Major lag with with the Premiere Pro Interface (Timeline, Bins, Resizing Windows etc.)

[scrozier]

Premiere's timeline and interface in general is just a lot slower than other NLEs and other apps like Blender. I use Premiere almost every single day so you don't really notice it until you open another NLE on your machine and see how bad its fallen behind on interface smoothness. 

Here is a 60FPS capture of me scrolling through similar timelines in Premiere and Resolve. I cropped out the top just to focus on the timeline smoothness/sluggishness. 

Premiere takes 4frames to update the scroll and often flickers waveforms and other icons as it struggles to keep up with a smooth framerate. 

Resolve's timeline renders at 60FPS. Every frame there is an update being sent to the screen. This is typical of any modern app when it it's unterface is properly omptimized to run on the GPU. 

It's not just the timeline its scrolling through a bin, its resizing windows etc. It all renders at about a 1/4 of as fast as it should in 2023. 

This stuff matters. Premiere causes eye strain because its basically it runs basically like a seizure inducing slide show. I am more tired after using Premiere than after using something that runs at a smooth consistent frame rate. Its distracting and takes you out of what you are trying to do. You make more mistakes when things aren't udating quickly enough. It generally slows you down. Things should not lag 8 frames behind your mouse with modern 4ghz multi-core setups and dedicated graphics! 

Adobe please find a way to make Premiere run as smoothly as your compretitors. Premiere needs some version of "project butter" across all its apps like Android did back in 2012. It's time. 

I have been and will probably remain a loyal customer, but the Premire lifers would love some quality of life updates and not just a superficial coat of paint on the interface. 

[scrozier]

Ok so since this is a now a new bug report now and I have some downtime here are my specific system specs:

Windows 11 

Threadriper 3960X 24-Core 

128GB Ram

Nvidia 2080ti 11GB GPU 528.24 Driver

Mix of SSDs / Raid / External drives

2 Dispalys  2560x1600 display (100% Scale) and 1 (3840x2160 150%Scale)

• This causes me a lot of interface issues in Premiere but not sure if related.  

[Kevin-Monahan]

I agree, and I am upvoting!

Kevin

[basil1891]

If you use NVidia GPU, try to disable HAGS (Hardware-Accelerated GPU Scheduling) in GPU driver settings, may help.. Second option is to turn off Mercury Transmit

[scrozier]

Appreciate you reaching out, but both of these settings are turned off. 

It is my suspicion that Premiere and After Effects interface code, (things outside of the program monitor/timeline rendering etc) runs almost entirely on the CPU and this causes a lot of jank. It's not so much a bug as it is the state of how the program operates on many machines.   

[Kevin-Monahan]

Which driver? The last few have had stability issues. Rolling all the way back to 517.40 has worked well for some.

Kevin

[scrozier]

@Kevin-Monahan I think of this more of a general issue, not one that is tied to a specific driver. Premiere's interface just has a lot of jank or dropped frames across the board. Easiest way to see this is to "~" a bin with 100+clips in and and try to scroll down. Premiere's interface can't render a spreadsheet at over 3FPS which I find unacceptable in 2023. It's been this way on every machine I've used in the last 10 years. I want smooth scrolling and waveforms to update when you move them in the timeline!

[Kris27918687zh5c]

Just came here looking for exactly this issue. I'm moving back to PrPro from 6 years in Resolve and finding the sluggishness of the UI is driving me mad. For example when I grab a clip to drag, my cursor moves and then a few milliseconds later the clip moves. It's impossible to get a precise and quick move. I do use keyboard shortcuts to nudge for precise cuts but let's say I want to grab a clip and move it out of the way for a min to try something else, the UI is slowing be down because I have to wait for it to update while I'm already thinking of what my next action is. 

The timeline playhead is also behind what I'm seeing in the program monitor and when I press the space bar it takes a few frames for the playhead to stop, which is after where I may need to add a cut and I have to use the arrow keys to move the playhead back a few frames. 

These are just some of the most glaring UI delays I'm experiencing. 

My System spec is:
MacPro (2019) 3.2 GHz 16 Core Xeon W
2 AMD Vega II Cards with 64GB GPU
384 GB 29933MHz DDR4
Blackmagic Ultrastudio Mini
2 Desktop UI monitors

@Kevin-Monahan Waving in your direction. This is Kris, from the Old Atlanta Cutters UG and OG Creative Cow Forums. 🙂

[david.parke]

Right there with you. M1 Max MBP runs pretty much as expected. My pretty well-equipped 2019 MacPro is just so unreliable.

