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Adobe Premiere Pro for Mac: CS6 Gripes / CS6.5 Wish List (FCP switcher)

Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 icon

This list is a follow-up to my post regarding my CS5.5 gripes and feature requests, which drew a fair amount of attention from both current Adobe Premiere users and abandoned Final Cut Pro users looking for alternatives.

» Scroll to CS6.5 Wish List

Update June 25, 2013

See how Adobe Premiere Pro CC stacked up against my list of CS6 gripes: Adobe Premiere Pro CC: Wish List Scorecard

Update May 7, 2013

We now know that the next version of Premiere Pro will be Adobe Premiere Pro CC. It looks awesome. I’m certain I will have remaining gripes (lack of background rendering chief among them), but I look forward to listing the many items that Adobe has successfully addressed. I was already convinced that the Adobe engineers used my previous list as blueprint for CS6. Now I’m pretty sure they used this one for CC! I’m still waiting for my check, Adobe, but I love that you’re listening!

Update April 5, 2013

Adobe has begun previewing the next version of Premiere ahead of the official debut at NAB 2013, which opens in Las Vegas tomorrow, April 6th.

I still don’t know what to call it (Next? CS6.5? CS7?), but I am extremely impressed by what I have seen so far. It looks like I will be crossing quite of few major items off of my list! I am particularly excited about the simplification of track patching and overall improvements to the timeline.

Once I get my hands on the actual software (release date unknown), I will post a new article tracking each and every change in reference to my list.

In the mean time, for more information about Adobe Premiere Pro Next, this is the most comprehensive roundup I have found so far:

An early look at the next version of Adobe Premiere Pro

Adobe Premiere Pro CS6
CS6 brought significant improvements,
but Premiere Pro still has a long way to go.

I have been a Final Cut Pro user for more than 10 years (starting with version 1.2 on a 500 MHz G4), and Final Cut Pro X was a huge disappointment. It remains fundamentally flawed. I still feel that Final Cut Pro X sucks for professional use (Events? Really?), although I have no doubt that it will continue to improve.

I have been using Adobe Premiere regularly now for about 10 months on a variety of projects. I have been impressed by overall performance. Premiere is not Apple-slick, but the latest version is, in most respects, more advanced than FCP7 and superior to FCPX.

CS6 brought considerable upgrades to CS5.5. Adobe addressed a surprising number of my gripes. They are clearly catering to the FCP expats, as well they should. There is a reason that Final Cut gained the user base and prestige that it did, while Premiere languished for years. (If you tried Premiere back in the day, you’ll remember that it was terrible in comparison to Final Cut Pro.)

In stark contrast to Apple, the Adobe Premiere Pro team actively seeks feedback from their users, and they seem to be really listening. Adobe staff members are accessible and even participate in the forums.

Overall, I would recommend that disgruntled Final Cut Pro users make the jump to Adobe Premiere Pro. It’s a 64-bit, cross-platform NLE that’s Closer to “Final Cut Pro 8” than Final Cut Pro X. It integrates with AfterEffects and the rest of the Creative Suite in ways that no other editing application can match, and with the introduction of Creative Cloud service, it’s easy to stay up to date with the latest software.

Having said that…Adobe has a long way to go before I’ll feel safe giving it my unqualified endorsement. Despite surpassing the venerable (and sorely outdated) FCP7 in many ways, Premiere Pro CS6 is not nearly as stable on a Mac as any version of Final Cut, and it retains a disappointing number of flaws that will continue to cause former FCP users to tear their hair out.

Software usability, when you rely on it every day, comes down to the nitty gritty. So here is my long, updated list of gripes, wishes, and personal preferences. Please keep in my mind that this is not a comprehensive review. It is just a list of negatives. My list of positives would be longer, but my concern right now is how to improve the next major release. (Presumably that will be Adobe Premiere Pro CS6.5, but possibly Adobe Premiere Pro CS7, if they change up their release philosophy again).

My primary system is a 3.2 GHz iMac 21.5″ (2010) with 8GB RAM, 512MB VRAM (ATI Radeon HD 5670), running Mac OS X 10.8 with external Firewire 800 drives and a DisplayPort-to-HDMI external display. Update: I now work primarily on a 2.3 GHz MacBook Pro (2013) with 16GB RAM and 2GB VRAM (NVIDIA GeForce GT 750M), running on Mac OS X 10.9 with external Thunderbolt RAID drives.

The order of this list does not necessarily represent priority, although I put some of the more important feature requests and complaints towards the top.

Did I miss anything? Do you disagree about a certain function? Please let me know in the comments area.

Adobe Premiere Pro CS6.5 Wish List (and CS6 Gripes):

  1. Hardware acceleration support for more AMD/ATI GPUs Explanation

    Although the newest iMacs and MacBook Pros sport NVIDIA GPUs, the majority of Mac editing systems out there still have graphics chips from ATI (which has since been acquired by AMD). Continuing to miss out on hardware acceleration, update after update, is just brutal. I don’t hold out much hope for this one, however, as Adobe has not shown much interest in supporting older Mac configurations.

  2. Thumbnail images/show frames bug Explanation

    I call this a bug. Maybe it’s just poor implementation. Either way, it’s infuriating. I’ve tested this on multiple Mac systems with various hardware configurations. It was one of my top gripes in CS5.5, and I’m a little dumbfounded that it hasn’t been fixed. Thumbnail images in the bins and timeline get recreated (at a glacial pace) every time a project is opened. It’s as if the cache files get erased every time the project is closed. Yet, it can’t be an intentional functionality for saving hard drive space because the cache files continue to take up more and more space; they just don’t do anything. If you set the timeline to show frames, you had better be a patient scroller.

  3. Assign source/target tracks/selected tracks/active tracks/are you kidding?/WTF? Explanation

    If you’ve switched to Premiere from Final Cut Pro, you know what I’m talking about, and you’re pissed. The source track/target track/selected track system at the head of the timeline and at the heart of Premiere’s basic editing operations is remarkably overcomplicated and inconsistent. Since it’s clear that Adobe has been listening, there must be some licensing issue, some esoteric use, or some bizarre nostalgic embrace of this craziness by John Adobe himself that has allowed this mess to continue to exist.

    In order to target a track to insert or overwrite a clip (V, A1, A2, etc.), you also have to separately select it at the front of the timeline (Video 1, Video 2, Audio 1, Audio 2, etc.). In many cases, you also have to individually unselect every other track that you don’t want to target, because Premiere will just pick the top selected track as the target regardless of the one you have targeted.

    I’ll try to break it down with an example, but there are so many permutations, it’s difficult to be concise.

    So you have a clip open in the source viewer and you want to perform an overwrite edit. Being accustomed to FCP, you slide the clip over the Program viewer and drop. Simple enough. It will land in the timeline in whichever track is the lowest of those that are selected. Okay, weird, but no biggie, and yes, you can select multiple video tracks, although only one will be used. (The selected tracks are the ones in the wider of those 2 columns at the head of the timeline.) Just ignore the source track indicators (the V, A1, etc.). I know what you’re thinking. It would be easier just to slide those into place, rather than all the clicking it takes to select your target track and unselect the others, but the source track target makes no difference in this operation.

    Of course, you’re a pro. So you want to learn the keyboard commands as quickly as possible. Try the same exact thing, only this time, press the period key. That’s the overwrite shortcut. At this point, any number of surprising things can occur. One possibility is that nothing will happen. That’s because you have to slide the source track indicator to your target track AND make sure the track is selected in the next column. Forget the whole lowest selected track thing. That no longer applies.

    It used to be even worse. Try repeating those same steps in CS5.5 using the Insert button instead of the associated keyboard shortcut, and you’ll get a third set of entirely distinct behaviors.

    Thinking this was still too simple, Adobe threw in “sync lock” for good measure. It’s kind of like a reverse track lock, which is a nice idea. The supposed function is to push all sync locked tracks down the timeline after an insert edit and keep the others in place, but turn it off for a track and you’ll find it makes no difference — unless you also deselect the track. Be sure to select at least one of the tracks that is supposed to move as well.

    I won’t even get into more insert edit nonsense.

