Synchronizing the Media Files
This page discusses the automatic synchronization process, and features that you can use to improve the sync.
Starting and stopping the sync
To start the automatic sync process in PluralEyes 3.5, click the Synchronize button in the toolbar. During the sync process, you can see clips move into place in the Timeline. Icons appear on two clips when the synchronization algorithms are trying to sync them as a pair.
In general, after clips have finished importing, a project with a dozen clips will sync in a few seconds. A project with more than 100 clips might take a few minutes to sync. During the sync process, you can use other applications or start a new project in PluralEyes.
Stop Synchronization. While the sync is in progress or paused, you cannot make changes to a project, such as adding or removing clips, or changing the sync settings. If you need to make these changes after the sync has started, click Sync> Stop Synchronization.
Restart the sync. If you click the Synchronize button after stopping the sync, or after the sync completes by itself, PluralEyes will start the sync process again.
Choosing the sync settings
PluralEyes 3.5 can apply additional processing algorithms when syncing clips. These algorithms improve sync results for some projects; however, they make syncing take longer. Here are three helpful options.
Level Audio. If the audio volume varies a lot between the clips, try turning on the Level Audio option by clicking Sync> Level Audio. This almost always improves the percentage of clips that synchronize, but it increases the amount of time needed to import clips.
Correct Audio Drift. Long audio clips can sometimes have timing inaccuracies that cause the sync with the video cameras to drift apart over time. If this option is turned on, this condition will be detected and fixed.
Try Really Hard. The option tells PluralEyes to do extra processing during synchronization, and is turned on by default. To turn it on/off, click Sync> Try Really Hard. We recommend keeping this option ON since it often resolves difficult sync situations.
Try Really Hard adds extra time to the sync process, but this tends to be manageable if you don’t have many clips. NOTE: If you have video clips in your sequence that don’t have matching audio, then the sync will take longer, so we recommend removing them.
Choosing the clip order
The PluralEyes 3.5 sync algorithm always adjusts the amount of time between clips in order to sync them with clips from other tracks. Choosing the correct clip ordering for your media will significantly affect the quality and speed of synchronization.
To switch between clip ordering methods, click Sync> Allow Sync to Change Clip Order. This option is turned off by default.
Turn it off. If you uncheck this option, the system will put clips in ascending alphanumeric order by file name. If you have not renamed the media files, they will usually be sorted chronologically when they are sorted alphanumerically. The syncing process will change the spacing but not the order or clips in the bin.
If you are confident of the order in which clips should go within a bin, then turning off Allow Sync to Change Clip Order gives the fastest, most accurate results. This is especially true when there are multiple clips within a bin that contain very similar content, such as repeated takes of actors following a script.
Turn it on. If you check this option, the sync process will determine the order in which clips should be placed. It does this by comparing the audio content of each clip with the audio content of clips in other bins. The syncing process can change the spacing and the order of clips in the bin. If you are not sure of the order in which clips should go, then turn on Allow Sync to Change Clip Order.