Premiere Pro and Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT (Mac Version)

Hi there,

I'm attempting to install Premiere Pro CC 2014. I'm a long time FCP 7 user now deserting the ship.

Am running the demo version of Pre Pro CC 2014 on a Mac 2,1 2x3Ghz (8 Core) under Lion 10.7.5

On advice of both Adobe and Nvidia I bought a reconditioned Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT (Mac version) because this will run ok on my old Mac 8 Core (2,1).

Got hold of NVIDIA and downloaded the latest Cuda / driver 295.00.05f03-macosx.

Works fine and gives me two good looking desktops, but I cannot get Adobe Premiere Pro to recognize the card. But at least nothing exploded and the card works with my MacPro.

Adobe Prem Pro CC 2014 also seems to work fine (demo version). But obviously I want to get this CUDA thing going - or some form of accelleration.

Have Googled etc and learned that Prem Pro has to be taught to recognize the card by my adding it the list of CUDA supported cards. So, on instruction, I added my Card to the list of "cuda_supported_cards.txt within the "Contents" folder of Adobe premiere Pro.

I still can't get it to show up.

I would give up at this stage, but the Nvidia people sound pretty knowledgeable and about 3 techs, including a supervisor, insist that this configuration of Steam Powered Mac 8 Core, 10.75, Nvidia GeForce (for Mac 8800 GT), PP CC 2014 and my determination will work.

Adobe tech support is, of course, useless. They say that PP needs n Nvidia card with at least 1 GB. Nvidia tech support went to Adove PP website, checked and insist it will run with 512mb.

Can anyone offer any advice?

Thanks.

Harry

[helpx.adobe.com]

1 GB. If your card supports CUDA/OpenCL and has more than 1 GB of VRAM but is not certified by Adobe, you will get a message telling you that your card has not been certified and but that you can use it in Premiere.

That text file hack is an old one from the CS6 days. Adobe has since allowed any card that meets the minimum specs to run with GPU acceleration.



www.strypesinpost.com

Strypes!!!

Whoah ... Great to hear from you and thanks for the reply.

As you can see, I am putting my toes in the Premiere Pro waters. I'm not in a great rush, but I certainly like the idea of being able to cut multiclips shot with different cameras and codecs without having to transcode.

And I like the idea of semi-instant rendering.

I wonder why I'm not using FCPX. Can you tell me? I think it's probably because I'm a snob and got so turned off when it made it's glorious - and notorious debut.

Anyway, I get it about that .txt file - and the post did look kinda ancient.

The other issue is your note that: "If your card supports CUDA/OpenCL and has more than 1 GB of VRAM but is not certified by Adobe, you will get a message telling you that your card has not been certified and but that you can use it in Premiere." So I may be making a lot of effort for very little return in performance - right? It sounds that way.

So, (a) 1GB VRAM essential and (b) card must support CUDA/OpenCL.

I will call back the Nvidia people and ask them what fits the bill, bearing in mind that my options are limited by the age and model of my MacPro 2,1 8 Core.

You are always horrifyingly clear.

Any further observations welcome but, again, thanks for the response.

Many thanks,

Harry

Also, see how much you really need it, Harry. The software only engine in Premiere is pretty snappy.

We have a bunch of older Mac Pros at a job I'm at - one with a pair of very high end graphics cards and the others with average to nice cards, and the only time we really notice the difference is when intensive graphics grunt is required. Most of the time, doing general cutting, you might just as well be on any station.

Dear Jude,

You said in your post: "Also, see how much you really need it, Harry. The software only engine in Premiere is pretty snappy. "

I did just that and am surprised, thanks to you personally, that I find it remarkably good (compared to FCP7). I did a test with 4 layers, each in defferent codecs, and all with c/c and a glow effect in order to make it hard work for the computer. I found that, working at half resolution and full resolution on pause, it was a great experience. I was able to play back in semi-real time with a few jerks here and there. It's a godsend.

So your point is well taken and I thank you for the advice. It really gave me quite a shock to experience multi-codec playback without the need for prior transcoding. That alone changes my entire work experience.

All best wishes, and many thanks for responding to my post with such a sensible pointer which has helped me immeasurably.

Harry.

As always, Harry, happy to suggest things. Especially for such a gentleman.

Glad you're enjoying the switch - the multi codec thing and not having to transcode and render all the time were great leaps for me too. A couple of my other favourite things that you might want to look into -

• The rate stretch tool - this is a godsend in my current project where we're doing a LOT of speed ramping. Just select the rate stretch tool, grab the end of your clip, and drag it to be the duration you want it to be. The speed adjusts automatically. It's awesome for fitting ramps to frame accurate spaces.

• The ability to trim multiple clips at once. Got six layers and need to trim off the first fifteen frames? Just select all the clips and drag backwards to suit. Or, even better if you need more accuracy, type -15 and hit enter on the keypad and all selected layers trim back 15 frames.

• Being able to move keyframes in the effects panel by lassoing and dragging them to where you want them to be, rather than having to rebuild them in the new position. Copy/pasting and option dragging keyframes. Right clicking on keyframes for interpolation settings that really work - like easing in and out.

Anyway - hope it goes well for you.

Dear Jude,

Thanks so much for these new features that I can try out in PP.

It's quite a strain to do battle with a new NLE after 14 years with FCP, so your advice is greatly appreciated.

Best, Harry.