    Finally, just as a final fuck you, it’s actually possible to click on the source track indicators (as opposed to sliding them) and select or deselect them, much like the target tracks. What this abominable combination of unselected, yet kind of selected, source track and selected and/or unselected target tracks can accomplish, I don’t know. Frankly, I don’t want to know.

    The “slideable” V and A1, etc. markers should set the target tracks both in function and name. Personally, I would get rid of the track selection altogether (We never missed it in FCP.), but at the very least, those selections shouldn’t have any impact on standard insert and overwrite edits, regardless of whether an editor prefers keyboard shortcuts, mouse clicks, or telepathy.

    Even if the behaviors were consistent, what’s with all the track selection/deselection? You can assign keyboard shortcuts to some of these behaviors (e.g. to select all tracks), but why make such a fundamental element — no, the fundamental element — of editing so convoluted?

    Lastly, the two columns of Source and Target or whatever, take up more space than necessary. There’s nothing I hate more than a waste of perfectly good pixels!

  4. Premiere Pro CS6 is simply buggy on a Mac: frequent crashes, “serious error” messages, and spinning beach balls Explanation

    Every time I open a project file in Premiere, I get a little anxious watching the progress bar trudge along, especially if it has been a few weeks or months since I last opened the file. This fear is born of not-entirely-infrequent encounters with messages such as one that ominously states that a “serious error has occurred that requires Adobe Premiere to shut down.”

    It’s polite of Premiere to give the heads up that it’s about to crash, but the end result is the same: a quickened pulse and flashes of second-guessing my backup routine. Frequently, the project file will open after a system restart, but this does little to inspire confidence.

    In Final Cut Pro 7, I simply expect years-old project files to open painlessly and have been rarely let down.

    Difficultly opening project files is just one example of Premiere’s instability. Many other operations have led to crashes as well. Hopefully, I will soon be able to describe the Mac version of Adobe Premiere Pro as being “rock solid,” but it’s not there yet in CS6.0.2.

  5. Deleting an item from a bin should not delete it from the timeline Explanation

    I frequently create temporary bins for copies of “maybe” clips. In Premiere, I can’t clean up those bins, i.e. delete them, if I end up using even just one of the clips. But this is part of a bigger problem, which is the whole master file versus instance versus subclip versus dup clip thing. There aren’t any good indicators regarding the relationships of these clips, and there are few ways to adjust them.

    If clips are going to be connected, then they should be fully connected. For instance, changing the name of a clip in the bin should change it in the timeline. Adding an effect or trimming should affect the corresponding clips between bin and timeline. Otherwise, the clips should just be completely separate instances. I haven’t been able to find an option to turn a clip into an independent instance, although it has to exist. Right?

    In my view, every clip is basically a subclip: a set of in/out markers referencing the original source material. That’s non-destructive editing. An option to “link” clips together (in terms of name, in/out points, filters, etc.) is a great idea, but make it useful and definitely include the ability to break the links.

    Also, editing an instance of a title does change every other instance of that title throughout the sequence. I would prefer to be able to edit them separately without having to duplicate them in the title editor.

  6. Bin effects Explanation

    Related to the above, it should be possible to add effects to clips in bins or keep effects on clips added to bins from the timeline. It would also be nice to be able to group effects together in bins for a specific project. The effects list window is better suited for global collections.

  7. Capability to open multiple projects simultaneously

  8. Background rendering Explanation

    In my previous CS5.5 thread in the Adobe forums, this topic ignited a heated response from longtime Premiere Pro users. (No, I didn’t realize such a thing existed either.) I think some of them missed my point, but many of them added valid observations.

    Background rendering would certainly be helpful in allowing many Premiere Pro users to keep working with fewer interruptions. (Maybe that’s the down side!) When adjusting clips that have any kinds of effects on them, I find myself waiting…and waiting…on preview files to render just to view the cut way too often to not find it frustrating.

    Now, there should be a choice in the way that background rendering initiates, which would be an improvement over FCPX’s system. Per the user’s preference settings, background rendering should start: automatically (instantly), only through manual initiation, or during idle time.

    However, the real potential of background rendering lies in combining it with an export format, which brings me to my next point.

  9. Background rendering + ProRes + “Use Preview Files” could be awesome Explanation

    If you could set the render format to your export format of choice, encode as you go via background rendering, and export using a true “Use Preview Files” option, you could save a considerable amount of time in the export process, especially when it comes to re-exporting after making minor adjustments in the timeline.

    Adobe rightly envisions a world where you can dump in any format without transcoding, then edit with real time effects previews, and export directly (presumably without serious delay) to your delivery format of choice. Needless to say, that’s an excellent goal, and they’ve made great strides on the first part. Being able to skip the transcode and go right to editing is a wondrous thing. They’ve achieved mixed results on the next part. Clips with effects still require rendering to scrub smoothly and sometimes just to play. The last part — exporting — is the problem.

    In FCP, exporting to ProRes is nearly as fast as saving the project file. In Premiere Pro, you had better hope you’re not up against your deadline. It doesn’t matter if you’ve already rendered out the whole sequence. It re-encodes the entire thing every time. If you need to adjust just one frame, you will have to re-export the entire sequence with no time savings over the previous export.

    Backing up for a moment, I recently discovered that it is possible to set the preview file format to Apple ProRes. It requires choosing a “Custom” edit mode while setting up a new sequence. In any other mode, the preview file format selector is grayed out and locked into a lossy MPEG format. I’m not sure why these options are so buried, and the whole concept of an edit mode is confusing in a format-agnostic environment. I also find it strange that the preview file format can’t be changed to ProRes for an existing sequence.

    In any case, with your preview file format set to ProRes, you may initially think that the “Use Preview Files” option on export is the same thing as saving to QuickTime/ProRes in FCP, which stitches the ProRes render files together quickly and without loss in quality. However, it’s my understanding from the forums and official documents that it does not work the same and that there is a generational loss.

    ProRes is an oft-requested delivery format and my archival format of choice, but there is more to it than that. Adobe Media Encoder’s h.264/MP4 and h.264/QuickTime exports are of noticeably lower quality than Apple Compressor’s h.264/QuickTime at the same bit rates. So my current Premiere workflow for web delivery includes exporting a ProRes master every time anyway, and then running it through Compressor to convert it to QuickTime h.264.

    Overall, I think it’s a shame that the advantages of background rendering are being overlooked. This is one of the few areas where FCPX has pulled ahead.

    Update: For more on this topic, see Why Adobe Premiere Pro needs background rendering

  10. Improved render selection options Explanation

    Thankfully, Adobe “took my advice” and added a preference that allows you to hide the work area bar. That’s great, because that whole concept was clunky. However, they need to add an option to render selected clips. This would require fewer keystrokes than having to select in/out points just to render.

  11. DisplayPort/Thunderbolt out to HDMI Explanation

    I can accept that a third-party card is required for the most accurate color correction on an external display, but there’s no reason this feature shouldn’t exist as it does in both FCP7 and X (with a simple adaptor).

  12. Cursor icons for tools are too big and embarrassingly crude Explanation

    Somewhat like the track targeting fiasco, it’s surprising that such a fundamental element of Premiere is still so unrefined.

    The cursor icons for the various editing tools are too big, too imprecise, and just damn ugly. Also, the standard trim tool and the ripple tool should have different shapes, not just different colors.

    Generally speaking, the whole timeline could use a lot of polish. Don’t be afraid to steal from Apple on this one. Keep the tracks; just make it more functional and easier on the eyes!

  13. Button icons at head of timeline are too small and embarrassingly crude Explanation

    This really goes for the entire interface. Button icons are often too small, too similar, and too crowded together.

    It’s strange that a team that creates such gorgeous progress indicators has such trouble with icons!

  14. Really annoying cut selection behavior Explanation

    Clicking near a cut highlights it in such a way that it blocks edit tools, such as the ripple edit tool, from working on the edge of the adjacent clip. You have to unselect by clicking somewhere else in the timeline.

  15. Edit tool hover areas at edges of clips are too big Explanation

    When zoomed out on strings of short clips, it’s hard to click on the middle of an individual clip to select it. This comes back to the cursor icons being too bulky as well.

