Screenflow 9.0.5 lag
I have used Screenflow since version 4. Yesterday I finally upgraded to 9.0.5 from 8.2.6. What followed is not only very disappointing, but IMO points to a serious flaw in software development here.
I'm using a 2015 MacBook Pro 15" Retina (Catalina 10.15.7) with a 2.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM, Intel Iris Pro 1536 MB graphics and an SSD HD.
I started editing a video the other day in 8.2.6 (350mb mov file), then after the upgrade continued editing with 9.0.5. Ever since, continuous lag (beachballs) has been the norm, something not evident to such a degree in 8.2.6. I noted in the system requirements "Apple macOS approved graphics card3,4" required. What does that even mean? A search for such term turned up nothing meaningful.
While I can appreciate how a faster graphics card can improve performance, I cannot understand why continuous lagging is the norm for a machine only 5 yrs old and with an i7 processor. Such lag makes editing impossible. I thought perhaps an external graphics card might be a viable alternative until I saw SF does not even support external graphic cards. 🤦🏻♂️
Appreciate any suggestions that might help improve performance.
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Your GPU should be fine. I've used ScreenFlow on MBP older than that without issues.
Was this a document that was created in ScreenFlow 8?
How much free drive space do you have?
How is the source of the MOV file?
Open the same file in 8.2.6 and test and see how that file specifically performs. -
Thanks for the response.
Yes, document was initially created in SF8, but later saved in SF9. Since I saved the document in 9 I cannot open same in 8.
Plenty of free space (500gb) on the SSD
Video file is mp4 and initially created via Zoom. About 58 minutes long/112mb.
I just looked at the SF file. It shows it 330mb in size, which is not very large.
Thoughts?
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Joseph Mina said:
Video file is mp4 and initially created via ZoomIf you didn't check this box the file will have problems in many editing programs.
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Box wasn't checked, however, file was saved in the Cloud. Would that make a difference? If not, then seems going forward the video ought to be saved on the computer rather than the cloud. Do you concur? Thanks again.
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Joseph Mina Yes, save locally. If that box isn't checked then transcode the file before importing into ScreenFlow. Apple ProRes would be best.
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CraigS Transcode? via what app?
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Joseph Mina said:
Transcode? via what app?macOS does this. Built-in.
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CraigS Followed the instructions. File created (mov) is a whopping 31.42GB from the initial 112MB. That can't be right. Suggestions? thxs
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Joseph Mina That would be right. Apple ProRes files are very large but also very easy to play. You can convert to H.264. The process that makes a file smaller often requires more resources to decode the file while playing. It may still play better than the original Zoom file though.
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CraigS I'm going to try the 1080p option first, as that yields a 750mb file. I'll post back Sat or Sun. Thxs
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CraigS Since optimizing the imported video lag has considerably reduced. Only instances of noticeable lag occur when I magnify the timeline, especially at the higher end of magnification. Then, beachball spins for about 30 seconds before I can access any of the specific parts. Thoughts?
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Joseph Mina Try using ScreenFlow's Proxy feature,
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Joseph Mina In ScreenFlow Preferences, there's a setting that will create smaller proxies.
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CraigS Thanks. Proxy definitely helped, but still get the spinning beach ball whenever I increase the magnification at the upper end of the scale.
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CraigS Is the proxy cached for a specific period of time, or is it erased upon quitting the program, then reinstated once a file is opened?
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Joseph Mina The proxy should be saved with the document. You can delete them. Note there's a user setting to delete the proxy cache after a number of days. You can always go to the proxy cache location, another setting you can control, and delete manually.
Since it helped reduce but didn't eradicate the problem, perhaps there's a memory use issue.
Open Activity Monitor and see if there's a change in Memory use or any task tied with zooming in. It's possible that thumbnails or waveform might be a factor. Try turning both off as an experiment. That will tell us if that's the cause. -
Joseph Mina
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This weekend I'm going to reinstall the app and see if that makes a change. Other than deleting the app, is there any other file to remove that doesn't impact preference settings. Thanks
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Joseph Mina ScreenFlow cache can make things a bit sluggish sometimes given the redrawing of waveforms and thumbnails. You can empty the cache.
Delete ScreenFlow Cache:
1) Make sure ScreenFlow is not open. (save any work in progress)
2) Open a new Finder window.
3) Select the "GO" menu top of screen, Hold "Option" key with menu open, and select the "Library" that appears.
4) In the Library folder open Caches folder.
5) Delete ALL folders that start with “net.telestream.screenflow9”
6) Empty trash.
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