Media Processing and Proxies

What Solar Sailer prepares after an import, when to wait for it, and how to recover media that no longer works as expected.

Know when to wait

After an import, Solar Sailer prepares playback audio and cached images for each source. You can arrange and trim clips while that work runs.

By default, video taller than 720 pixels also gets a 720p proxy in the background. This happens after import and when you reopen a project with a missing proxy. You can turn automatic proxy generation off.

Wait for audio preparation before judging playback or using a tool that analyzes the audio, such as Delete Silence. Audio may be unavailable until that preparation finishes. Missing thumbnails and waveforms do not block editing or AI tools.

Footage on a network drive or in a cloud folder can take much longer to prepare, especially when another app must download the file first. Leave Solar Sailer open and keep the source drive connected. Playback audio and waveform preparation retry automatically after a temporary failure. Other failed work can be tried again when you reopen the project.

Cancelling a background asset task also cancels other preparation and analysis still running or waiting for that source file. Finished cache files remain. Reopen the project to rebuild missing playback audio and cached images. Start a cancelled proxy by hand if automatic proxy generation is off or the video is at 720p or below.

Control analysis after import

Solar Sailer can start Face Tracking and Detect Motion after it prepares imported video taller than 720 pixels. For video at 720p or below, start these tools from the Process menu. Both run on your computer without an API charge.

1. Open Edit > Preferences… > Import.
2. Leave Analyze imported media in the background on to prepare those results automatically. It is on by default.
3. Turn it off if background work slows your imports down.

This setting controls face and motion analysis independently of proxy generation.

Control automatic proxies

1. Open Edit > Preferences… > Import.
2. Turn Generate proxies on import off if you prefer to create proxies only when needed.

The setting is on by default. Turning it off stops new automatic proxy jobs on import and when reopening projects. It does not delete existing proxies or cancel jobs already queued. Background face and motion analysis can still run if its own setting is on.

Generate and use a proxy

A proxy is a smaller, compatible copy of a video. Solar Sailer creates a 720p proxy, so it is easier to decode than a high-resolution original but looks softer in the Preview. You can still start proxy generation by hand when you need it.

Generate a proxy when Solar Sailer says a source cannot play directly, or when a large source plays poorly:

1. In the Media panel, right-click the video.
2. Choose Generate Proxy.
3. Keep Solar Sailer open and the source drive connected until generation finishes.

A video that cannot play directly stays blank in the Preview until its proxy is ready. You can still arrange the clip on the timeline.

For videos that can play directly, use PXY below the Preview to choose what you watch. Turn it off for the full-resolution original. Turn it on for the 720p proxy when one exists. Videos that require a proxy use it regardless of this setting.

Find Characters can use an existing proxy to process heavy footage faster. Tools that need original detail continue to use the source.

To remove a proxy, right-click the video and choose Delete Proxy. Solar Sailer returns to the original for preview playback when the original is compatible. A file that requires a proxy stops playing until you generate another one. After a failure or cancellation, choose Generate Proxy again. If automatic proxies are on, video taller than 720 pixels also queues its missing proxy the next time you open the project.

Playback audio and proxies can use substantial disk space, especially for long recordings. Solar Sailer stores them in the cache, not beside your source files. See The Cache Folder to change its location or clear it safely.

Find a clip's source

1. Right-click a clip on the timeline.
2. Choose Reveal in Media Bin to select its source in the Media panel.

The same clip menu offers Open in Explorer and Module Results for that source. Relink… appears when the source is missing. For video, Generate Proxy appears when no proxy exists, and Delete Proxy appears when one does. These actions affect the source used by all its timeline clips.

Recover missing or changed media

Solar Sailer keeps a link to each source file. Moving, renaming, or deleting that file takes it offline. Timeline changes that do not read the file still work. An existing cached proxy may still play. Reconnect the source before exporting or running tools that need the original file.

1. In the Media panel, right-click the offline item and choose Relink….
2. In Relink Media, click Browse….
3. Select the source file in its new location.

Relinking works one file at a time. Choose the correct source, since Solar Sailer accepts the file you select as the replacement.

When you open a project, Solar Sailer checks its generated playback audio and visual assets. Missing files are rebuilt. If a source changed since the last session, Solar Sailer treats the old generated files as stale and prepares new ones. Generate the proxy again if the source changed or its proxy was cleared.