Premiere Pro 14.3: Komodo and Afterburner support
Premiere Pro 14.3: Komodo and Afterburner support

Premiere Pro (Beta) Reveals: Mac Pro Afterburner ProRes Decoding and RED Komodo Support

2020-05-24
3 mins read

Discussions in the Premiere Pro Beta community forum reveals future updates regarding Mac Pro Afterburner ProRes decoding and RED Komodo support. Those might be enrolled in the next version of Premiere Pro (14.3). 

ADOBE Premiere Pro
ADOBE Premiere Pro

Premiere Pro Public Beta 

First, let’s explain the Public Beta project and its importance for Premiere Pro stability. The Public Beta project was recently introduced in the goal to enhance ADOBE creative application stability and minimize bugs. This is ADOBE’s effort to sharpen the product development cycle in order to push its users much more stable versions. As for the users, this project constitutes an opportunity to engage directly in the development process for the Adobe video and audio applications. As explained by ADOBE: “Public Beta provides an opportunity to engage directly in product development, allowing interested users to test new fixes and features before they are released and share their feedback with the Adobe product teams. The program includes Beta builds of Premiere Pro, Premiere Rush, After Effects, Audition, Character Animator, and Media Encoder”. Beta participants want to engage with the development process, are willing to run separate builds of their applications, and understand they may encounter unforeseen issues due to unique system configurations.  

Premiere Pro Public Beta
Premiere Pro Public Beta

Public Beta provides an opportunity to engage directly in product development, allowing interested users to test new fixes and features before they are released and share their feedback with the Adobe product teams

ADOBE

Daily beta updates of Premiere Pro

The public Beta is updated frequently, sometimes even daily, with new builds that address bugs and add improvements. As soon as ADOBE has determined that a Beta-tested feature or fix is ready, it will be added to the next release version of the product. It’s important to emphasize that the Beta builds are stable enough to work with but inherently less predictable than release versions. For participating in the program, visit the welcome page.

Afterburner ProRes Hardware Decompression Support

In recent beta builds (14.3.0 and newer) ADOBE added support for Apple’s Afterburner accelerator card which is an optional component available for 2019 Mac Pro systems. According to ADOBE “Currently we support decode acceleration of ProRes 4444 and 422 codecs using the Afterburner card. Please note: ProRes RAW acceleration via the Afterburner card is not currently supported – although CPU decompression is available for ProRes RAW”. By the way, the support for ProRes RAW decoding was added to the recent Premiere Pro update (14.2). Read more here: Premiere Pro 14.2 Released: Improved Stability, Enhanced Performances, and ProRes RAW. Furthermore, If you’re not familiar with the Afterburner card, make sure to read our article: Mac Pro Afterburner: Editors’ Dream but Only for ProRes and ProRes RAW.

Apple Afterburner for ProRes
Apple Afterburner for ProRes

Currently we support decode acceleration of ProRes 4444 and 422 codecs using the Afterburner card. Please note: ProRes RAW acceleration via the Afterburner card is not currently supported – although CPU decompression is available for ProRes RAW

ADOBE

Basically, the Afterburner focuses on efficient decoding of ProRes and ProRes RAW multiple streams on FCPX (Final Cut Pro X). The utilization of this accelerator will be implemented on the next version of Premiere Pro, so Mac Pro users can utilize it on Premiere as well.  For Premiere Pro Beta user, the Metal renderer must be selected for use in the applications: File < Project Settings > General > select Renderer: “Mercury Playback Engine GPU Acceleration (Metal) – Recommended”. For now, there is no way to identify the utilization of the Afterburner card. However, it’s a good start that can be improved in the next version (14.3). 

The RED Komodo Stormtrooper for $7,000
The RED Komodo Stormtrooper. Will it be supported on Premiere Pro 14.3?

Support for RED Komodo camera

The next version of Premiere Pro (14.3) will be Komodo ready. According to ADOBE, support of RED files from the Komodo camera has been added. Although these R3Ds are supported already by Premiere Pro, it’s a new sensor, and thus need to be updated (for metadata purposes). The question is if Komodo users will be able to edit their files on current versions of Premiere Pro? I suppose that answer for that would be yes. However, we expect some issues regarding metadata. I guess we find out soon since Komodo cameras will be released before the next version of Premiere Pro (14.3). 

Get the best of filmmaking!

Subscribe to Y.M.Cinema Magazine to get the latest news and insights on cinematography and filmmaking!

Yossy is a filmmaker who specializes mainly in action sports cinematography. Yossy also lectures about the art of independent filmmaking in leading educational institutes, academic programs, and festivals, and his independent films have garnered international awards and recognition.
Yossy is the founder of Y.M.Cinema Magazine.

2 Comments

  1. Hilarious to see Adobe lapping at R3D’s behest, rapidly deploying an update for their Kimono or whatever, while turning a blind eye to BRAW for years claiming that it’s not worth the development time. (Of course, they’re shivering in their boots about DaVinci killing Premiere.)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Get the best of filmmaking!

Subscribe to Y.M.Cinema Magazine to get the latest news and insights on cinematography and filmmaking!

Get the best of filmmaking!

Subscribe to Y.M.Cinema Magazine to get the latest news and insights on cinematography and filmmaking!

RTX Studio laptops and 8K native (RAW) proxy-free files
Previous Story

RTX Studio Laptops Family has Expanded to Allow 8K Proxy-Free Editing On-The-Go

GoPro HERO8 Black is $100 Off! Paving its way to HERO9?
Next Story

GoPro News: HERO8 Black is $100 Off! Paving its way to HERO9? 

Latest from News

Sony Alpha 1 Gets a $1,000 Price Slash

Sony Alpha 1 Gets a $1,000 Price Slash

The Sony Alpha 1, long regarded as Sony’s ultimate flagship mirrorless camera, has just received a remarkable $1,000 price reduction, dropping from $6,500 to $5,500. Officially advertised as part of a…
Canon C400 is Netflix Approved

Canon C400 is Netflix Approved

YMCinema is proud to be the first to announce that Canon’s powerful new EOS C400 has earned the prestigious Netflix seal of approval, joining the elite roster of cameras authorized for Netflix…
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Final Cut Pro 11: Apple’s Vision for the Future of Video Editing

Final Cut Pro 11: Apple’s Vision for the Future of Video Editing

Apple’s latest flagship update, Final Cut Pro 11, marks a new era for video editing on the Mac, redefining the editing experience with…
Hollywood’s Future: How AI and New Technology Are Transforming the Industry

Hollywood’s Future: How AI and New Technology Are Transforming the Industry

As Hollywood faces its greatest challenge to date—an audience drawn to streaming and empowered by ever-advancing technology—the cinematic landscape is undergoing a transformation…