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FAQ

Common questions before you buy.

Getting Started
What version of Premiere Pro do I need?

CutDeck requires Adobe Premiere Pro 15.0 or newer (that's the 2021 release, version 15.0, or anything more recent). The plugin works with all versions through the current release of Premiere Pro CC.

Does it work on both Mac and Windows?

Yes. CutDeck has installers for both macOS and Windows 10/11. Both versions have the same features and work identically.

How do I install it?

CutDeck installs the same way as every other paid Premiere Pro extension. Two steps, takes about a minute:

  1. Install Anastasiy's Extension Manager. Free, code-signed, the standard installer for Adobe extensions. Download it from install.anastasiy.com and install it like any normal app. You only do this once; future Premiere extensions you buy will use it too.
  2. Double-click CutDeck.zxp. Once Anastasiy's is installed, double-clicking the CutDeck.zxp file from your purchase email opens it in the manager and offers to install. (You can also open Anastasiy's first and drag the file onto its window if you prefer.) It installs in a few seconds.

Restart Premiere Pro, then open the plugin via Window → Extensions → CutDeck.

Why do I need Anastasiy's Extension Manager?

Adobe extensions are distributed as signed .zxp files, and an extension manager is what reads the signature and installs the files in the right place. Anastasiy's is the most popular free one and is what most paid Premiere extensions (Motion Bro, Mister Horse, and similar) use. It's been around for years and is trusted across the Adobe ecosystem.

The alternative is a custom native installer, which requires expensive code-signing certificates that we'll add once we have the revenue to justify them. For now, Anastasiy's keeps CutDeck affordable at $7.99/mo.

Anastasiy's asks me to allow a "self-signed" extension. Is that safe?

Yes. "Self-signed" means we signed the extension with our own certificate rather than paying a Certificate Authority to vouch for our identity. The signature still proves the file hasn't been tampered with between us and you; it just doesn't include a third-party identity verification.

Every CutDeck release is built and signed from our own build server, and you can verify the file integrity by checking the signature in Anastasiy's at any time. Click "Yes" or "Allow" to proceed.

How do I activate my license?

Open the plugin in Premiere Pro. You'll see a license gate asking for your key. Paste the license key from your purchase receipt, click Activate, and you're in. Your license stays active as long as your subscription is active.

Features
What exactly does the silence cutter do?

It detects silent pauses in your audio and removes them from your timeline automatically. You control:

  • Threshold: how quiet counts as silent
  • Min duration: how long a silence must be to get cut
  • Padding: how much breathing room to keep around each cut

You can also pick which audio tracks to detect from and which tracks to cut. Perfect for gameplay videos where you want to cut silences in your commentary but keep the game audio intact.

My cut is slow on a long timeline (1+ hour). What can I do?

Premiere Pro's editing engine slows down on timelines with many cuts. Each razor or remove operation has to update all clips in the sequence, so a 1-hour project with thousands of cuts can take much longer than 4 fifteen-minute projects with the same total cut count. This isn't something we can fix inside CutDeck because it's an internal Premiere limitation.

The workaround: manually split your timeline into nested 15-minute sub-sequences before running CutDeck.

  1. In your project bin, duplicate the long sequence.
  2. In the duplicate, select all clips in a roughly 15-minute range.
  3. Right-click the selection → Nest... → give it a name like "Part 1".
  4. Repeat for each 15-minute chunk until your whole timeline is a series of nested clips.
  5. Double-click a nested clip to enter it, then run CutDeck normally inside.
  6. Repeat for each nest. Each chunk processes much faster because Premiere is only working with that chunk's clips.

Yes, this is more clicks than you'd want. It's the price of working around Premiere's internals.

How do the speaker PNGs work?

If you have multiple people talking on separate audio tracks (e.g., a podcast with each mic on its own track), CutDeck can detect who's talking at any given moment and place their avatar PNG on the timeline automatically.

You add each speaker, upload their PNG, and tell CutDeck which audio track is theirs. Click "Detect & Apply Speakers" and the plugin handles the rest.

How accurate are the auto subtitles?

CutDeck uses OpenAI's Whisper (specifically the small.en model) for transcription, which is highly accurate for clear English speech. Accents and technical jargon may produce occasional errors, but for most YouTube-style content it's comparable to or better than commercial services.

You can toggle options like ALL CAPS, strip punctuation, or censor profanity before applying. All handled locally.

Privacy & Security
Is my footage uploaded anywhere?

No. Everything runs locally on your device. Your video, audio, and project files never leave your computer. The only network requests CutDeck makes are to verify your license (hitting Gumroad's API) and to check for plugin updates.

Even the speech-to-text transcription uses a local Whisper model that runs on your CPU. No cloud, no API keys, no hidden uploads.

Do you collect any usage data?

No telemetry, no analytics, no tracking. See our Privacy Policy for the full breakdown of what we do and don't collect.

Billing & Subscriptions
Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. Log into your Gumroad account, find your CutDeck subscription, and click Cancel. You'll keep access until the end of your current billing period, then the subscription stops renewing.

How many computers can I install it on?

Up to 3 devices per active subscription. Install it on your main editing machine, your laptop, or a backup workstation. Whatever works for you.

What's the free trial?

Every new subscription starts with a 7-day free trial. You can use every feature during the trial. If you cancel before day 7, you are not charged. A payment method is required up front to start the trial.

What's your refund policy?

If you're not happy within your first 30 days of paid service, email us and we'll refund you in full, no questions asked. Details on our Refund Policy page.

Troubleshooting
The plugin says my license is invalid. What do I do?

A few things to check:

  • Make sure your subscription is still active in your Gumroad library.
  • Verify you copied the full license key from your receipt (no extra spaces).
  • If you're on your 4th machine or more, deactivate the license on an old machine before activating on a new one.

Still stuck? Email support@cutdeckapp.com and we'll sort it out.

The silence cutter cut the wrong parts!

Most likely one of:

  • Outdated version: update via the banner in the plugin. We shipped a fix for trimmed-clip handling in v1.0.1.
  • Threshold too high: try a lower dB threshold (more negative, like -35 instead of -25).
  • Min duration too short: short word gaps shouldn't be treated as silences. Start with 0.5s minimum.
The subtitles are getting cut off or misaligned

If you cut silences before transcribing, the subtitle timings should still be correct. They automatically map to the new timeline positions. If subtitles look wrong:

  • Re-run transcription after any timeline changes.
  • Make sure you're on the latest version.
  • Remove any old caption tracks before re-applying.
The plugin won't open in Premiere

Restart Premiere Pro first. Installing any plugin requires a restart. If it's still missing, make sure the installer actually ran (the terminal window should have shown success). Re-running the installer is safe.

Still Have Questions?
How do I get support?

Email support@cutdeckapp.com any time. We typically reply within 24 hours on weekdays.