Thanks for the help. I was shooting in full manual, HD 1080p, 30fps. I just experimented a little more and found that XVID compression works. I'll consider changing to PRO to lessen the hassle.

Considering your last post, there is one thing to keep in mind. Using your native 1080P content in Lightworks with the Pro version is going to be taxing. Even with a fast computer, others still recommend transcoding to a more friendly format. One of the benefits of the Pro version is that you can do this transcoding directly in Lightworks.

I apologize if my original post seemed curt. For whatever reason, your post came across as being more technical.

Is there any way to use proxy footage when editing?

I got the pro version recently but up to that point I had to convert video from my Nikon D3100 to another format to edit it in LW. I used Cineform Studio which is a free download to convert the Nikon footage to an editing friendly format.

Before worrying about creating proxy footage you might just try converting a bit of video with that Cineform package, import it into LW and see if your machine is up to editing with it.

With the pro version you can transcode on import to MPEG-2 I-Frame 4:2:2 (which I think is motion jpeg). My machine handles editing with that without the need for proxys.

My machine's quite old actually, and the current file runs somewhat smoothly for maybe 100 frames and then lags like there's no tomorrow.

I've got an old machine. I try to use uncompressed or lightly compressed files. If I use even the cineform codec my machine chokes. One file I compared recently showed Matrox Mpeg2 I-frame HD and Cineform. The Cineform was half the size but the Matrox was easier to cope with. See, when you edit with a compressed format, the processor has to decode more in order make a frame for you to edit around. A less compressed format takes up more space, but it takes less processor resources to decode and be used for frame by frame editing.

Another thing is it is nearly impossible for me to edit high resolution. I always reduce the 1920x1080 to 1280x720. The 1920x1080 is 3 times as big as the 1280x720, if I recall correctly.