  16. Better clip selection indication in timeline Explanation

    It is very difficult to discern at a glance what, if anything, is selected in the timeline. Transitions always look selected!

  17. Sometimes the standard trim tool refuses to switch to ripple edit and vice versa Explanation

    This bug occurs occasionally when clicking on the tools in the button bar or when using keyboard shortcuts.

  18. Option to show frames in timeline without any text labels

  19. Previous/next edit with up/down arrow: almost got it right Explanation

    Major props to Adobe for going a long way toward straightening this out is CS6! The up and down arrow keys have replaced CS5.5’s page up and page down keys as the previous/next edit navigation controls. More importantly, they added the ability to skip to the next edit across all tracks (by using shift-up and shift-down), not just whatever track happened to be selected at the head of the timeline.

    Unfortunately, they really got the shift thing backwards. So although I try to stick with the CS6 default keyboard layout, the first thing I do is make this the other way around. Shift-down goes to the next edit among selected tracks (a feature I’ve never needed), and plain old down-arrow-down goes to the next cut — always.

  20. Up-arrow/down-arrow should go to in/out of clips in source window Explanation

    The up and down arrow keys currently do nothing in this window, which is inconsistent and inefficient, since my fingers are often already on the left/right arrow keys going frame by frame. In other words, the up and down arrow keys should behave the same way as shift-i and shift-o.

  21. Remember size and position of bin windows

  22. Hide mouse pointer in full screen mode

  23. Project browser should auto refresh/sort

  24. Color labels in Project Panel should change the appearance of the actual text Explanation

    The FCP way was much more useful. Those color boxes in a separate column all blend together. They don’t allow me to really highlight clips or make much use of color coding at all. Also, what’s with the default color names? Righ-clicking gives you a list of exotic names without any visual indication of the label’s color, which is pretty absurd.

  25. Copy should always be option-drag on a Mac Explanation

    Copy is currently command-drag in the project browser.

  26. Stop auto save from hijacking my screen while Premiere is in the background Explanation

    While I’m working in other apps, the dock icon does not need to bounce, and I certainly don’t need Premiere to force itself into the foreground to show me that it’s performing an auto save. This is especially disruptive because Premiere will keep performing auto saves even if nothing has changed since the last one.

    Update: This may have been fixed in a recent point update.

  27. Stop auto save from interrupting adjustments in timeline Explanation

    Ideally, the auto-save would just be a background function, but it should at least wait until you’re not in the middle of dragging something.

  28. Auto save location preference and functionality Explanation

    In FCP7 I set the number of auto saves to the maximum of 100 and Premiere can go even higher. I have always used this feature as an additional backup and archive system, which has come in very handy. Those files add up, however. So, I wish I could set up Premiere to auto-save to an external drive. Also, auto saves continue to occur whenever there are unsaved changes. This means that if you make a small adjustment and then leave Premiere for a while, it will keep auto saving the same iteration, which is not only inefficient but leads to my next point…

  29. Auto save: delete oldest Explanation

    In CS5.5, the problem was that auto save would reuse the same file names, which made it difficult to determine which file was the most recent. In CS6, it appears that auto save just stops running altogether once it reaches the limit set in preferences. This is terrible. It should delete the oldest auto save file and continue with new, incrementally higher file names.

    Update: It appears that this has been partially fixed in a recent point update, but the CS5.5 behavior is back. So it is still unnecessarily difficult to determine which file is the most recent.

  30. Clicking to new CTI position shouldn’t stop playback Explanation

    If you move the CTI while it’s in play mode, it should continue to play from that spot after you release the mouse, not stop there.

  31. Snapping (CTI, blade tool, clips) Explanation

    Currently, there is no way to turn on snapping of any kind for the blade tool, which is stupid. The command-K option to cut at the CTI position does make this less of an issue, but the blade tool is pretty useless if it can’t snap to the CTI position or the edges of clips in other layers.

    For the CTI, the standard “s” toggle for snapping does nothing. In CS6, holding down the shift key does temporarily engage snapping, which is an improvement, but it presents a very inconsistent behavior, because holding down shift does not engage snapping for clip adjustments.

    FCP also allows you to hold down the snapping key to temporarily reverse the current snapping state. I suggest something even simpler. Holding down the “s” key should always turn snapping on regardless of toggle state, while releasing it returns it to however it was set before.

    Holding down “s” should take the place of the little-known shift function and apply to everything. That frees up the shift key for a much better use, which is my next point.

  32. Fine control over trim adjustments without having to zoom in Explanation

    Holding down shift would be a good option to allow adjustments in single frame increments at any zoom level.

  33. Conforming audio Explanation

    The ability of CS6 to work natively with DSLR footage is awesome, but it’s not fully DSLR native if it has to pre-render a major component of the footage before it can play, even if it’s just the audio.

  34. Media loading Explanation

    When launching a project, it can take a long time for all the media in the project to “load” as tracked in the status bar. I’m sure there’s a reason for this, but since the program is able to determine which source media files are missing before this step (and gives you the option to reconnect them at that time), what is it doing and why must it load every clip in the project, even those not in use by any sequences?

  35. Smoother scrubbing Explanation

    Scrubbing is pretty awful. While this is understandable with native footage, FCPX is silky smooth at full resolution. This probably comes back to the lack of supported hardware acceleration on most Macs.

  36. Increase undo limit Explanation

    Surprisingly, it’s still limited to only 32 levels of undo. This is particularly a shame because Premiere’s History window is a nice improvement over FCP7’s primitive undo feature. (And if you say you’ve never needed to jump back more than 32 steps, you’re lying!)

  37. After an undo, CTI should return to where it was at that point in “history”

  38. Clearer visual indicators that a clip has been adjusted in the effect controls panel Explanation

    Even with the effects panel visible, you have to take a close look to see if there have been any adjustments to the standard settings. An indicator on the clip in the timeline itself would be useful.

  39. Ability to switch off all effects for a given track Explanation

    This would allow you to make changes more quickly after effects have been applied because you wouldn’t have to render after every adjustment to get smooth playback.

  40. Color correction shape mask Explanation

    In cleaning up the 3-way color correction effect in CS6, Adobe took my advice almost to the letter. (Yes, I take full credit!) They put the most important adjustments up top and replaced the confusing highlights/mid-tone/shadows drop-down selector with three dedicated wheels. A simple shape mask is sorely needed, however. I find masks are much more useful and ultimately faster than relying on shaky ranges that rarely nail skin tones with any precision.

  41. Audio scrubbing without pitch change Explanation

    I guess the pitch change is intended to mimic linear editors, which was fun for a few seconds, but I have a much easier time navigating by sound with the stutter-style scrubbing.

  42. Border controls for images

  43. Ability to place a marker on a clip in the timeline without opening clip

  44. Better support for shared media access Explanation

    Avid is ahead in this arena and Adobe needs to improve. It should be possible for multiple editors to safely work on the same project files and share media over a server.

    Update: If the recently announced Adobe Anywhere performs as promised, it will not only satisfy this item of my wish list, it will go well beyond it to a whole new level of editorial collaboration.

  45. More robust “find” function

  46. The button editor is unbelievably buggy Explanation

    Adding and moving buttons around is a mess. It will cut buttons off or break into a second line of buttons even when there is plenty of horizontal space, and the buttons don’t even center automatically.

  47. Show number of frames being adjusted during keyframe adjustments

  48. Enable/disable specific effect parameters/keyframes

  49. Button that resets effect and clears all keyframes

  50. Position controls starting point Explanation

    There should be a preference to make the default position 0.0 x 0.0 (as opposed to 50% of whatever the resolution happens to be), and include a reset button.

  51. When clip is double-clicked in timeline, CTI position in source viewer should match location in timeline Explanation

    You would think “match frame” would accomplish this, but it opens a different instance of the clip.

  52. When CTI reaches end of sequence, play/pause shouldn’t jump back to the start Explanation

    This is particularly irritating when playing video near the end of the sequence and you hit the spacebar to pause it. If the CTI happens to reach the end first, it will jump all the way back to the very beginning. If I wanted to go back to the start, I would have just used the “home” key as always.

