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Bluegrid
Participant
November 1, 2019
Question

When I hit play it only plays for a couple seconds and stops

  • November 1, 2019
  • 5 replies
  • 33225 views

I downloaded After effects from Adobe and when I only have a couple picture layers, and barely any animation, the playback shows the green bar for about 7 seconds and it only plays until the end of the green bar, it doesn't keep pre composing or caching. If the composition is 3 minutes, it'll only play 7 seconds and make it green from where you hit play then stop at the end. Unless I move the cursor and hit play it'll play 7 seconds from that point and stop. I've called adobe and they told me to delete and reset my preferences and rename the folder, I've cleared my cache, I've udjusted playback to 1/4. I have 64GB DDR2 Ram with a 32 core threadripper cpu and rtx 2080ti gpu. I used to be able to do more complex things with after effects on my old Mac with only 8gb and an i7. Any reason when I hit play it only plays for about 7 seconds where the green bar is on the timeline? 

5 replies

S
S�bastienA
Inspiring
October 31, 2024

Hello,

I'm not sure you're still having this issue, but I've been looking for answers, having the exact same problem (but with less than 3 seconds).

I solved it by closing Google Chrome and running nothing but After Effects. I must say it is not convenient at all in 2024 but the only thing we can do sometimes is work like we did 10 or 15 years ago (^^').

B
Community Expert
Byron CortezCommunity Expert
Community Expert
November 1, 2019

Did you tried purging Ae from All Memory and Cache? Menu Edit / Purge / All Memory and Cache...

Byron.
R
Community Expert
Rick GerardCommunity Expert
Community Expert
November 1, 2019

Seven seconds on a modest system for a 4K comp at half resolution is pretty respectable. After Effects is not a video editing app, it is a motion graphics and compositing app. You'll have to learn how to work around the preview limitations. I started using After Effects before there was a ram preview. There are plenty of ways to work around the problem.

 

I suggest that you start here: Learn AE. You'll get a pretty good idea of how to use AE efficiently.

Martin_Ritter
Martin_Ritter
Legend
November 1, 2019

Make a screenshot of the preview panel, please. And give us details about your composition. What size, what footage in it and so on.

Also, open info panel and see by yourself if AE is rendering or already in playback. It's not unusal that preview rendering (even in small resolution) takes minutes.

 

*Martin

    B
    BluegridAuthor
    Participant
    November 1, 2019

    It's literally only 3 pictures, a logo and a simple opacity edit. No video viles or complex animations. I've toggled the cache options and nothing changed. 

     

     

    Martin_Ritter
    Martin_Ritter
    Legend
    November 1, 2019

    Beside purging memory, check "Cache Before Playback" in preview panel. Open Info-Panel and keep an eye on it to see if AE renders preview, or already is in playback mode. Also, open task manager and keep an eye on RAM usage. Also, make sure AE cache is on a fast drive and have plenty of space allocated (rule of thumb: as much as possible).

    Let it render.

     

    It's worth to spend a bit time with the preview settings. I have 0 Numblock for "large renderings", where it renders from beginning on and caching before playback. And I have Spacebar for "short renders" where it renders from current time position and is not caching before. I only use this for very quick views of a particular animation, like a 20 frames scale up.

     

    *Martin

      OussK
      Community Expert
      OussKCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      November 1, 2019

      is this issue on this project or all project have same issue, also we need to know more about your project work flow, so try to post some screenshoot show us how many layer you have and what kind of effects you use, all this thing can affect the preview time.

       

      B
      BluegridAuthor
      Participant
      November 1, 2019

      It happens with all projects. Even if I just have a couple shape layers and a picture layer. This is the only picture I have now. The green bar renders fast, but only for that small section and stops at the end. It won't continue to keep going to the end of the timeline 

       

       

      A
      andrea5E09
      Participant
      February 7, 2021

      On resolution, the window with the RGB colors where u have written half, try to change to third or quarter. It worked form me.

        M
        Community Expert
        MukaidaCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        November 1, 2019

        Currently, Intel is the only CPU optimized for After Effects.

        https://helpx.adobe.com/after-effects/system-requirements.html

         

        However, the short preview time may be due to CPU and RAM compatibility.

        If it is a compatibility issue, it may be improved by updating to a new BIOS.

        B
        BluegridAuthor
        Participant
        November 1, 2019

        Thanks for the reply. I have a friend that has the same setup as mine with a amd threadripper and it works great. My computer works perfect with premier, C4D and other 3D programs that are more intense than after effects so I don't get it lol. I guess I'll have to sell the $7k computer I just built for a good ole Mac 

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