Please Test On Slower Internet Connections / Bring Back Local Files
BigChadP
I'm working remote and the playback is horrible, I'm so used to lightning fast internet at home, but it feels like ya'll have not tested the product on slower connections. Even when I'm not playing a video, just trying to edit the transcript, it will spin for 30 seconds or more. I really wish you brought back the local versions for people in this situation.
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Jonathan Stern
I agree. I should be able to edit entirely locally without ANY internet.
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Aela-Lee Loedolff
I work and travel and it has been very frustrating with the new updates, it used to sync online all the time, then there was extreme bandwidth usage and now sometimes I upload a file, once it used 80GB when I uploaded a 14GB file, sometimes it doesnt transcribe and then I have to delete the project and re-upload it, sometimes 10x-ing the time it used to take to edit a single file, if my internet just blips it fails the upload. It constantly loads, it takes me 30min sometimes to edit a 3 min video.
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Josiah Mccampbell
Found the release where they messed this up. Version 110 removed local support. If I could go back and get the old version of the desktop app I would because this is just insane. Trying to edit a 7 minute video right now and it took 45 minutes to get the transcript ready, and skipping back 3 lines loads for 3 minutes before i can play again... Like I just played that section, it SHOULD be cached!
Anyways, guys, you broke it here: https://descript.canny.io/changelog/release-version-110
Please fix!
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Josiah Mccampbell
Yes! This exactly! They removed the best feature out of the platform and it has really made things challenging. It's taken 5 to 10x longer to complete projects and I'm on connection that is 35 to 50Mbps most of the time. I'll spend an hour of waiting for buffering just to skip a few sentences ahead in the transcript. Just went on a trip and had to deal with a 10 Mbps connection and it was unusable. Contrast this to when I was way out in the countryside on a wireless connection barely at 5Mbps last year on the old version, and we were smashing through 4k edits all day long like it was nothing. Granted, we had to let the files sync overnight, but the sync was robust and would always finish and we'd get back from the trip with all our work done. I love the cloud, but I NEED local file sync! Also, if we bring back local sync, would really like to have the ability to edit offline, and if conflicts are present with other editors when it comes back online just notify or fork the project or something. Or if a project is marked for offline editing, alert collaborators before they edit the online version. Some simple tools would go a long way to improving the useability and workflow, and this would benefit everyone, even those with fast connections. Also give us back control over where our local cache is stored and how big we allow it to be.
Autopilot
Merged in a post:
Make Descript Usable on Slower Wifi: Restore "Local First" Sync & Caching
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Josiah Mccampbell
Descript currently relies too heavily on constant high-speed cloud streaming. We need a return to a "Local First" workflow where projects fully download to the PC for buffer-free editing, uploads resume automatically if the internet drops (instead of restarting), and we can choose which hard drive stores our cache.
Descript used to feel incredibly fast even on slow connections (5-10Mbps) because it prioritized Local Caching. Once a file was on your computer, you could edit without lag.
Currently, the app aggressively streams media from the cloud, even a file that you just uploaded from your computer. This means if you are traveling, working from a coffee shop, or have a momentary dip in your internet connection:
- Editing Stalls: Seeking through the timeline results in constant buffering.
- Uploads Fail: If the internet blips, uploads fail and must restart from 0% (no resume capability).
- High Bandwidth: The app consumes massive data constantly re-downloading parts of the same video.
Not everyone has 1Gbps fiber internet. For travel vloggers, remote workers, and people with data caps, the current "Cloud Only" approach makes Descript nearly impossible to use. Bringing back these local controls would make the app lightning fast for everyone again.
We are requesting a return to the robust sync architecture Descript used to have, plus a few control features:
- Restore Persistent Sync (Resumable Uploads): If the internet drops or the app is closed, uploads/downloads should pause and resume where they left off when the connection returns. We shouldn't have to re-upload a 2GB file because the Wifi blinked.
- "Offline/Local Mode" Toggle: Allow us to right-click a project and select "Keep Offline." This should download all assets to the local machine so we can edit with zero latency, regardless of internet speed. Syncing should happen in the background as edits are made.
- Custom Cache Location: Please bring back the ability to choose where the local data is stored. Many of us have primary drives for our OS and secondary drives big SSD drives for our media where we store project files. It would be great to put the 50GB+ of Descript cache on a secondary drive.
- Cache Size Limit: Give us a slider to set the maximum disk space Descript is allowed to use (e.g., "Allow up to 100GB cache"). This prevents the app from aggressively deleting local files we are currently working on just to save space, which forces us to re-download them again later. Descript used to have a feature similar to this, but it was also removed.