  53. Dragging clip from timeline to project panel should make a copy (not a subclip that has to be named)

    Update: This may have been fixed in a recent point update.

  54. Copy/paste clip from timeline into bin

  55. Drag from source panel to project panel to create copy of clip

    Update: This may have been added in a recent point update.

  56. Peak files get “lost” and have to be regenerated Explanation

    Peak file generation and caching is clunky in general. Some users report that it can take a long time. This function should be entirely invisible to the user, and I don’t want to see peak files mixed in with preview files.

  57. Use top-half waveforms for a cleaner look that saves space

  58. Control-k should cut through the clip or clips that are selected within the timeline instead of using the selected tracks at the head

  59. Faster top speed in J-K-L control

  60. “Esc” out of window maximize

  61. Save changes to current workspace (without having to retype exact name as a new workspace)

  62. Cancel New Project dialogue without having to reload current project Explanation

    In other words, don’t close the current project until a new project is actually started. (This would be moot if you could open multiple projects.)

  63. Tab between windows to make them active Explanation

    Shift-1,2,3,4 is fine, but it would be easier to tab between panes. Control-tab would be a good fit.

  64. “Automate to Sequence” with merged clips causes loss of audio sync

  65. Merged clips mysteriously become audio only and cause crashes when opened

  66. Return and Enter should have different behaviors Explanation

    In the project pane, “return” should move to the next line. “Enter” should simply enter.

    Update: This may have been fixed in a recent point update.

  67. Currently have to click “close” twice to close properties window

    Update: This may have been fixed in a recent point update.

  68. Better track coloring Explanation

    The new track coloring feature is great, but it makes audio tracks the exact same color as video tracks. Audio tracks should be a lighter shade of the selected color or look otherwise distinct even when waveforms are hidden. The [A] and [V] designations are too indistinct and frequently get cut off.

  69. Better markers for sequences and clips Explanation

    They added more functionality in CS6, but they should include colors and more keyboard shortcut controls.

  70. More logical clip sliding with keyboard commands Explanation

    “Opt-,” (that’s option-comma) and “Opt-.” (option-period) should cause a clip collisions, not overwrite, because a good use of those keyboard commands is to slide a clip up to but not over the adjacent clip. Play with sliding clips that are touching other clips, and you’ll see why the current arrangement should be re-thought.

  71. Opt-up-arrow and opt-down-arrow should allow you to shift the track position of selected clips in timeline

  72. Add ability to select a cut directly and add default transition

    Update: I’m not sure when this appeared, but it does exist in the latest version.

  73. Add through-edit indicator in timeline and “join clips” option

  74. Default sliding behavior should move the clip’s audio track to correspond with the video track Explanation

    You can then use the shift-drag technique if you want to choose a different track for the audio.

  75. More/clearer control over cache locations Explanation

    There should also be an option to reset the cache/render file locations to their defaults.

  76. Remember last used setting of export source range (or default to “all”)

  77. Larger timecode display with h,m,s,f instead of colons Explanation

    I think the large timecode display in FCPX is too often dismissed as eye candy, but it’s a legitimately brilliant interface element. It really helps you effortlessly keep your bearings with much less eye strain.

  78. Simple slug Explanation

    In CS5.5 you had to create a black matte. In CS6 they added “Black Video” but it still involves an extra step to take it from the project window to the timeline.

    You can always assign a source track, de-select a target track, add ins and outs to the current source clip, and drop it in, which will create a blank space. Yes! Finally, we have a use for the separate source/target track controls! And guess what, it’s a convoluted nightmare! A simple fit-to-fill slug would do nicely.

  79. More detailed tool tips or hover explanations in preferences Explanation

    For example: The options regarding XMP data should make it clear that the original files will be modified by Premiere. This caused me problems in other applications. (After researching these settings, I understand that various Adobe applications use this information to share resources, but it’s still very unclear what the specific benefits are or what functions are lost without this option.)

  80. More detailed support documents Explanation

    The online support documents on the Adobe site are actually very good. They are nicely arranged and easy to search. They could just be more detailed and offer fuller explanations on some topics. (Peruse the support forums and you will discover all kinds of debates that could have been easily cleared up with one more line in a help document.)

  81. Footage auto-analysis: shot recognition, color correction, and color match Explanation

    If only Apple had just added these features and others to the FCP7 framework. Adobe can do it better though, by using smart folders in addition to the traditional bins that we know and trust (anything besides those dreadful iMovie-style “events”).

  82. Effect previews Explanation

    In the 64-bit era, there has to be a quicker way to preview effects.

  83. Built-in syncing for dual audio recordings Explanation

    Time for Adobe to acquire PluralEyes?

  84. Add user defined list of favorite folders in Media Browser Explanation

    Also, let us set the default directory.

  85. Many, many more effects! Explanation

    Some very basic effects are missing: vignette, border, and motion blur to name a few. Adobe’s stock response to this has been to use After Effects or Photoshop. Round-tripping with Dynamic Link is a great option for advanced effects, but I see no reason that more effects shouldn’t be built it. Obviously, Adobe sees the benefit of including effects within Premiere or they would provide zero. Just because an app is “pro” doesn’t mean you should have to custom build every effect. In fact, a pro app should be designed to save you time. This is all the more crucial because there is a disappointing lack of third-party plugins available for Premiere. Final Cut Pro X is rapidly pulling ahead in this department.

  86. Many, many more looks! Explanation

    Will most of them be cheesy looks I would never touch? Sure…but give me some templates to play with before I tweak the look down to my exact specifications.

  87. More speed! Explanation

    FCPX, for all its flaws, blazes on any modern Mac. It probably comes back to hardware acceleration. Without it, Premiere Pro is very sluggish.

  88. Cheap-looking CTI head Explanation

    I saved this one for last because it has absolutely no impact on my ability to edit, but I’ve always found the crappy appearance of the CTI amusing. They wisely dropped the rudimentary 2-frame animation that existed in previous versions, but it still looks like they stole a gif icon from someone’s 90’s Geocities page.

If you’ve made it this far, you are a warrior! Please add your thoughts on Adobe Premiere Pro to the discussion, and let’s hope CS6.5 is another major update!

Discussion

40 comments on “Adobe Premiere Pro for Mac: CS6 Gripes / CS6.5 Wish List (FCP switcher)”
  1. Tim Trott  

    RE: “and let’s hope CS6.5 is another major update!”
    Let’s hope they finally include 3D editing and clean up the mess they made with all the missing and broken pieces in Encore. It would be really great if Adobe would follow the lead of AT&T and others and bring support back from India and Malaysia to the USA, because that is what can eventually hurt them the most.

    • Dax  

      I’ve never worked with 3D, but that is becoming a more common request. Have you tried SpeedGrade’s stereoscopic features? I can’t speak to how well they fit into a Premiere workflow.

    • Kevin Monahan  

      You can use Cineform to edit stereoscopic video within Premiere Pro. SpeedGrade has 3D Stereoscopic support.
      You can download functional content for Encore here: helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/multi/library-functional-content-missing.html

  2. Kevin Monahan  

    Hi,
    Thanks for the review. I wanted to make sure you knew that we already have solutions for some of your issues:

    As of Premiere Pro CS6, there is hardware acceleration support for AMD/ATI GPUs:
    The following AMD GPUs are supported:
    • AMD Radeon HD 6750M (only on certain MacBook Pro computers running OS X Lion (10.7.x) with a minimum of 1GB VRAM).
    • AMD Radeon HD 6770M (only on certain MacBook Pro computers running OS X Lion (10.7.x) with a minimum of 1GB VRAM).
    More info on supported GPUs, and OpenCL support in Premiere Pro CS6: http://blogs.adobe.com/premiereprotraining/2012/05/opencl-and-premiere-pro-cs6.html

    Option to render (for export) to alternate formats, namely ProRes or DNxHD:
    Premiere Pro CS6 can export files in a QT wrapper if the codecs are installed. Exporting ProRes is a Mac only feature.

