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A
Angus25317184vvvp
Participant
July 17, 2023
Question

New Mac Studio M2 Ultra lagging in Premiere

  • July 17, 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 2273 views

Hello community,

 

Would love some guidance on how to get the best out of my brand new Mac Studio M2 Ultra

64GB

Macos - Ventura

Premiere Beta

 

First thing we did was download Premeire Beta and upload a video edit of three HD video files and are getting 2-3 second lag on timeline.

 

Each mp4 file was roughly 60-71gb (90min recordings) using one Black Magic 4k Plus and 2 x Sony A7iii through an Atem Mini Pro Iso

 

I've tried to understand how people convert to ProRes but dont understand it fully. What can I be doing when starting edits to make sure the computer runs smoothly and renders/exports as fast as possible without losing quality of image.

 

Thank you 

    3 replies

    A
    Ami-Lee27810717kcmy
    Participant
    August 6, 2025

    Hiii im having the same issue too! 

    I have a Apple M2 MAX Studio - I am experirencing a 20/25 second lag with the most basic of commands such as - hitting the space bar to play and zooming in and out of the timeline. 

    I film on a blackmagic 6K pocket cinema camera the footage is usually around 20-30 mins long, I edit in the BETA version of Premiere Pro (updated) I proxy the footage before editing it into a Quater, proRes 1024x540 version - I used this proxy on my old Mac (2021) which handled it fine! Im suprised to have to do this on the Apple M2 MAX Studio!

    I tend to notice the lag get a lot worse towards the end of the day.

    Is ther anything I can do to help stop this? 

     

    Thanks! Ami-Lee 😄 

    Kevin J. Monahan Jr.
    Community Manager
    Kevin J. Monahan Jr.Community Manager
    Community Manager
    August 9, 2025

    Hey Ami-Lee,

    I heard that you're having performance problems with your newer Mac and were expecting better performance with the native 6K files. Yes, I'd say working with proxies is a good idea, even for that machine. Some formats are not performant at all. Which codec was this footage shot on? If it is RAW or a Long GOP formats, that could be why. For the lagging to be better at day's end, try rebooting your machine once or twice a day to refresh the RAM. That should help. I hope the advice helps you. Come back with any questions.

     

    Thanks,
    Kevin

     

    Kevin Monahan - Sr. Community and Engagement Strategist – Adobe Pro Video and Audio
    H
    howardm33391376
    Participant
    September 12, 2023

    First of all, let's talk about your trying to edit 60-70 gb 4K mp4 files on a timeline. The codec these files are in are heavily compressed. That means that to play back these files, the computer must de-code and re-encode the files on the fly. Converting them to ProRes will eliminate this issue.  I use the iSoft Video Converter Ultimate in my workflow to convert these type of files before importing them into Premiere. You might want to try that. The other thing is utilizing a proxy workflow. Set up a Prores proxy format in Adobe Media Encoder and after bringing the native mp4 files into Premiere, select the files, then right-click and select Proxys -> Create Proxy.  Media encoder will then create proxy files and will use those on your timeline instead of the native files. Make sure that you change your monitor windows to Proxy (see image). This will eliminate your lag and enable you to edit without any issues. When you export your composition, Premiere will automatically re-connect to the original files and use them to create the output files.

    All this said, ADOBE, why, with an M2 Ultra chip is Premiere  Pro not able to gobble these files up and operate smoothly using the native files!? This is not the first time I have heard this issue. Ultil I know differently, I am blaming this issue on your code. Can you PLEASE discuss this issue?

      Kartika Rawat
      Community Manager
      Kartika RawatCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      September 13, 2023

      Hi howardm33391376!

      Sorry about the frustration. Are you working on dual monitors? If so, Enable Displays have separate Spaces in macOS System Settings > Desktop & Dock.

       

      Let us know how it goes. 

      Thanks.

      KR

        A
        Angus25317184vvvpAuthor
        Participant
        September 18, 2023

        I am not. Using the LG 34bk95u 

         

        So a super high end Mnotor capable of handling all editing. 

        Ishan Y
        Ishan Y
        Inspiring
        July 18, 2023

        Hey Angus,

        Welcome to the community. I'm sorry to hear about this. Do you only see this issue while working with these specific files? If you import a smaller file to Premiere Pro, do you still experience lag? Please share your current Premiere Pro version (Help > About Premiere Pro) and let us know if you use a multi-display setup.

         

        Thanks,

        Ishan

        A
        Angus25317184vvvpAuthor
        Participant
        July 18, 2023

        Hey Ishan

        I'm using Premiere Beta and just downloaded the V23.6 this morning.

        When you say import smaller files do you mean compressing my exisiting or trying shorter length videos? 

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