Corel VS can't handle 120 fps video?

[JPW]

I've used Corel VideoStudio for years and really like it. However, recently I went on ski trip with my family and I wanted to shoot some slow-motion shots. I recorded 1080p @ 120fps on my iPhone 7. When I got home and attempted to edit it in VS, it was a mess. VS struggled to play it back well at all. Attempting to move through the video to edit it was impossible. I tried it with VS 10 Ultimate on another computer and got the same result. I even bought a new computer, which should have more than enough strength, but it doesn't. In comparison, I installed Adobe Premiere Pro and it plays the video back perfectly and very smoothly. Editing it is a breeze in Adobe Premiere Pro, but I would prefer to use VS entirely.

Has anyone experienced this issue? Are there any workarounds to resolve it?

[Ron P.]

I think this has been addressed in This Thread.

You're comparing Premiere Pro to VS? That's like comparing a Rolls Royce to a Ford. Certainly it's going to be able to do things, a lot of things, better than VS. Have a look at thread I linked to for explanation on the 120fps iPhone issue.

[JPW]

You're comparing Premiere Pro to VS? That's like comparing a Rolls Royce to a Ford.

Well...of course I am. Who wouldn't be? I'm not splitting hairs between the functions of each product. This is a general usage issue having to do with source files from probably the most common video and photo capturing device on the planet, an iPhone. Corel makes it a point to cite their Video Editor is "powerful" and can handle 4K Ultra HD Video, so why is it such a stretch to assume that it might work at lower resolutions, but higher frame rates? Personally, I thought hardware might be the bottleneck for something like this, but not the software.

Thanks for passing on the link. I guess higher frame rates are simply something Corel VS can't work with, which is pretty disappointing for me because I'm so familiar with the program. I've got to believe this will be a deal-killer for some people like me who simply want to take advantage of slow-motion shots (obviously pretty common) that can introduce much better quality by leveraging higher frame rates. Even though Premiere Pro works with higher frame rates I'm not sure I can get past their very restrictive user interface. I might take a look at Davinci and see what it offers. Ultimately, I hope Corel does look to add higher frame rates to their features. I would pay to upgrade immediately if they did.

[lata]

Hi

Please right click your clip and choose properties, what are they?

I think the frame rate will be 30fps not 120fps, the video should play in slow motion.

If playback stutters please try using smart proxy, ensure that proxy files have been created, project playback should improve.

I have a Lumia tz70 that records high frame rate, on board software converts the recording to slow motion, that plays ok

IPhones may use a variable frame rate that does cause problems when editing although I would have thought high speed recordings would be at a constant rate.

But please try using smart proxy.......

[JPW]

Thanks, but SmartProxy was one of the first things I did. I didn't specifically check what VS thought the properties was of the many 120fps clips I have, but I do know Premiere clearly reflected it as a 120fps clip. I'll take a look when I get home in a bit.

Speaking of SmartProxy though, I think it is a brilliant function, but it has never worked quite right for me. I've put Corel VS on 3 different computers and they all do the same thing, that is, I'll go through the trouble of creating SmartProxy files for all my imported clips. They are clearly there. In project mode, a clip that was once a little "stuttery" will playback smoothly, which is great. However, if I solely select the clip, the video will stutter just as it did without the SmartProxy giving me an indication that it is playing back the original file. Shouldn't playback for everything be with SmartProxy file once you've gone to the trouble to create. In my mind the only time it should deviate away from the SmartProxy files is when you move to rendering the finished product.

[JPW]

Yes, in Properties on the clip itself in VS it reflects 119.1 FPS.

[Ken Berry]

Just thinking out loud here but the frame rate of 119.1 suggests that your iPhone may have been using a variable frame rate, and we already knew that Video Studio can't handle that -- even though it was close to 120 fps. But increasing numbers of smartphones are introducing variable rates, so something is eventually going to have to be done to make VS work with this. At the moment, we are telling people in a similar situation to use a third party converter to convert the video to the same format but using a fixed frame rate. You might want to think about that.

[Terfyn]

I have shot Slo-Mo on my Panasonic HC-V750 camera. It comes out as a MP4 file. Never had any problem with editing in VS

[lata]

Hi JPW

When you play the video does it playback in Slow Motion.

Video is recorded using 120fps that is 4X the normal record rate of 30fps for NTSC
For Pal (I live in UK) I record at 100fps again 4X the pal frame rate of 25fps.

The cameras on board software creates a video using 25 fps, but 4X the duration
So a 1 minute recording will play for 4 minutes.
Import that to Video Studio and its properties show as 25fps

Smart Proxy

This affects Project Playback, as far as I know when playing in Clip mode smart proxy files are not used.

[pepegota]

I just authored a project using my Panasonic FZ 2500 camera and 120fps video to create slow motion. It gave me an MP4 file that played perfectly in VS Pro X10. If you need to do serious video work get a decent camera instead of those smartphones and you will have less trouble. The technology changes faster than the bloody weather. 4K video, 1920x1200 monitors, new cameras and camcorders, etc. What we need for the next version of VS are updates to cover the rapidly changing technology and less fancy Dan. I would hope that Corel is on the ball in regard to this situation.

[JPW]

Just thinking out loud here but the frame rate of 119.1 suggests that your iPhone may have been using a variable frame rate, and we already knew that Video Studio can't handle that -- even though it was close to 120 fps. But increasing numbers of smartphones are introducing variable rates, so something is eventually going to have to be done to make VS work with this. At the moment, we are telling people in a similar situation to use a third party converter to convert the video to the same format but using a fixed frame rate. You might want to think about that.

Thanks. I'm not sure which converter might be a good option. Any recommendations?

[JPW]

Hi JPW

When you play the video does it playback in Slow Motion.

Video is recorded using 120fps that is 4X the normal record rate of 30fps for NTSC
For Pal (I live in UK) I record at 100fps again 4X the pal frame rate of 25fps.

The cameras on board software creates a video using 25 fps, but 4X the duration
So a 1 minute recording will play for 4 minutes.
Import that to Video Studio and its properties show as 25fps

Smart Proxy

This affects Project Playback, as far as I know when playing in Clip mode smart proxy files are not used.

No, the video does not playback in slow motion and this is what I would expect. The slow motion is something I would introduce, but the increased frame rates allow it to not look choppy, especially with a frame rate this high.

Thanks for the comments about how Smart Proxy works. I sort of figured that out on my own, but I wish Corel would use this function differently. Not using the Smart Proxy file for a clip that might exist in the media folder makes sense to me, but once you put it in the timeline it should exclusively use the Smart Proxy file. There are plenty of functions where you need to only use the clip while it is in the timeline and it makes sense to me that if you went to the trouble to create the Smart Proxy file for it this is exactly where you would need it (in addition to the Project where it is already leveraged).

[JPW]

I just authored a project using my Panasonic FZ 2500 camera and 120fps video to create slow motion. It gave me an MP4 file that played perfectly in VS Pro X10. If you need to do serious video work get a decent camera instead of those smartphones and you will have less trouble. The technology changes faster than the bloody weather. 4K video, 1920x1200 monitors, new cameras and camcorders, etc. What we need for the next version of VS are updates to cover the rapidly changing technology and less fancy Dan. I would hope that Corel is on the ball in regard to this situation.

Did you use Smart Proxy or are you saying your 120 FPS video played flawlessly natively in VS?

[pepegota]

I inserted the video and it played as it should. With this camera there is a MP4/ LCPM setting coupled with 100M/30P, at 59.94HZ NTSC, with Variable Frame Rate turned on. This gives you 120fps and slow motion. It is adjustable so you can go down to 15fps for rapid play.

[lata]

Hi JPW

A bit of info regarding the timelines

The standard settings would use 30 fps (29.97fps for NTSC)
When we add a 30fps video all frames will be displayed as there is sufficient space on the timeline.
If we add a 60fps video to the same timeline then some frames will not be displayed, in fact every alternate frame will be missing. However we can set the timeline to 60 allowing all frames to be displayed.
Indecently if we add a 30fps video to a 60fps timeline each frame will be duplicated to fill the additional frames.

Now you are using a 120fps video, I assume added to a 30fps timeline, that will only play every 4th frame, again we can increase the timeline to 60fps which should improve things, but 120fps is not an option as far as I know, 60fps is the max for our timelines.

Timeline set to 30 fps
If you apply Speed / Timelapse at 25% that may use all the frames on your video. You can navigate the video frame by frame (hit the F button) to see each frame, there should be no duplicates.

Timeline set to 60fps
If you apply Speed / Timelapse at 50%, again all frames should be used.

I am sure that is how it would work, but do not have a 120fps sample to confirm that.

Is anyone able to share a 120fps video sample, upload to a sharing site and provide share link in your reply.