- Define the work area for rendering
- Define the area for rendering using In and Out points (CS6)
- Render a preview file for a section of a sequence (CS5.5 and earlier)
- Render a preview file for a section of a sequence (CS6)
- Render audio when rendering video
- Work with preview files
- Play a sequence from start to finish
- Scroll a sequence during preview
- Previewing on a television monitor
- Ensure that Adobe video applications use the same cached files
Premiere Pro attempts to play back any sequence in real time and at full frame rate. Premiere Pro usually achieves this for all sections that either need no rendering or for which Premiere Pro already has rendered preview files. However, real-time, full frame-rate playback is not always possible for complex sections without preview files: unrendered sections.
To play back complex sections in real time and at full frame rate, you may have to first render preview files for those sections. Premiere Pro marks unrendered sections of a sequence with colored render bars. A red render bar appearing in the time ruler of a sequence indicates an unrendered section that probably must be rendered in order to play back in real time and at full frame rate. A yellow render bar indicates an unrendered section that probably does not need to be rendered in order to play back in real time and at full frame rate. Regardless of their preview quality, sections under either red or yellow render bars should be rendered before you export them to tape. A green render bar indicates a section that already has rendered preview files associated with it.
Sequences refer to preview files in much the same way as source media. If you move or delete preview files in the Windows or Mac file browser rather than the Project panel, you’ll be prompted to find or skip the preview files the next time you open the project.
You can customize a sequence preset to allow
previewing of uncompressed 10-bit or uncompressed 8-bit footage.
For more information, see Create a sequence with uncompressed video playback.FAQ "Why is there a red or yellow bar in my sequence?"
See this article for details about what red, yellow, and green render bars mean and how they relate to playback and rendering previews.
See this blog post for information about RED Rocket support in Premiere Pro CS5 (5.0.2), which accelerates processing of RED (R3D) media.
Define the work area for rendering
Do any of the following:Drag the work area bar over the section you want to preview. Make sure that you drag the work area bar from its textured center; otherwise you cue the playhead instead.
Grabbing the work area bar (above) and dragging it over the section to preview (below)Drag the work area markers (at either end of the work area bar) to specify the beginning and end of the work area.
Dragging the work area markers to expand the work areaPosition the playhead, and press Alt+[ (Windows) or Option+[ (Mac OS) to set the beginning of the work area.
Position the playhead, and press Alt+] (Windows) or Option+] (Mac OS) to set the end of the work area.
Double-click the work area bar to resize it to either the width of the time ruler, or the length of the entire sequence, whichever is shorter. To define the whole sequence as the work area, the whole sequence must be visible in the Timeline panel.
In Premiere Pro CS6, when setting the work area bar to define an area for rendering, corresponding options appear in the Sequence menu: Render Effects in Work Area, and Render Entire Work Area. A command for Delete Work Area Render Files is also available. These options will not appear in the Sequence menu if the work area bar is not enabled.
Define the area for rendering using In and Out points (CS6)
In Premiere Pro CS6, you can mark In
and Out points to define an area for rendering:Mark In and Out points for the area of the sequence that you plan to render.
When marking In and Out points to define an area for rendering, corresponding options appear in the Sequence menu: Render Effects In to Out, and Render In to Out. A command for Delete Render Files In to Out is also available. These options will not appear in the Sequence menu if the work area bar is enabled.
Render a preview file for a section of a sequence (CS5.5 and earlier)
You can render any part of a sequence that falls under a red render bar. In Premiere Pro CS5.5, and earlier, use the work area bar to set the section of the sequence you want to render.
Render a preview file for a section of a sequence using the work area bar:
- Choose Sequence, and select one of the following:
- Render Effects In Work Area
- Renders the sections of the video tracks lying within the work area containing a red render bar. Alternatively, press Enter.
- Render Entire Work Area
- Renders the sections of the video tracks lying within the work area containing either a red render bar or a yellow render bar.
- Render Audio
- Renders a preview file for the sections of the audio
tracks lying within the work area.Note: You can set Premiere Pro to render the audio tracks whenever you render the video tracks. For more information, see Render audio when rendering video.
