn't hugely important for what you are doing a Radeon7500 or 9000 ($50ish) if not 9000PRO or 8500LE (great and under $90) are great buys esp if you upgrade the RAM and CPU as that will be one mean PC! I'm afraid I can only really help on the hw side, perhaps someone has more tailored advice regarding all the sw you use.

 

[imported_Phil]

OK, thanks, that's a start at least.

Can anyone advise if this is a common thing with Premiere or is there something I'm not doing correctly?

Thanks,

Dopefiend

 

[NurseMSIC]

Do you still have your digital camcorder plugged in to the DV port and turned on? I found that if mine is, it makes playback very very jittery (on my Pentium 4 at 2.2Ghz). As soon as you turn your DV camcorder off or unplu it, playback is perfect.
That said, i'd still buy a newer, quicker CPU as recommended above.

 

[pulse8]

The CPU has NOTHING to do with this problem.

The problem you're running into is that Premiere is sending the signal back out through the DV port to the camera for external viewing.

To turn it off:

In Premiere, go to Project -> Project Settings -> General.

Then click on Playback Settings and then uncheck Playback on DV Camcorder/VCR. Then press OK to save those settings.

Premiere won't playback on both the video monitor and the computer monitor at the same time, in full motion. It's not your CPU. Your CPU only really comes into play when you're rendering things or playing the video at full screen. As long as it's in the small window, you should be ok. You'll get some hickups along the way, but just cut it however you need to and once you output to the camera again, it'll play just fine.

Just remember that when you play out to the camera to record what you've edited onto MiniDV or VHS, to recheck the Playback on DV Camcorder/VCR and uncheck Playback on Desktop. The computer may stutter if playing to both the camera and the monitor, but it should play flawlessly if it's going directly out to the firewire.