Pro Tools HD 11.3.1 and Video playback

[Branko]

Hi everyone,
I am trying to achieve a stable, responsive video playback from my PT rigs. At this moment, it seems it isn't possible.
Am I missing something?
Here's my setup:
Mac Pro 5.1, 12-core, 3-something GHz, 32 GB Ram.
Mac OS 10.9.5
2x HDX card
2x Madi I/O, 1x 8X8X8 I/O
Blackmagic Decklink 4K extreme
SYNC HD
Pro Tools HD 11.3.1

What is the best (or at least, working) OS / Desktop video combo at this moment?

Thanks in advance
Branko

[Chief Technician]

Originally Posted by Branko

I am trying to achieve a stable, responsive video playback from my PT rigs.

What is unstable and unresponsive with your current setup? One of the systems where I work is a

• MacPro5,1
• 2.66 GHz 12-Core
• 32 GB RAM
• ATI HD5770
• Mac OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.5
• Decklink HD Extreme 3D+
• Desktop Video v10.2.3
• Pro Tools v11.3.1
• HDX
• 8x8x8 IO

The system described above is stable and responsive.

[paulo m]

I work with a similar setup but with Decklink Studio cards, same drivers I guess. Video is stable, although we mostly work in SD, using video encoded in PROres from AVID Media Composers. What exactly are you experiencing?

[thierryd]

Originally Posted by Chief Technician

One of the systems where I work is a[LIST]
[*]Mac OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.5

This might be a key element.
I always keep our PT systems on the lowest compatible Mac OS.
Our PT10 TDM rigs run more happily with 10.6.7 than with 10.8.5 (although for some reasons, like Source Connect, 10.8.5 is needed).

The other thing is the BM drivers; every 10.x version I tried did something wrong, so I always reverted to 9.x, which is what I'm still using on our HDX2 system, similar to your setup (PT11.3.1, 2010 Westmere Mac but OS10.8.5), although it's the simpler Intensity Pro card.

Greetings,

Thierry

[Branko]

Thank you all for your suggestions, they pointed to the right direction - I started experimenting with various BM Desktop Video versions and finally found the v. 10.2.2 to be very stable and glitch - free, at least on my system. The video speed is now stable and there's no pause between hitting "play" and the actual beginning of playback.

[kwa]

I find a lot has to do with the video codecs. Prores and h264 work well

[peterle]

...also the graphics card may be an issue , the gt120 often
used in 4.1 and 5.1 macpros is known (at least for me) to
be problematic , ati 5770 and 5870 ( same age) or better a newer one ,
are much better.