    Clicking near a cut highlights the cut in such a way that it blocks the trim tool from working in both directions:
    You can zoom into the Timeline to alleviate this issue.

    Option-drag on a Mac should always be copy, not move:
    Option-dragging indeed, indeed, does copy clips in a Premiere Pro CS6 Timeline.

    “Esc” out of window maximize:
    Typing the accent gravé key does this. Toggle to go to previous window arrangement.

    Larger timecode display:
    Does Window > Timecode work for you?

    More detailed tool tips or hover explanations in preferences:
    When hovering over items, look in the lower left corner of the interface. Lots of tips are displayed there.

    More detailed support documents:
    If you want more detail in a Help doc, click “Discuss this page” at the bottom of the page and leave your comment. After that, I can add more detail to the Help docs.

    Many, many more looks!
    Have you checked out SpeedGrade? Lots of presets there.

    Thanks,
    Kevin Monahan
    Sr. Content and Community Lead
    Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Media Encoder, Adobe Prelude
    Adobe Systems, Inc.

    • Dax  

      Thanks for the detailed response, Kevin! I appreciate it. Regarding some of your points:

      Supported AMD GPUs

      Yep. I’m aware of the support for hardware acceleration in the latest MacBooks, and I will probably be in the market for one when Apple next upgrades them. I was hoping Adobe might introduce support for the AMD (ATI) GPUs used in iMacs from recent years, along with a lower VRAM requirement (in my case, the Radeon HD 5670 with 512MB).

      Premiere Pro CS6 can export files in a QT wrapper if the codecs are installed.

      I export to ProRes all the time in Premiere. I did recently learn that it is possible to render to ProRes, which is nice for high quality previews, but it does not solve the problem of having to re-encode the entire sequence on export. This is because the “Use Preview Files” option is not the same as saving to QuickTime in Final Cut. There is a generational loss, and it’s not as fast.

      You can zoom into the Timeline to alleviate this issue.

      True. I don’t understand the benefit though, and I find I have to zoom in unnecessarily to do many simple adjustments in the timeline, much more so than in FCP.

      Option-dragging indeed does copy clips in a Premiere Pro CS6 Timeline.

      True. I was talking about the Project Manager. In fact, it’s even more confusing that the timeline behaves like a Mac should, but the Project Manager does not.

      Typing the accent grave key does this. Toggle to go to previous window arrangement.

      The grave accent function is a truly beautiful thing, and this was a very minor gripe on my part. But Esc does let you toggle out of full screen mode. So I get used to hitting it, and then I do so by accident when trying to back out of a maximized window.

      Does Window > Timecode work for you?

      It’s a nice feature but not really what I’m talking about. The little time code displays do stand out more than they used to. I think they should be little bigger though, and I really prefer h,m,s,f.

      When hovering over items, look in the lower left corner of the interface. Lots of tips are displayed there.

      I’m a big fan of that status bar in regards to editing operations, but I don’t see any information there while in the preferences window. I’ll give you an example of a missing tooltip. There’s no information about writing XMP IDs to files or enabling XMP link.

      More detailed support documents:

      I’m going to give you this one! The help docs are generally excellent, and I have no complaints on your responsiveness, your above post being a case in point.

      Have you checked out SpeedGrade? Lots of presets there.

      I always find it preferable not to have to leave the editor unless it’s an advanced effect. I have checked out SpeedGrade, but I’ll admit that I haven’t had to time to really dig into it. When it comes to grading and effects, I realize that there is a balance in terms of how much is built right in and how much is best left to more dedicated apps, such as SpeedGrade or AfterEffects. But Adobe obviously sees the value in having a number of effects and color correction tools built right in. So I think it’s reasonable to ask that more be built in and the more the better. For bigger projects, however, I’m sure SpeedGrade makes sense. It definitely seems more user friendly than Apple Color.

    • Kevin Monahan  

      Yep. I’m aware of the support for hardware acceleration in the latest MacBooks, and I will probably be in the market for one when Apple next upgrades them. I was hoping Adobe might introduce support for the AMD (ATI) GPUs used in iMacs from recent years, along with a lower VRAM requirement (in my case, the Radeon HD 5670 with 512MB).

      We know that users want support for more cards, and we are working on that. However, bear in mind that it is difficult to certify cards that are underpowered. We consider video cards under 1 GB in this territory. Sorry, to be the bearer of bad news.

      I export to ProRes all the time in Premiere. I did recently learn that it is possible to render to ProRes, which is nice for high quality previews, but it does not solve the problem of having to re-encode the entire sequence on export. This is because the “Use Preview Files” option is not the same as saving to QuickTime in Final Cut. There is a generational loss, and it’s not as fast.

      You can make a request for smart rendering for ProRes codecs: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish

      Timeline zoom…True. I don’t understand the benefit though, and I find I have to zoom in unnecessarily to do many simple adjustments in the timeline, much more so than in FCP.

      A better default zoom level might help. Make a feature request: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish

      Option-dragging…True. I was talking about the Project Manager. In fact, it’s even more confusing that the timeline behaves like a Mac should, but the Project Manager does not.

      Option drag to copy everywhere? That’s a feature request.

      The grave accent function is a truly beautiful thing, and this was a very minor gripe on my part. But Esc does let you toggle out of full screen mode. So I get used to hitting it, and then I do so by accident when trying to back out of a maximized window.

      Sorry that confuses you. I think this is something you just learn to do.

      Does Window > Timecode…It’s a nice feature but not really what I’m talking about. The little time code displays do stand out more than they used to. I think they should be little bigger though, and I really prefer h,m,s,f.

      Feature request time.

      I’m a big fan of that status bar in regards to editing operations, but I don’t see any information there while in the preferences window. I’ll give you an example of a missing tooltip. There’s no information about writing XMP IDs to files or enabling XMP link.

      You’d need to look at documentation for that. Sorry.

      More detailed support documents…I’m going to give you this one! The help docs are generally excellent, and I have no complaints on your responsiveness, your above post being a case in point.

      Great. We are always looking to improve, though. Look for more in this area later this year.

      I always find it preferable not to have to leave the editor unless it’s an advanced effect. I have checked out SpeedGrade, but I’ll admit that I haven’t had to time to really dig into it. When it comes to grading and effects, I realize that there is a balance in terms of how much is built right in and how much is best left to more dedicated apps, such as SpeedGrade or AfterEffects. But Adobe obviously sees the value in having a number of effects and color correction tools built right in. So I think it’s reasonable to ask that more be built in and the more the better. For bigger projects, however, I’m sure SpeedGrade makes sense. It definitely seems more user friendly than Apple Color.

      More color correction presets? Sounds like a great idea: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish

    • Shari smith dunaif  

      I am one of those pro editors who started w/ FCP 1.0 & was disgusted by FCPX so was encouraged by premier pro cs 6 which I bought especially since adobe marketed as capable of importing fcp projects. I have a new Macbookpro, w/compatible graphic card but importing my fcp as suggested (xml file) has become impossible to work. my Mac crashes, freezes and keeps losing media, can’t Reconnect. My Mac is 5 months old, all current. Yesterday spent 70mins. w/tech support & nothing changed. Feel deceived. Want my money back CS6 is unstable & doesn’t work

  3. Herbert  

    The unusuable use of preview files when exporting to a delivery format:
    As one example I edited h.264 material with some IMX codec. I chose prores422 as delivery format.
    So I also chose prores422 as the preview format. But what happens?
    AFTER complete rendering, Premiere CS6 will reencode again to prores 422 instead of doing what the checkbox of the “export” dilogue indicates: USE the preview files.
    In FCP7, this task was quick . No rencode, when delivery.format and sequence(Render Format) are the same.

    Also the peak files:
    You move your media to another location, the peak files are in the same folder.
    You reling the media and PP6 generates peakfiles again instead of reusing them.

    Effects editing:
    Nice to store presets. But why does the effect not get the name of the preset?
    I´ll alwys have to use it to find out. Annoying when color correcting several cameras.

