Skip to main content
Captivating_Sunflowerc6b7
Participant
September 14, 2026
Question

Adobe preview/playback buffering

  • September 14, 2026
  • 4 replies
  • 41 views

currently my project is just two solid layers and two text layers with no animation, my preview resolution is set to third. Despite this when I want to playback the project by pressing the space bar it just buffers/freezes and cant seem to play it back for me. 

I have cleared the media disk cache very often and even made it so it will use my ssd to store cache instead of my local drive? 

For context I have a macbook pro 2019 which I recently updated to Tahoe? its an intel core aswell which ive heard might not be good for adobe? as you can tell idk much and am not a tech person im just a graphic design graduate tryna develop my skills and get a job in this crazy job market.

anyways, if anyone could help me figure out how to fix this/make my ae run a bit smoother it would be great thanks! 

4 replies

adventurous_Fluttere400
Known Participant
September 15, 2026

Have you tried lowering the preview resolution further and checking whether the issue happens in a new empty project? That could help determine if the problem is with the project or the system.

    Nishu Kushwaha
    Community Manager
    Nishu KushwahaCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    September 14, 2026

    Hi, welcome to After Effects community.


    Project this simple should be previewed in real time, especially when there is no animation. A couple of things that'd help me suggest the troubleshooting:

    - Your exact AE version (Help > About).

    - What are your system specs (CPU, RAM)?

    - Can you try running After Effects in Safe Mode and see if it works any better? Here's how: https://adobe.ly/4reDR2n

    Let me know.


    Thanks,

    Nishu

      Captivating_Sunflowerc6b7Author
      Participant
      September 16, 2026

      Hi Nishu, 

      AE Version: 26.05.0 (Build 89) 

      I’m not sure exactly what you want to know regarding ‘system specs’ so i’ll just attach an image of what shows in settings. 

      Running in safe mode didnt seem to make any difference. 

      After submitting this question I did notice that when I have a clip selected on the timeline, pressing space bar enables the hand tool rather than playing the preview. However it selects the hand tool, buffers and then glitches back to the selection tool after a few seconds. If I use the spacebar shortcut without any clips selected it does play the preview but this only works 2/5 times without buffering. 

      Another thing to note is that I have a Gmetrix plugin that pops up every time I enter Ae I close the panel down and have even uninstalled the gmetrix app and deleted files connected to gmetrix from my computer but it still pops up for some reason. I dont know if this could be contributing to the slowness of ae aswell? 

       

      Warren Heaton
      Community Expert
      Warren HeatonCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      September 20, 2026

      Hi, ​@Captivating_Sunflowerc6b7 :

      What you’re describing as buffering could be normal caching which is a necessary for a Preview to play back in real-time.

      Things I’d try (in this order):

      • Update to After Effects 26.5.

      • Test a brand-new 1920x1080 Comp with a 5-second duration with the frame rate set to 29.97.  With the Magnification set to 50% and the Resolution set to Auto, keyframe a 540-by-540 Solid moving from left to right or rotating.  Instead of tapping Spacebar for playback, use the alternate control zero.  Note:  Tapping the Spacebar is Play/Stop while pressing and holding the Spacebar toggles the Hand Tool.  If this plays almost instantly, then your original Comp settings are the issue.

      • In the original Comp, check the frame size, frame rate, and duration.  Your 2019 MacBook Pro should handle 1920x1080 Comps at 23.976, 25, or 29.97 with short durations (5 second to 30 seconds) at Full Resolution well while benefitting from Half or Quarter Resolution to work faster.  Higher frame sizes, higher frame rates, and longer durations require more system resources to cache for Preview.

      • Please provide a screenshot of your Composition settings.

      • Please go to After Effects > Settings > Startup Options and click “please file a bug report” at the bottom, and then click “Copy System Info and Report”.  Tab back over to your reply to this thread and paste the report into it. 

      A System Report looks like this:

      Steps to reproduce:
          1. ...
       
      Result: ...
      Expected: ...
       
      System info
          Application: After Effects v26.5.0.89
          OS: macOS v15.7.4, RAM: 128.00 GB GB, CPUs (logical): 16
       

       

       - Warren

        Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
        Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices