PT 8.0.4 still problems with Video Stutter with HD 1080 file

[Eric L]

Anyone know the status of this? I was told that PT 8.0.4 was going to fix the video stutter issues. But it has not.

Mac Pro Dual 2.66
Snow Leopard 10.6.3
PT LE 8.0.4
Second Monitor playback
Plasma set to 1080p in the Mac System preferences

Video plays fine in PT on main display. Plays fine in QT on the plasma.

Does not play fine in PT on the Plasma. Infuriating.

Keeping me from upgrading facility to PT 8.

What is the solution? Anyone?

[DigiTechSupt]

Originally Posted by Eric L

Anyone know the status of this? I was told that PT 8.0.4 was going to fix the video stutter issues. But it has not.

Mac Pro Dual 2.66
Snow Leopard 10.6.3
PT LE 8.0.4
Second Monitor playback
Plasma set to 1080p in the Mac System preferences

Video plays fine in PT on main display. Plays fine in QT on the plasma.

Does not play fine in PT on the Plasma. Infuriating.

Keeping me from upgrading facility to PT 8.

What is the solution? Anyone?

This sounds like an Apple issue that we logged with them awhile back and we're working with them on a fix. I don't have any info from them (they're usually pretty mum on that) about when it may be implemented though.

[Eric L]

Ugh.

Thanks for the reply.

With all due respect, (sincerely) I would suggest that this should be better documented by Avid in the release notes of the PT Software Updates.

It may be an Apple issue (as you state) but it detrimentally affects the performance of the Avid software, thus, making it an Avid issue as well.

I'm happy to hear Avid is working with Apple on this, but it does not help me now. I made a decision to purchase PT 8 and Complete Production toolkit based on the assumption that it would work as advertised. I did my research and due diligence and this information was not available to me.

Frankly, this issue is unacceptable for a professional video and audio company like Avid.

[Nathan W.]

It is infuriating. Had the same issues and for kicks decided to purchase a blackmagic to see if it worked better and I was astonished. Go out and purchase a blackmagic extreme video card, I'm pretty sure this will fix your problems. Had a colleague look at how well the video played back and he's like, "this is protools?" It looks like you're watching t.v. which is really what audio-post people need. We can't have skipping frames / choppy playback when trying to check for dialogue sync! Make sure to 2-pop a video file because it does cause a video delay but once that's fixed you should be good.

[DigiTechSupt]

Eric - believe me, I'm with you on all sentiments. Unfortunately some of these Quicktime issues have been heinously difficult to tease out - some of these weren't even traced to an OS issue until 8.0.4 was out.

We even had issues with BlackMagic until 10.6.3 and 10.6.4 addressed some of them (and I think BM updated their driver to address a few as well..).

We completely understand the importance of having solid video and we've dedicated our best engineer plus a few other top engineers to the job but, as I said, they've been a real bear to nail down and some of them have been out of our hands. 8.0.4 addressed as much as we could do on our end (with a few minor exceptions that we're working on for a later release or CS update, but which aren't problematic to the point of pain - most people will never see them.).

You may think it unacceptable - but what would be a reasonable recourse for us? Do we just not sell Pro Tools at all until these issues are fixed? I don't think that would fly with the Avid board. I'm not refuting your statements, as I think they're valid, but sometimes the reality of what we're facing is at odds with staying in business.

[Eric L]

Originally Posted by DigiTechSupt

You may think it unacceptable - but what would be a reasonable recourse for us? Do we just not sell Pro Tools at all until these issues are fixed? I don't think that would fly with the Avid board. I'm not refuting your statements, as I think they're valid, but sometimes the reality of what we're facing is at odds with staying in business.

Fair enough. What I find unacceptable is the lack of documentation of the problem, not Avid's efforts to fix it. I truly believe that engineers are working hard to solve the issue. And of course, not selling your product until its perfect is not realistic either. (that may never happen )

But you do have the forums as a tool to announce other types of things. I don't remember seeing too many Digi/Avid announcements regarding software bugs or issues.

The compatibility docs are usually pretty good at informing us of any conflicts or systems not supported. But when it comes to known issues like this one, which has been reported on the boards in various different scenarios previously, the lack of information is deafening.

It is hard enough for us users to keep up with all the compatibility requirements. To have this type of serious bug appear unannounced and undocumented is truly unacceptable. Playing video is what Avid does! Video and Audio in that order. So I would expect QT playback to work as it has always worked. I understand that problems happen and this is all very complex, but telling us about it is easy.

I have been informed by a colleague that upgrading to 10.6.4 may fix my issue. I will give this a try this weekend.

I should not have to purchase a third party video card in order to keep the functionality that previous software versions have, and that I have built all of my stages around.

I would love to have video satellite with a Blackmagic card on all of my stages, but the economics of that are not currently realistic. My clients and I find the extended desktop functionality adequate for the job. Except when it doesn't work.

End of Rant.

(with a few minor exceptions that we're working on for a later release or CS update, but which aren't problematic to the point of pain - most people will never see them.).

Please, please, please let one of these issues be removing the top white bar on the video window. It does not have much of a purpose and really looks bad on a large screen.

[Eric L]

Originally Posted by Eric L

I have been informed by a colleague that upgrading to 10.6.4 may fix my issue. I will give this a try this weekend.

For the record, this did not alleviate the problem. I'll be waiting for future fixes I suppose.

[tom_lowe]

1) why is Avid the only manufacturer that is having issues with QuickTime playback and

2) as a temporary fix, why don't Avid recommend users disable Beam Sync via Quartz Debug?

[tom_lowe]

This may seem drastic, but seeing as the software you bought didn't work as advertised, therefore in the UK at least, it would be going against the sale of goods act, as the goods do not meet their advertised description as well as not being fit for purpose.

Maybe legal action will all of a sudden make Avid find a fix for this?

Originally Posted by Eric L

Ugh.

Thanks for the reply.

With all due respect, (sincerely) I would suggest that this should be better documented by Avid in the release notes of the PT Software Updates.

It may be an Apple issue (as you state) but it detrimentally affects the performance of the Avid software, thus, making it an Avid issue as well.

I'm happy to hear Avid is working with Apple on this, but it does not help me now. I made a decision to purchase PT 8 and Complete Production toolkit based on the assumption that it would work as advertised. I did my research and due diligence and this information was not available to me.

Frankly, this issue is unacceptable for a professional video and audio company like Avid.

[Eric L]

Originally Posted by tom_lowe

2) as a temporary fix, why don't Avid recommend users disable Beam Sync via Quartz Debug?

For those who may benefit from further information...

Disabling Beam Sync does not remedy the problem at all.

Also, after further testing, when the second display is set for 1080i or 1080p any resolution video will stutter when played back.

However, if I set the display to 720p and convert the video to 720p, then the video plays back fine. As does 480p video. 1080 video still stutters if trying to fit it in a 720p window (which I would never do practically but for testing only).

Anyone want to guess how long it takes to convert a 90 minute movie from 1080 to 720 on a Quad Core Intel Mac Pro?

I sort of feel like I'm late to the party. A few colleagues have commented to me that "oh yeah, that's what you gotta do". But hell if I could find any documentation about this.