    Multiple editing of dissolves:
    I had a 13 Track premx abd to aplly one type/lenght of dissolve on several tracks.I was not able to aplly a dissolve on several tracks (maybe my fault) but unable to chache the lenght of several dissolves with one step, i.e. shift clicking them an changing the length usin a mouse.
    In FCP, it was suffucient to click on a certain edit in a timeline and immediately start working with it.
    In PP6, the track has to be highlighted. I.e for matching a frame…

    Sorry for bad typing, I am not english…

    • Kevin Monahan  

      Regarding “use of preview files,” you are referring to what is called smart rendering. Smart rendering is not available for all formats. Check out my blog for the formats that are supported: http://blogs.adobe.com/kevinmonahan/2012/10/11/smart-rendering-in-premiere-pro-cs6-6-0-1-and-later/

      If you want ProRes supported for smart rendering, please make a feature request: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish I’d like to see this happen, as well.

      Regarding files reconforming. Sorry, but this happens when you switch hard drives as Premiere Pro needs to rewrite sidecar files, etc. to adapt to the new location. If you’d like a more seamless process for this, or would like it to happen more in the background, make a feature request.

      Regarding effects editing, I create name of the preset when I create the preset. Not following you on your request. Double click on it to rename it, if you like.

      Dissolves can’t be changed en masse by dragging with the mouse, but they can be nudged if you Shift+click and press Option + arrow keys. I don’t know of a way to change dissolve length like the way you suggest in FCP, only how to nudge them. Perhaps that’s what you mean?

      Regarding having a selected clip act like a clip on a track that is selected for Match Frame and Add Edit is a feature request. Feel free to make one.

      Thanks!

  4. John  

    Hey man, just want to say that you really nailed this list. I agree with all counts. I must’ve emailed Adobe about 20 feature requests, and they’re all on here. Good to know that I’m not alone.

    Chief among all of these for me:
    1) Better stability
    2) Better multi-project and multi-editor sharing capabilities
    3) Better marker support / export marker support / metadata support
    4) Through-edits!! Yes — sounds minor but the way I work I simply cannot live without being able to see and join through edits/match frame edits

    • Kevin Monahan  

      Thanks for all your feature requests, John.
      1. Regarding stability: can you please describe your problem? I find CS6 (6.0.2) to be stable and performing well. Stability depends on a lot of things, so it is difficult to give you advice here. I can handle specific issues on our forums. Please check ’em out: forums.adobe.com/community/premiere/premierepro_current
      2. Regarding Better multi-project and multi-editor sharing capabilities. Here’s where we are heading: tv.adobe.com/watch/adobe-anywhere/introducing-adobe-anywhere-for-video/

      If you are talking about sharing assets between projects, or anything else, please make your feature requests (if you have not already).

      3. Better marker support. Sure, please make your feature requests. I am not sure what you want specifically beyond exporting a marker list. Metadata support is a broad topic, so please be specific when making your requests.

      4. Please make your feature request for through edit indicators and the ability to join through edits.

      Thanks!

  5. Jared Morgan  

    Yup, pretty much nailed all of them. Only things I didn’t see, maybe they were on there:

    – Consistent behavior when trying to select multiple clips. In FCP you can draw a lasso, then holding CMD, add a clip or two to the selection. Not so in Premiere.

    – Same thing with the Select All Tracks Forward. Great tool, but if I want to add a clip or two to the selection, you can’t.

    – Linked audio/video clips. Is there an easy way to turn these off on import? I am tired of having to CMD-L every clip. Am I missing something?

    – I hate that I can’t drop things into the preview window from Finder. Not everything in my project needs to be in a bin.

    – I’ve had some really buggy behavior copying effects to other clip. Paste attributes seems to paste the effects (listed in the effect window) but it doesn’t actually do anything to the video. Bug?

    – One of my favorite trick was to add an edit to selected clips. Draw a lasso around some clips, add edit command. Now the add edit feature is controlled by which tracks are selected by the track head. Lame, adds too many steps.

    – Same thing with matchframe. I used to just lasso the slip I want to matchframe to and hit show matchframe. now I need to make sure the track head is selected? lame.

    I can go on and on, but what’s the point. I want FCP 8.0.

    • Kevin Monahan  

      Hi Jared,

      Consistent behavior when trying to select multiple clips. In FCP you can draw a lasso, then holding CMD, add a clip or two to the selection. Not so in Premiere.

      Most of the time it behaves exactly as you expect, but yes, sometimes you press Shift instead. You learn the small differences in time.

      Same thing with the Select All Tracks Forward. Great tool, but if I want to add a clip or two to the selection, you can’t.

      With Shift, you can add more clips to the forward selection. Adding a disparate clip here or there might be more difficult to do in the same move. Make a feature request: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish

      Linked audio/video clips. Is there an easy way to turn these off on import? I am tired of having to CMD-L every clip. Am I missing something?

      I don’t know of a way, but was there one in FCP? Maybe you mean turn on off Timeline Linking, in general, yes?

      I hate that I can’t drop things into the preview window from Finder. Not everything in my project needs to be in a bin.

      Actually, you can achieve that by opening the clip from the Media Browser. I have never heard of a FCP editor drag and drop a clip directly to the Source Monitor. Typically, it’s to the Project panel first.

      I’ve had some really buggy behavior copying effects to other clip. Paste attributes seems to paste the effects (listed in the effect window) but it doesn’t actually do anything to the video. Bug?

      This should work as expected. Pasting individual attributes is still not there, but achieved by selective copy/pasting. Paste attributes can be improved, so make a feature request.

      One of my favorite trick was to add an edit to selected clips. Draw a lasso around some clips, add edit command. Now the add edit feature is controlled by which tracks are selected by the track head. Lame, adds too many steps.

      Add Edits are controlled by track selection in FCP, but can create an edit if a clip is selected on an unselected track. If you want an Add Edit to be enabled by selecting the clip on any unselected track, as well, then that is a feature request.

      Same thing with matchframe. I used to just lasso the slip I want to matchframe to and hit show matchframe. now I need to make sure the track head is selected? lame.

      I wouldn’t say lame, it’s just not there yet. Keep you feature requests coming: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish

  6. Scott Brickert  

    Thanks for this excellent, detailed list. It contains everything on my list, plus more. Well, actually, did you mention it would be great if, when moving a video track up, the audio clip dropped down the same number of tracks. And what about generic audio tracks, instead of stereo/mono/5.1?

    Glad to see Adobe is listening.

    • Dax  

      Thanks Scott. Regarding moving video and audio tracks up and down, that’s what I was going for in #73, but I realize now that I phrased it poorly. Your description is more clear. I know I frequently slide a clip down the timeline and need to move it “above” other video tracks. It doesn’t make sense for the audio track of the clip to stay on the same track level because then it overwrites the audio of another clip. As it works now, I have to hold down shift to hold the video track in place and then pull the mouse down into the audio area to manually choose the proper track. The shift-drag thing is actually a nice feature, but the default behavior should definitely be as you described.

    • Kevin Monahan  

      There are “generic” audio tracks as of Premiere Pro CS6, they’re called adaptive tracks.

      The main reason Premiere Pro doesn’t jump your audio track to the next one down is that it might not be what you want to do. Typically, you want to keep your audio in dedicated tracks (VO, music, dialogue, etc.) but that’s not always what you want to do with video tracks. Also, keep in mind the legacy nature of Premiere Pro where audio tracks have specific functions, like mono, stereo, or 5.1. I don’t think FCP necessarily had it right with that feature. However, feel free to make a feature request, if you like: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish

  7. james  

    Superb list. I have one addition
    Feather and invert on the Garbage Mattes like FCP7.
    The current Garbage Mattes are utterly useless, and having to use After Effects for simple masks is a pain.

    • Kevin Monahan  

      True, Garbage Mattes lack feathering. If you want other features like choke or smooth, include those: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish
      I’d love to see this feature improved.
      Keep in mind, you can do matte effects (like vignettes) in SpeedGrade, as well.

  8. Bill  

    Add Duplicate Frame detection and highlighting…. pretty please!!

