This article covers some frequently asked questions about Proxy Videos in Camtasia and why/when you should use them.
What is a Proxy File?
Proxy video is the new feature that allows you greater flexibility over large video files. If you record footage with a DSLR camera, smartphone camera, or just have high resolutions/long recordings, it can result in huge video files that are tough for your computer system to manage. Playback can be choppy and slow, resulting in increased time and effort for you to edit your files. Applying proxy video lowers the quality of the video file while you’re editing it in Camtasia, but it doesn’t affect the final video; this creates a much smoother and more user-friendly editing experience without reducing the quality of the end product.
Jump to Section:
- Proxy video makes my footage look blurry when editing. What can I do?
- Does proxy video affect the final resolution of my exported video?
- Can I delete all proxy videos in my project at once?
- Camtasia keeps adding proxy to my videos automatically. Why is this?
Proxy video makes my footage look blurry when editing. What can I do?
Proxy video is designed to speed up the editing process in Camtasia by lowering the resolution of your high-resolution video or videos loaded from a network or cloud drive* by rendering them out in a lower resolution to use while editing, but still export in full resolution. It is expected that the footage should look slightly blurred due to lower resolution.
If you need to view the video in full resolution while editing, you will want to right-click on the media in the media bin and choose Proxy > Delete Proxy Video. Keep in mind that removing the proxy may result in a performance decrease while editing.
Does proxy video affect the final resolution of my exported video?
Proxy video only affects the resolution while editing. It is not necessary to remove the proxy video from the media before exporting, as the export will still render in full resolution.
Can I delete all proxy videos in my project at once?
You can delete all proxy videos from all projects by doing the following:
Windows: Select Edit > Preferences > Advanced tab > Delete Proxy Videos button.
Mac: Select Camtasia 2023 > Settings (macOS 13 or later) or Preferences (macOS 12 or earlier) > General tab > Delete All Proxy Videos button.
Note that this does not delete just the proxy videos from the project you are working in, but rather all proxy videos on your machine.
Camtasia keeps adding proxy to my videos automatically. Why is this?
In Camtaisa 2023.4.2, auto-proxy was introduced when importing from a network or cloud drive. You will see a message like below when importing from one of these types of locations:
Option 1: Move the media or change your recording location.
If you're getting this message and do not want to use Proxy Video, the best option is going to be to move the media you're importing to a local drive, like the C: drive. After moving the media you're importing to the C: drive (or other local drive), import it into Camtasia again.
You may also get this message if your recording location is set to a network or cloud drive. You can set the default recording location in Camtasia by doing the following:
- Open the Camtasia Recording window
- Click on Tools > Preferences
- Under the Files tab, set the Default Output Folder to a location on your local (C:) drive by clicking on the folder icon and choosing a C: drive location.
Option 2: Turn off the auto-proxy setting.
You can turn off the setting that auto-proxies media files by doing the following:
- Open a project in Camtasia
- Click on Edit > Preferences
- Under the advanced tab, uncheck the box for Automatically create proxy media to improve editing performance
- Restart Camtasia (required)
New files imported will not automatically add a proxy to them after unchecking this option. You may still need to go back and delete the proxy video from the media by right-clicking on it in the media bin and selecting Proxy > Delete Proxy or choosing the Delete All Proxy Videos in the Advanced tab of preferences. Keep in mind that removing the proxy may result in a performance decrease while editing.
Note the it is not recommended to store files in cloud or network locations due to possible performance-related issues.
