n3nto
Level 1 (19 points)

Q: Dropped Frames consider using proxy mode

The message:

 

Many video frames were dropped during the last playback.

The disk does not appear to be fast enough.

Consider using proxy mode

 

 

I am resonably new to FCP X so I cant tell whether this is new (after update) or if its a known problem and how to solve it. I have seen a couple of other posts that suggest its new.

 

 

iMac

Core i5

2.7GHz

8GB RAM

Snow Leopard

Posted on Feb 5, 2012 11:54 AM

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n3nto

Q: Dropped Frames consider using proxy mode

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  • Helpful answers

  • by theelysium,

    theelysium theelysium Feb 29, 2012 12:29 PM in response to n3nto
    Level 1 (26 points)
    Feb 29, 2012 12:29 PM in response to n3nto

    Same Issue Here any thoughts? I don't eve know if I am running proxy or not. I tried to use FCPX lame and slow help menu, but "Proxy Mode" was not an entry.  Seems odd they say proxy mode, but don't put it in their help.

     

     

    I'm running:

     

    Mac Pro

    Processor  2 x 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon

    Memory  8 GB 800 MHz DDR2 FB-DIMM

    Graphics  NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 512 MB

    Software  Mac OS X Lion 10.7.3

    Hard Drive 7200 1.5TB

  • by andynick,

    andynick andynick Mar 1, 2012 12:01 AM in response to n3nto
    Level 5 (4,943 points)
    Video
    Mar 1, 2012 12:01 AM in response to n3nto

    This is my pet checklist for questions regarding FCP X performance.

     

    FCP X 10.0.3 runs very well on my 2009 MacPro 2 x 2.26 GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon with 16 GB RAM and ATI Radeon HD 5870 1024 MB.

     

    First, check that you have at least 20% free space on the Hard Drive that your System and your Media, Projects and Events are on.

     

    Check the spec of your Mac against the system requirements:

    http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/specs/

     

    Check the spec of your graphics card. If it's listed here, it's not suitable:

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4664

     

    If you are getting crashes, there is some conflict on the OS. Create a new (admin) user account on your system and use FCP X from there - if it runs a lot better, there's a conflict and a clean install would be recommended.

     

    Keep projects to 20 mins or less. If you have a long project, work on 20 min sections then paste these into a final project for export.

     

    Create Optimised media - most camera native files are highly compressed and need a great deal of processor power to play back - particularly if you add titles, filters or effects. ProRes 422 takes up much more hard drive space but is very lightly compressed. It edits and plays back superbly.

     

    If you are short of drive space, use ProRes 422 Proxy - but remember to select High Quality when you export your movie.

     

    Hide Audio Waveforms at all times when you don't need them (both in Browser and Storyline / Timeline). They take up a lot of processor power. (Use the switch icon at the bottom-right of your timeline to select a format without waveforms if you don't need them at the moment, then switch back when you do).

     

    Create folders in the Project and Events libraries and put any projects you are not working on currently, in those folders. This will help a lot.

     

    Move your Projects and Events to an external HD (make sure it's formatted OS Extended - with journaled on or off) and run from there.

     

    The biggest single improvement I saw in performance was when I upgraded the RAM from 8 GB to 16.

    Andy