  9. Sebastian  

    I just want to say quite a few of your ‘gripes’ are also just a matter of different workflow, and I bet when you revisit this list in a few years, you’ll see that some of the functionality is just different – not worse/better. I.E. #3 – depending the the task, this functionality can be so much better to work with than the way FCP handles it. I know sometimes when I switch to new software some of the features seem idiotic and then a while later it clicks and makes complete sense. So beware any would be converters, this list is definitely biased and some of these features I think are great, but the author sees them as aggravating or not logical.

    • Dax  

      I agree with you on at least one point, which is that this list is biased. As I made clear, my perspective is that of a long-time FCP user. FCP7 was rock-solid, much better than previous versions of Premiere Pro, and it deserves to be emulated. Yet, Premiere Pro is now more advanced and has been moving rapidly in the right direction, which is why I’m so anxious to see it continue to develop into the NLE that makes me forget FCP8 was ever a dream.

      I do try to be adaptable. I don’t automatically consider different to be bad, but after a year of dealing with it, I feel more strongly than ever that the track source/targeting/selection system is awful. I am always interested in hearing how other editors work though. Could you give an example of a situation in which it’s “so much better,” as you said?

    • Kevin Monahan  

      You definitely are not the only one who feels this way. I agree with you. Source/Target patching could be simplified. Please make sure you make that feature request.

  10. Scott  

    Adobe Production Premium for the Mac and PC should not be sold separately.

    • Kevin Monahan  

      Could you be more specific? My feeling is that you look into the Creative Cloud. You can install on 2 systems: forums.adobe.com/message/4589747

  11. Jeremy  

    To set a marking inside a clip, you should simply be able to select (to highlight) the clip, and press “m” — Such as in FCP. Instead, you have to double click the clip and set the marker in the source window.

    • Dax  

      That one drives me crazy. Thank you for adding.

    • Kevin Monahan  

      You can add that as a keyboard shortcut. In the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box, search for “Clip Marker.” Check it out! Thanks.

  12. alexander  

    что я хотел бы видеть в версии 6.5 –
    1.на рабочем столе в аудио иметь кнопку отображения в виде моно и стерео
    2. иметь кнопку переключения настройки рабочего стола в двухдорожечное отображение видео 1 в виде 1а и 1 б
    3. иметь возможность при перемещении видео на иную дорожку автоматически с ней на иную дорожку должно переходить и аудио
    4. иметь кнопку на рабочем столе плавного перетекания аудио
    Все эти функции работают в версии 6.5 для дв – хочу чтоб работало и для высокой четкости
    I’d like to see in version 6.5 –
    1.On the desktop to have a button in the audio display in the form of mono and stereo
    2. have a button switch desktop settings in a two-track video display 1 as 1a and 1b
    3. can you move to a different video track automatically with it on a different track must pass and audio
    4. have a button on the desktop audio smooth transition
    All of these features work in version 6.5 for LW – I want to work and for high definition

    • alexander  

      что еще хочу иметь в новой версии – сохранение 100% качества первоисточника при выводе результата работы в проекте без сжатия – это относится как к HD так и AVI файлов с возможностью воспроизведения на медиаплеерах – чтоб долго не обьясняли, что AVI это контейнер и сохраненное видео не поддерживается при воспроизведении медиаплеером
      that still want to be in the new version – to save 100% of the original source quality when displaying work in the project without compression – this applies to both HD and AVI files with support for playback on media players – so long explains that AVI is a container and stored video is not supported when playing media player

    • Kevin Monahan  

      It sounds like these are all feature requests. Feel fee to make them here: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish

  13. Mateo  

    Wait to Upgrade, trust me…
    1.) CS6 Project Manager is FATALLY FLAWED. Do not try. It will corrupt your files and render your other associated projects useless. But they’re working on it.
    2.) CS6 Disables 5.5 and you cannot open a project again in CS5.5 once you have worked on it in CS6
    3.) Adobe no longer accepts emails regarding customer problems. It’s nice to know that those in charge at Adobe have successfully insulated themselves from the problems associated with rushing an inferior product to market to appease shareholders at the expense of it’s loyal customers.

    • Kevin Monahan  

      I’m sorry you’re having trouble with the Project Manager. As to your specific issues, I can’t troubleshoot them here, but feel free to post your issue on the forums: forums.adobe.com/community/premiere/premierepro_current?view=discussions

      Backwards compatibility can always be a problem, no matter which application you are working in. However, you can make a feature request to have backwards compatibility available for Premiere Pro: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish Another thing you can try is to export XML from Premiere Pro CS6, and import that into Premiere Pro CS5.5.

      As long as I’ve worked at Adobe, we handle support though official channels including email, chat, and phone. I am not sure exactly what you’re referring to, but try this page: helpx.adobe.com/contact.html

      You might find it easier to get problems solved on our forums, so please check them out.

      Thanks,
      Kevin Monahan

  14. David Gaudio  

    Here’s a big one you haven’t touched on: the ability to export audio with a configuration other than mono or stereo. I cut trailers, and even if I edit one in Premiere I still have to finish it in FCP 7 due to the fact that CS6 can’t patch audio out to separate channels the way FCP 7 can (in other words, when I finish with a 5.1 mix, I want mono channels out on 1-6, and also usually a stereo comp on 7&8). Hope they fix this soon. Unfortunately, it’s also true of Media Encoder.

    Also, as has been mentioned elsewhere, I find the necessity of having to duplicate a title card in the browser, rather than just copying and pasting on the timeline, to be quite unnecessarily laborious. In FCP 7 if I have a subtitle card, I just copy and paste it elsewhere on the timeline, double-click it to edit it, and it’s done – new card. In CS6, you have to duplicate the card on the browser and give it a new name – which creates a ton of new browser items if you’re doing a lot of text and takes a few more steps as well. Clunky, I’m afraid.

  15. James  

    Well hello Kevin Monahan! … And thank you Dax!
    Thanks Kevin for branching off of the adobe forums and helping out here. You and I (DMH79) have discussed at length a few issues with CS6 (remember the multicam not being able to stop without making a cut issue). But you’ve always been informative, helpful, sincere and empathetic. A fellow Adobe staff member recently told me that many of my major issues are likely fixed in the next release. Very excited for that. Anyway, I’m here on this site because I’m excited for what’s coming next. As a former FCP7 user myself, Premiere CS6 was a quick and necessary switch (especially after changing the main keyboard shortcuts back to what I was used to). I’ve since gone back to FCP7 on occasion for certain things and I can tell you that I’m so glad I’ve switched. For all the headaches and serious errors that I still get daily/weekly with Premiere Pro CS6, it’s still definitely a big step up. Thank you Dax for having this page (very well laid out I might add). Here are my list of “Top 15 wishes/fixes” for Premiere CS6…

    1) The infamous multicam FLAW. Needing no introduction…when you are editing your video in the multicam window and you hit pause or stop Premiere has decided that’s a great time to make a cut on your timeline and also switch angles back to the original angle whether you like it or not. You cannot stop ever while editing multicam without Premiere making these unwanted cuts and angle changes. Awful. Multicam in PPro is otherwise pretty nice, but this issue is terribly counter-productive especially when you are editing longer complex multicam sequences. Imagine if every time you hit pause or stop in the regular timeline it made a cut there and switched clips. Ugh. You get my point.

    2) The audio meters/levels do not work while in the multicam window. A staff member in the forums (I think it was you) said this was a bug. Hope it will get fixed. The audio levels work in every other window and its essential to be able to keep an eye on the levels while editing multicam.

    3) Ticktime.cpp-207 error. Ugh. What a nightmare. I have confidence that it will be fixed soon. Mitch W. from the forums is my new hero for taking on this error. How to replicate it?…simply have 6 (or 7) or more clips with the warp stabilizer effect added on the same timeline as a nested multicam clip and you get this error upon reopening your project. The more warp stabilizers you use, the more times you’ll have to hit “continue” to get through the error before you can open your project or export it to AME. I deal with this every single day because all my projects use these two elements. Most of my projects I have to hit “continue” on the error message upwards of 350-450 times to open my projects. Gets old fast.

    4) When you display all your clips in icon view instead of a list view (In the project window), there is no metadata to allow you to put the clips in order somehow (or at least maintain the order that you have in the list). There are roundabout workarounds, but c’mon.

