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Andreadob
Andreadob
Participant
August 20, 2025

Premiere Pro freezes on external monitor when Windows enumerates “Display Audio” endpoint

  • August 20, 2025
  • 1 reply
  • 123 views

Environment

  • Laptop: Dell XPS 16 9640 (Intel Arc + NVIDIA RTX 4060 Laptop)

  • OS: Windows 11 Version 10.0.26100 (Build 26100)

  • Premiere Pro: 25.4.0 – Build 99

  • Display setup: external monitor via USB-C hub → HDMI (reproduced with two different hubs; sometimes OK with a different hub or when only the monitor is attached)

  • Audio in Premiere: MME, Default Output = Speakers (built-in), Default Input = No Input, 48 kHz

 

Issue
Premiere becomes unresponsive (preview freezes, UI lags; requires hard power-off) when Windows detects/activates the monitor’s audio endpoint (“HD Audio for Display Audio”) or after a USB/Display re-enumeration, only when launching/using Premiere on the external monitor. On the laptop’s internal screen, it’s OK.

 

Most reliable reproduction

  1. Cold boot with external monitor connected via USB-C hub (sometimes also another 5V USB device like a cooling pad on the same hub).
  2. Sign in and launch Premiere Pro.
  3. Start playback in the timeline → Premiere freezes. (Often coincides with Discord’s toast: “New Audio Device Detected: HD Audio Driver for Display Audio.”)

 

Expected
Premiere should open and play normally regardless of external display/audio endpoint changes.

 

Observed

  • Preview and UI freeze; the whole system can become sluggish or hang.

  • If the monitor’s Display/HDMI Audio devices are disabled in Windows Sound/Device Manager, the issue often disappears.

  • If I launch on the internal display first and then drag Premiere to the external display, it often works.

 

Workarounds/mitigations tried

  • Windows Sound: disable all Display/HDMI Audio endpoints; keep Speakers default (also for communications).

  • Premiere: MME, No Input, 48 kHz; Mercury Transmit OFF; H.264/HEVC Decoding = NVIDIA, Intel OFF; Renderer = CUDA.

  • System: HAGS OFF; overlays off; USB selective suspend off; USB hubs set to not allow power saving.

  • Hardware: changing hub, or connecting the monitor only; using USB-C → DisplayPort dedicated cable helps; problem also triggered by powering a USB fan on the same hub at boot.

  • Disabling MPO: no change.

 

Hypothesis
A device-change (re)initialization of the audio endpoint on the external-display path during Premiere’s initialization leads to an audio engine deadlock (especially when GPU/display are also being initialized).

 

Request

  • Please investigate Premiere’s handling of audio device change during startup/preview on external displays (MME path), and advise on any fix/patch or recommended settings.

 

Thanks for your help.

    1 reply

    R Neil Haugen
    R Neil Haugen
    Legend
    August 20, 2025

    It would be nice if Premiere had user settings for specific system attached audio hardware, but it doesn't. Good request of course.

     

    Premiere seems coded to simply go with the system audio settings. So changing those within a working session in Premiere, as it exist now, is problematic.

     

    As a practical matter, at this time, just don't shift system audio. Or if you need to, close and relaunch Premiere will probably work. Yea, it's a work-around, but the things about work-arounds is they work. So we can get the deliverables out for the nice people what pays our bills.

    Everyone's mileage always varies ...
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