Best video codec for PT 2023

[zakco]

Originally Posted by audiolex1

I meant DNXHD, as I was decoding a H264 just now.

HMm. I remember when the new AVID engine came out and there was a preference called prevent tearing I think.
Maybe untick it? See if that helps?

Are you using a thunderbolt hub with USB on your M2 or plugging directly into the computer. Are there any other drives on the system? Are the SSD?
Are they formatted APFS?

I know these are obvious questions. Trying to get a scope.

Sorry, I missed your reply when you posted. The Samsung SSD is plugged directly into the TB4 ports, no hub in between but I just checked and it's formatted Mac OS Extended from the previous system I used it on, which I hadn't thought to check. When I get some time, I'll copy the data to a different drive and try reformatting it to APFS. Thanks for the suggestion

[zakco]

I'm still having issues with the majority of video files I get. It doesn't matter which drive they're on, i get choppy playback in PT - it looks like it's dropping frames. The same files play back flawlessly in VLC or Quicktime, so it's clearly a PT problem.


Any ideas?

[audiolex1]

Originally Posted by zakco

I'm still having issues with the majority of video files I get. It doesn't matter which drive they're on, i get choppy playback in PT - it looks like it's dropping frames. The same files play back flawlessly in VLC or Quicktime, so it's clearly a PT problem.


Any ideas?

Are you playing it on a second monitor? Or do you just have one monitor?

[zakco]

Originally Posted by audiolex1

Are you playing it on a second monitor? Or do you just have one monitor?

I'm using a second, dedicated display (Sony Bravia) but the problem persists on my main display as well. It is a bit more noticeable on the TV but that's just because of the size I think.

I have noticed that the files that have problems are all coming from less experienced editors and contain a mish mash of sources with quite likely, varying original frame rates. When I get pro level network TV video files (mostly for ADR sessions), playback is perfect, so I suspect there's something in the codec or rendering that's causing PT to have trouble.

[Leverson]

Just echoing general best practices again for Pro Tools and video files.

The best codecs to use are either:
Pro Res Proxy
DNxHD 36

Those will give you the best combination of playback quality and low system stress, and while they are bigger file sizes than H.264 they aren't too crazy.

And then lastly I've always made sure to run my video files from separate drives than my session files. This may be less of an issue in the modern Thunderbolt 3/4 era where there is higher cable bandwidth, but the old rule of thumb is run them from separate drives so that one drive isn't trying to pass both video and audio back and forth at the same time.

And then lastly if you are using separate drives for all of the above and still having problems, make sure the drive isn't starting to fail or lose integrity, a drive that is starting to go bad can throw all sorts of weird glitches and errors out before it bites the dust.

Those are all the most likely culprits/best practices.