Why is my Preview Window "choppy" or seem out of sync?

Why is my Preview Window "choppy" or seem out of sync?

If your computer can't keep up with the video shown in the Preview Window, it will drop frames which creates a "jerky" or "choppy" viewing experience. Learn more about why this happens and a solution for knowing exactly what the finished video will look like.

The Preview Window attempts to show your video and audio in real time. It would be kind of annoying if every time you wanted to see a clip you had to wait as your computer rendered the video. The bad news about a real-time Preview Window is that if your computer can’t keep up, it’ll start dropping frames to compensate.

Preview windows drops frames

What does that really mean? Let’s say you use Camtasia Studio on an older laptop. What does that really mean? Let’s say you use Camtasia Studio on an older laptop. If you have a lot of video action going on—like some transitions and PiP camera video, the computer and its video card will likely struggle. To compensate, the computer and Camtasia Studio will start dropping frames and sacrifice quality to keep up.

When you produce the video for real, Camtasia Studio will not drop any frames and there should be no “choppiness”, or out-of-sync behavior. Here’s a great tip—want to produce just a part of your video to see what it’ll really look like? Learn how to produce a selection of the Timeline.

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Format Title Category Level
Written Customize the About Box Produce b I
Written How do I make a Table of Contents? Produce b I
Written Project Settings And Presets Edit b I
Written Markers Edit b I
Written Record Voice Narration Edit b I
Written Upload to Screencast.com without Using the Preset Troubleshooting b II
Written Flash Quiz or Survey Edit b I
Written Export Project as a Zip File Share b I
Written Why is my Preview Window "choppy" or seem out of sync? Troubleshooting b I
Written Save PowerPoint Slides as Images Record b I
Written Record Camera Video in Camtasia Studio Record b I
Video/Written Produce a Selection of Your Timeline: A Very Handy Thing to Know Produce b I
Video/Written SmartFocus and Zoom and Pan Edit b I
Written Preview the Production Settings Produce b I
Video How to Produce Getting Started b I
Video How to Record Getting Started b I
Written Captions Edit b II
Video/Written Draw on the Screen while Recording (ScreenDraw) Record b II
Written Produce a Video for an iPod, iPhone, or iTunes Produce b I
Written Add or Edit a Production Preset Produce b I
Written Flash Hotspot Callouts Edit b I
Written Picture-in-Picture (PIP) Edit b I
Written Customize the Start and End Screens Produce b I
Written Produce a Flash (MPEG-4 or SWF) Video Produce b I
Written Documentation Documentation b I
Written Can I See What My Video Will Look Like Without Having to Produce the Whole Thing? (Preview Production Settings) Troubleshooting b I
Written Project File Overview Edit b I
Video How to Edit Getting Started b I
Written Transitions Edit b I
Written Produce using a Production Preset Produce b I
Written How to Improve Recording Performance Troubleshooting b III
Video How to Share Getting Started b I
Written Upload a Video to Screencast.com Share b I
Video/Written Record a PowerPoint Presentation Record b I
Written Customize the Flash Table of Contents Produce b I
Written Recording Tips Record b I
Written Understanding Dimensions, Project Settings and Aspect Ratio Troubleshooting b II
Video Tilt Edit b I
Written Record a Web Camera in Camtasia Studio Record b I
Written Record Audio in Camtasia Recorder Record b I
Written Custom Callouts Edit b I
Written Customize the Quiz Placement and Opacity Produce b I
Video/Written Record the Screen Record b I
Written Camtasia Studio Hotkeys Edit b I
Video Camtasia Studio 6 Overview Getting Started b I
Written Audio Enhancements Edit b I
Written How do I record system audio? (The sound that comes out of my speakers) Troubleshooting b III
Written Share a Production Preset Produce b I
Written Produce a Video using Custom Production Settings Produce b I
Written Title Clips Edit b I
Written Upload Video by FTP Share b I
Written How do I extend the duration of a callout? Edit b I
Written Playback Controls Produce b I
Written Add Callouts Edit b I
Written Audio Editing Edit b I

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