Adobe Premiere Pro on NAS: Productions Setup, Cache Rules, and Fixing Media Pending (2026)

Adobe advises keeping Media Cache Files and Media Cache Database on each workstation and using Productions project locking correctly; other NAS problems can have different causes. Get those two things right and most "Media Pending" errors, project corruption issues, and shared-project conflicts disappear. This guide covers Productions setup on NAS, the exact cache configuration table for each file type Premiere generates, SMB settings for multi-editor workflows, and the definitive Media Pending troubleshooting checklist. It can apply to NAS systems using SMB, but Adobe does not validate specific shared-storage systems; verify Productions support with the storage provider. Australian model pricing and recommendations are in the AU section below.

For a full overview covering hardware, setup, and workflow planning, see our complete NAS video editing guide.

How Premiere Pro Handles Shared Storage. The Productions Model

Premiere Pro's collaborative model changed fundamentally with Productions (introduced in version 14.2, 2020). Most forum advice predates this and describes workflows that are no longer optimal. If you are following a guide from before 2021, you are working with an outdated architecture.

The old approach was shared project files: one .prproj file on the NAS, with file locking preventing simultaneous access. Only one editor has read/write access to a locked project; other editors can open it read-only, copy content, and work in other projects. Productions changes this. A Production creates a root folder on the NAS containing a Production.json file and individual .prproj files. One per editor, per sequence, or per deliverable. Each editor opens their own project file. Premiere uses lock files (.prlock) to prevent two people from opening the same .prproj simultaneously, but the Production structure means editors generally have their own project files and share media, not project files.

The practical limit remains: two editors cannot work in the same .prproj file at the same time. Unlike DaVinci Resolve's bin locking model, Premiere locks at the project file level. The Productions model works around this by giving each editor their own project file within the shared Production structure. Final Cut Pro supports compatible shared-storage libraries and editor-handoff workflows, although its collaboration model differs from Premiere Productions. And Resolve, which uses a database server for true simultaneous multi-user access.

The Cache Truth Table. What Goes Where in Premiere

This is the section that fixes most Premiere NAS problems. Every file type Premiere generates has a correct home. And the consequences of putting any of them in the wrong place range from slow performance to project corruption.

Setting Up Productions on NAS. Step by Step

Once your hardware is in place, set up the Productions structure before any editor opens a project:

1. Create a root folder on the NAS share. Use a consistent path such as \\NAS\Video\Productions\ on Windows or /Volumes/Video/Productions/ on Mac. This is where all Productions will live.
2. Create a new Production in Premiere. File → New → Production → name it and point it to the NAS root folder. Premiere creates a named Production folder at the selected location, with Production.json inside that folder.
3. Create individual project files within the Production for each editor or deliverable sequence. Each .prproj file gets its own lock file. Editors work in separate project files within the shared Production.
4. On every workstation: change Media Cache location to local NVMe. Premiere Preferences → Media → set Media Cache Files and Media Cache Database to a local NVMe path. Do this on every machine before anyone opens a project.
5. Choose the Preview Files location under Production Settings → Scratch Disks. Premiere supports local or shared preview storage; shared previews can be reused by editors.
6. Enable NTP time sync on all workstations and the NAS. Productions collaboration relies on file-system timestamps; Adobe advises matching workstation and storage-server time because drift of more than a few minutes can cause unexpected behavior. Most NAS units can be configured as an NTP server for the studio network.
7. Map the NAS share to the same drive letter or volume name on every machine. On Windows, always map to P:\ (or whatever you choose). Use the same letter on every workstation. On Mac, ensure the volume name is consistent. Inconsistent mount points cause Media Offline errors that have nothing to do with the actual files.

\\NAS\Video\Productions\
└── [ClientName_ProjectName]\
    ├── Production.json          <-- auto-created by Premiere
    Keep camera originals in a media folder outside the Production folder.
    │   ├── RAW\
    │   └── PROXIES\
    ├── _PROJECTS\               <-- one .prproj per editor or deliverable
    │   ├── Editor1_Assembly.prproj
    │   └── Editor2_Graphics.prproj
    ├── _EXPORTS\                <-- deliverables and client review files
    ├── _ASSETS\                 <-- music, logos, motion graphics sources
    └── _ARCHIVE\                <-- Auto Save backups (point Premiere here)