4k proxy files

[thomasz46359103]

I just learned about proxy files as I started shooting in 4k.  No problems before 4K.  I been watching Adobe videos and You tube.  Just does not work.  I seen nothing happening when I click the final OK and no files show up.  How long should this take maybe on of my problems, not waiting hours for two small 4k clips.  What could I possible doing wrong.  I am using a laptop with only 8g RAM but is not this what Proxy files are about?  Please someone............

[R Neil Haugen · Accepted solution]

Creating proxy files on ingest is something you will REALLY need on a small 8GB RAM laptop!

Especially if you're working the 4k files of any drone, phone, DSLR, or other 'device', almost guaranteed that's the long-GOP stuff that is the hardest media on a CPU for playback created. Efficiently written to small space fast on the 'device' by specialized chips, but ... there's only a real compressed I-frame every 9-120 "frames", as in between there are data-sets written referring to pixels that either have changed since the last I-frame or will change before the next I-frame ... or both! These are called p & b frames. The standard practice was a distance of 9-15 frames between I-frames, then extended to 9-30 frames, and some rigs now use 'partial I-frames' to extend the full I-frames up to 120 frames apart.

The CPU has to store the I-frames to RAM, and recall them to compute the rest of a frame from one or more datasets. Nasty load they place on things.

You should use the included Cineform preset for your proxies, and yes, it WILL take some time on that small computer, so you might want to run them overnight if you've got a bunch. Editing however will be much smoother.

DON'T use H.264 proxies, I don't even know why that preset's included.

Neil

[thomasz46359103]

Yes Neil.  Your comments helped me very much.  You were very techical, but the bottom line is yes I can now edit 4K video with my little 8g RAM laptop.  Thanks for your help.

[Kevin-Monahan]

Still having trouble, ThomasZ? Please let us know.

Thanks,

Kevin

[thomasz46359103]

It works thanks to Neil.  I'm a happy Adobe user now.

[R Neil Haugen]

Glad you're working. My laptop is just too slow for PrPro 2018, barely ran 2017 with proxies for 1080 media. Need a new one with serious power.

Edit suite is goid, though.

Neil

[transliminal]

Excuse the ignorant question, but is there a way to create 4K Cineform proxies that will the show up with the same scaling on my Program Monitor as the final original 4K footage would?

My problem is that, if i'm cropping, zooming, etc., and mixing with 1080p footage, while editing, it's not obvious to me how exactly things are going to look, since the proxy files are a different resolution (duh) than the 4k originals.

Maybe i'm missing something obvious? Should i just use the proxy toggle button constantly? ... Something even simpler that i'm not seeing?

Thanks for any help.

Cheers,

J

[R Neil Haugen]

You won't see any difference in screen between the proxy and original media for scaling or anything.

Neil

[transliminal]

But i do, which makes me think i'm doing something wrong. ... Or scaling is the wrong word. ... Basically i see black bars on the sides of my program monitor when using the proxy, while the full 4K originals fill and fit the screen perfectly.

4k no proxy

4k proxy

[MyerPj]

When a proxy is correctly made, you essentially (in the PP monitors) can not tell it apart from the actual footage. IE: When the PROXY DIMENSIONS are correct, there are no bars on the side of the video.

Here's a recent thread where the OP couldn't tell if he was using proxies or not (ie: no bars)

how to tell if proxies are present and connected

You said you were editing 4K, usually it's one of these two

4,096 by 2,160,

3,840 by 2,160

4096 = 1.9:1 (aspect ratio)

3840 = 1.78:1

So a 1024x540 default proxy will work with the 4096 footage, but if you use that with 3840 footage you image when viewing proxies will be squished in and have bars on the side. Just from viewing the 1 frame of your guy in the grey hoodie, obviously it has the bars, but it also appears a bit squished in to me.