The rendering time depends on your system resources and the complexity of the segment.
In Premiere Pro CS6, these options are not available unless the work area bar is enabled in the Timeline panel menu.
To maximize the quality
of motion in rendered preview files, check the Maximum Render Quality
option in Sequence Settings. For more information, see General settings (CS5) - Settings (CS5.5 and later).
Render a preview file for a section of a sequence (CS6)
You can render any part of a sequence that falls under a red render bar. In Premiere Pro CS5.5, and earlier, use the work area bar to set the section of the sequence you want to render. In Premiere Pro CS6, you can also define a section of the sequence you want to render by setting In and Out points.
Render a preview file for a section of a sequence setting In and Out points:
- Choose Sequence, and select one of the following:
- Render Effects In to Out
- Renders the sections of the video tracks lying within the In and Out points containing a red render bar. Alternatively, press Enter.
- Render In to Out
- Renders the sections of the video tracks lying within the In and Out points containing either a red render bar or a yellow render bar.
- Render Audio
- Renders a preview file for the sections of the audio
tracks lying within the work area.Note: You can set Premiere Pro to render the audio tracks whenever you render the video tracks. For more information, see Render audio when rendering video.
The rendering time depends on your system resources and the complexity of the segment.
These options are not available if the work area is enabled.
To maximize the
quality of motion in rendered preview files, check the Maximum Render
Quality option in Sequence Settings. For more information, see General settings (CS5) - Settings (CS5.5 and later).
Render audio when rendering video
By default, Premiere Pro does not render audio tracks when you select either Sequence > Render Effects In Work Area, or Sequence > Render Entire Work Area. However, playback may suffer when the data throughput of your disk drive cannot sustain the flow when mixing multiple channels of audio and audio in a complex sequence. You can change this default so that Premiere Pro automatically renders audio previews whenever it renders video previews.
- Select Edit > Preferences > General (Windows) or Premiere Pro > Preferences > General (Mac OS).
- Select or deselect Render Audio When Rendering Video.
- Click OK.
Work with preview files
To further save time, Premiere Pro maintains existing preview files whenever possible. Preview files move along with their associated segment of a sequence as you edit your project. When a segment of a sequence is changed, Premiere Pro automatically trims the corresponding preview file, saving the remaining unchanged segment.
When completely done with a project, delete preview
files to save disk space.Delete preview files
- With a Timeline panel active, do one
of the following:
To delete the render files only for a range of clips, adjust the Work Area bar so that it spans only the desired range. Then, choose Sequence > Delete Work Area Render Files. Those preview files which have any part of their associated clip within the work area will be deleted.
To delete all the render files for a sequence, choose Sequence > Delete Render Files.
You can set a keyboard shortcut for Delete
Render Files and Delete Work Area Render Files.
.Scroll a sequence during preview
You can set an option to automatically scroll a sequence when it is wider than the visible area in its Timeline panel.
Previewing on a television monitor
You can display the sequence on any monitor connected to your computer. Previewing on a television monitor requires video hardware that provides an appropriate video port for the monitor.
Previewing on a television monitor via video card
Some video cards and operating system software products support a television monitor independent of the computer desktop. Others support a second computer monitor that is contiguous with the computer desktop so that it can also function as additional space for the application. See the documentation that came with your video card and operating system.
Preview on a television monitor via camcorder or deck
If you’re editing a DV project, you can preview the sequence on a television monitor via your IEEE 1394 connection and camcorder or video deck.
There can be a slight delay between the
playback on the desktop and the playback on a television via a camcorder/VCR.
If the video and audio seem out of sync, try to preview both video
and audio through the same device.Ensure that Adobe video applications use the same cached files
Adobe video applications can automatically insert a unique document ID into each imported file. These unique IDs ensure that each application accesses the same cached previews and conformed audio files, preventing additional rendering and conforming.
In the Media section of the Preferences dialog box (or
the Metadata section for Soundbooth), select Write XMP IDs To Files
On Import.
This setting is global—a change in one Adobe video application affects all the others. This setting also results in new file modification dates when IDs are initially inserted.
To save rendering time when transferring a project
to another computer, move both cached and original files.