    5) Warp Stabilizer…an AMAZING tool (far, far, far better than smoothcam in FCP7) BUT…it has it’s issues. Since I use hundreds of times/week (no exaggeration) I know it’s functions/flaws really well. The issues with Warp Stabilizer:
    a) #3 above
    b) Toggle OFF the effect after it’s applied and then hit Analyze again and PPro crashes. (easy to avoid but annoying bug)
    c) If a clip is in the middle of stabilizing (not just analyzing…but the final step labeled “analyzing”) when Auto-save comes up…most of the time PPro freezes and crashes.
    d) The DEFAULT “method” (in the settings for Warp Stabilizer) should NOT be “Subspace Warp”…it should be “Position, Scale, Rotation”. Why? It’s FAAAAARRRR better and more efficient. 95 out of 100 times it causes MUCH less “wobble” in the final stabilized clips AND most importantly 95 out of 100 times it scales the video less. Way better method.

    6) Dax’s #7 – The ability to open multiple projects simultaneously. As simple as FCP7 had it…or even better…as cool and efficient as FCPX does it would be nice.

    7) Dax’s #47 – ability to mark a clip and not just a point on a timeline (because if you move the clip, the marker doesn’t go with it). I see that you talk about “Clip Marker” above in the comments…is that the solution? If so, awesome.

    8) Ability to select a clip in the Project window and find out where it’s used in the timeline. I LOVE how you can do the reverse and take a clip in the timeline and “Reveal in Project Window” but it would really help to go the other way around. Dealing with several hundred clips for every project I’ve missed this feature from time to time (FCPX handles this really well).

    9) Dax’s #73 – Add through-edit indicator in timeline and “join clips” option. If you cut a clip but keep both clips together it’s just one continuous clip. But I really hope Premiere adds the not only an indicator of some sort (like FCP7’s way of having two small red triangles facing each other on that cut) so you know it’s one continuous clip AND the ability to right-click and “re-join” the two clips into one.

    10) Dax’s #51 – This one is REALLY annoying. When clip is double-clicked in timeline, CTI position in source viewer should match location in timeline. Perfectly said. So incredibly helpful. The way it is now is very counter-productive. Definitely hope this gets fixed ASAP.

    11) Dax’s #42 – Border controls for images. Can’t do much with images right now. At least allow to customize the color and size/strength of it’s borders and shadows.

    12) Oh wow…I almost forgot…Dax’s #1. I read Kevin’s response above about “they’re working on it” and “we do support some AMD cards” but my question is why not even the 2011 top of the line iMac cards (AMD 6970M) that have 2gb of ram. I know you said it’s tough to support one’s with less than 1gb, but this is clearly not the case. I’m sure/I hope 2012 iMac’s will be supported with their new Nvidia GPU’s…but I’ll hold out hope that the top iMac (up until 3 months ago) is supported at least at it’s full power.

    13) Opacity/Transparency issues with EXPORTED videos with Cross Dissolves, etc. For some odd reason videos exported from Premiere CS6 have issues with cross dissolves or minor transparency. I’ll try to explain…in the program window of PPro CS6 cross dissolves look fine. Also, if you take a clip and stack it on top of another clip and put the top clip at say 99% opacity instead of 100 it looks like it should in PPro. But, if you export the clips you’ll quickly see that there are issues. It’s almost like the exported videos dissolve from 5 to 95. They skip the subtle beginning (0-5%) and subtle end (95-100%) of any fade. A clip in PPro as described above that is on top of another but set at 99% will look more like 90-95% in the exported file ESPECIALLY if the two clips are contrasting (eg. top layer dark, bottom layer with bright elements). It’s like the opposit of ease-in/ease-out. I have to ease-in/ease-out of every dissolve to avoid this issue…and even then, it’s not THAT much of an “ease” as one would hope. Another user in a forum once posted a video that shows how abruptly exported videos end their transparency changes…see: http://vimeo.com/14536285

    14) Better control in Creative Cloud over which devices are “activated/deactivated” We have 3 computers and it would be nice if one could log in to their Creative Cloud account and see a list of which devices they have and just toggle on/off which one’s are activated/deactivated. This is especially helpful when you are mobile and forget to deactivate one of your two home/office devices so you’re stuck now until you get back to the home/office to deactivate it. This is not a Premiere thing, but just a general wish.

    15) Ability to sync multicam clips automatically using the audio. Plural eyes apparently does this well. Would be nice to have it built into Premiere like FCPX does. Select all the shots you want to sync, One button click, wait a few seconds, done.

    That’s my top 15. Everything else is awesome in my opinion. I’ve included bug reports/feature requests for all of these at one point but if you are someone else reading this go to the following link and ask for these issues to be fixed: https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform

    Thanks again Dax for your list. Wish mine had fancy green writing and cool drop down explanations too. But I’ll just have to stick with this comment section for now. Here’s to hoping that these issues will be resolved sooner than later so I can stop raising hell in various forums. It’s a great program and I’m excited for what’s next. I wish Adobe did smaller updates more often. Because even if they were smaller updates, we’d at least know you are working on fixing some of these issues that have plagued this NLE for years. Holding off fixes for one or two big “updates” every year is tough to deal with in a world of the ever updating apps we live and play with daily on our phones. I realize Premiere is a much larger scale and more professional app than a phone app, but hopefully you get my point. Here’s to hoping the next release (NAB maybe?) resolves all my issues. I’m honestly ready to start praising and defending Premiere Pro instead of griping about it’s bugs and flaws. It’s a fantastic program “on the way” to being the best. I hope.

    • Dax  

      Thanks for the additions and endorsements, James! The Ticktime.cpp-207 error sounds awful. I haven’t experienced that specifically, but I have found Warp Stabilizer to be buggy: the more clips I apply it to in a given sequence, the more often it causes errors. It also seems to lead to ridiculously enormous project files. LIke you said though, it’s amazing when it works. It has changed the way I shoot handheld. It not only makes more shots useable, but it allows me to track from side to side and then use Warp Stabilizer to make it look like a slider or dolly shot. I’ll have to try your suggestion. I’ve always used the Subspace Warp setting.

    • James  

      Yeah the other method is MUCH better. You’ll see. Less wobble and less scaling 9 out of 10 times. And yes, that ticktime error is always a sad way to start up every single one of my projects (again, its because I generally stabilize about 100 clips in the same sequence that I have nested multicam clips). And yes, the warp stabilizer has completely changed how I shoot. Emulating slider and crane shots with ease (and practice). Plus it doesn’t get affected by camera flashes the way smoothcam on FCP7 did. And it only affects the portion of the clip that you want to stabilize instead of the whole clip. A few bug fixes and tweaks and it’ll be even better. Just one of my 15 things to fix. 🙂

  16. Chris  

    You have probably seen this already, but Adobe recently released videos on Adobe TV detailing many upcoming features in their video products (there’s a list of the videos at http://tv.adobe.com/show/adobe-at-nab-2013/ ). Some of your feature requests seem to have been catered to, looks from SpeedGrade can be used directly in Premiere Pro, multiple cameras can by synched automatically (etc.). The videos are well worth a look, it’s good to know that Premiere Pro is evolving.

    Hopefully more of your complaints will be addressed in the future, some of them I find very annoying!

  17. James  

    The Next Premiere Pro looks fantastic. Many are knocked off my list above as well as your list Dax. Bug fixes aren’t revealed yet but hopefully it’ll be relatively bug free. Either way, it looks great! …Even more “features” covered here too:

    http://success.adobe.com/en/na/programs/events/1303_30759_nab.html?sdid=KEYJL

    http://www.retooled.net/?page_id=64

    http://blogs.adobe.com/premierepro/2013

    Thx!

    • Dax  

      I agree. I’m very impressed by what I’ve seen of Adobe Premiere Pro Next! There is no doubt Adobe is listening and rapidly incorporating an almost surprising number of popular feature requests and fixes. If overall stability has improved, I think I’ll be ready to fully recommend Premiere as the best option for FCP7 users who are considering making the switch.

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