Unable to render image sequence to video or export edited image sequence as a new sequence

Dear all,

I really hope you can help me. I have tried every possible solution to fix my rendering problems with photoshop but have had no luck so far. At the same time I am new to photoshop, so please bare with me if I don't see the obvious.

My computer:

i7 8700k

32 GB Ram 2600 Mhz

GTX 1080ti

sufficient cooling

Win10

500 GB SSD

1 TB HDD

enough space on both drives available

Most recent version of Photoshop CC 2018

My problem:

First things first. I want to edit an image sequence (1080p, 30fps, ~20sec, 650 frames in total) with photoshop, basically visually enhance all images in the sequence and render it as a video. The rendering starts just fine but photoshop crashes roughly after 2 minutes. I have the same issue when I try to export the edited sequence as a new image sequence. I have observed that the rendering eats up the Ram until there are no ressources left, photoshop crashes eventually. It begins with 2 GB Ram and goes up to literally 29GB Ram within 2-3 minutes. Everytime. Until now I haven't even come close to render the complete video, or let alone export the edit as a new image sequence (luckily the already exported images are not lost and I can continue from there, but can't be the solution). When exporting as a new image sequence, it exports roughly 75 frames/images before crashing. The size of one image is roughly 3mb - on the level of its master image.

What effects do I apply to the image sequence in question?

After importing the image sequence, I convert the video group into smart objects, so that the editing applies to all images. Then I apply basic edits such as raising temperature and contrast, darken the blacks and shadows, add luminosity and grain in Filter / Camera Raw-Filter. That is basically it. At the beginning I also applied a little bloom effect to the sequence by duplicating the edited video layer, brighten the levels in the duplicate, apply a Gaussian blur to it and set is as a soft light. So neither the basic edit nor the bloom edit will be rendered without crashing, as Ram skyrockets until either photoshop or my computer crashes.

I have not merged the layers though (when I duplicate the original and apply Gaussian blur to it), if that matters here at this point. As I said, I am new to photoshop and everytime I want to flatten or merge the layers the entire image sequence becomes a stock image. I would be very grateful if you could give me some advise here.

What have I tried to fix the problem?

I read up on various forums regarding this issue. Some say it is a photoshop bug, others say the machine is not powerful enough (which doesnt apply to me). I have tried to:

- clear the preference file

- allocate 85% of total ram as well as only 50% of total ram

     - either way, Photoshop always goes up to 96% Ram usage regardless of how much Ram I allocate. I am wondering why...

- disabled / enabled GPU in performance setting

- clean install

- installed photoshop 2017 - same issues as Photoshop CC 2018

- tried to render the video in 1080p, 720p; high, middle and low quality (doesn't really matter, it crashes anyways when ram is exhausted)

- exported as a new image sequence: tried various options and settings, exported as png

- compared video rendering of the image sequence with Blender. Blender renders the image sequence within 2 minutes without problems. Yet I cannot even render or export a sequence with more than 75 frames without Photoshop crashing.

(Why do I don't render with Blender then? Because I want to visually enhance given image sequences with photoshop, that is why I bought a subscription  )

Do not know what else to do!

At this point I am running out of ideas on how to fix this problem. I really need to render in Photoshop. My machine and Ram have no issues; I ran several tests and benchmarks on it to be sure.I am more than sure that rendering shouldn't be a problem with Photoshop, as even Open Source software can do it easily. Photoshop has very powerful features, which are perfect for my needs.

Also does anybody know why Photoshop uses more Ram as allocated? Is there a way to limit it, so that it actually sticks to the limit and stops crashing? I really don´t care if the rendering takes a few minutes longer as long as Photoshop stays stable.

I would be very very grateful if someone can help me with this problem.

Thank you for your time and best wishes

Slava