• Adobe Premiere Pro version number: 23.1.0 (Build 86)
• Operating system - macOS Ventura 13.2 (22D49)
• System Info: CPU, GPU, RAM, HD:

  • CPU - 3.2 GHz 16-Core Intel Xeon W

  • GPU and Driver Version - AMD Radeon Pro W5700X 16 GB

  • RAM - 160 GB 2933 MHz DDR4

  • Hard Drive (and, if external, how the drive is connected: USB 3, Thunderbolt, etc.). - OWC Gemini connected via TB3 cable.

UPDATE:

I found that having too many panels open in conjunction with having a timeline template that included a legacy track effect seemed to be the culprits. I turned off some unnecessary panels and removed the legacy track effect and the timeline started being more responsive.

UPDATE 2:

Panels was not the solve. I was pulling my hair out again within a day or so. What's been working for the last hour or so was I realized I had swapped TB cables between my OWC RAID and my Studio Display - so my display was running off the OWC RAID's TB port as a daisy chain and not off the tower's GFX card. So far so good - both the RAID and displays are plugged into the tower and I have had minimal issues. Will set a reminder to report back if anything changes or if this, in fact, was the solve. Interested in OP's signal flow and if that might be an issue?

UPDATE 3:

Rolling back to 23.0 was the "solve" for this although it seems off that the latest 22.x version and the betas all have this same issue for me. Will update as I go

UPDATE 4:

I worked on my M1 Max all summer without issue (the MacPro 2019 just keeps my room TOO hot). Came back to the MacPro now that temps have fallen and my summer went to well, I had forgotten that it wasn't just the heat I was using the M1 Max for! Well, 3 days into working back on the MacPro, I decided to do a complete wipe of the system. Clean installed the OS and then just the bare necessities. So far so good! Not the solve most want to hear, I am sure, but unless this thing starts slowing to a crawl sometime soon, I had an INCREDIBLE day ACTUALLY working on this thing.

[Rob217717683hsl]

Experiencing lag in 2023. Fresh Premiere Pro install, Macbook Pro 16" and Windows PC with i7 13700k/GTX2080TI

[Jorge Jaramillo Hdz]

The lag is more present in evey update, plus tons of bugs remaining and other new ones, sometimes it's very stretfull editing, I'm more worried about Premiere lag/crash than the editing or final work.

This last updates made me think for the first time in more than 14 years using Premiere, to consider leave Adobe. 

[Gabby16bit]

This! Almost every version except of a 2022 beta some times a go that fixed all the issues for me, but then after updating appeared worse.

Is so boring to edit in PP because is like moving heavy blocks with your mouse, is so unresponsive sometimes, it crash at least once a day and after some minutes in the editing it start to lag as hell. I have many panels open which i use them all. I'm using PP just for that reason, for have all the panels that i need open at the same time on my ultra wide monitor. If it can't do that, is not the software for me.

After i edit 1 hour in premiere i feel i was working in a damn worksite

[scrozier]

I spent some time editing proxies on a M2 MacbookAir, low specced, 8GB RAM, and this thing runs premiere's interface at 60FPS no problem. All of my interface jank problems I showed in the interface above went away.

Why can't my behemoth 24core, 11GB GPU machine scroll a bin Adobe? Why does Premiere's interface run smoothly on MacOSX and not Windows. Don't tell me its a Windows thing becasue I don't have these issues in resovle.   

I'm not sure if its becasue Adobe spent a lot of time optimizing Premeire for the M2 or something, but the difference is startling. 

[Jorge2980491739de]

I have the SAME problem! how to fix?????? pleaseeeeeee

[jonokino]

Mac Mini - M2 Pro, 32 GB RAM, 16 Core GPU, 2 Monitors (1920x1080, 1920x1200)

Same issue. Lag is primarily around timeline edits. Playback itself is absolutely fine, once it gets going (using both proxies and original media). No dropped frames at all, so I know it's not that. I've had some luck turning off thumbnails/keyframes/waveforms/duplicate frame markers etc. But if I'm lifting/extracting, cutting/pasting, or using a ripple trim command - everything is a couple of seconds behind.

Tried trashing my cache, tried turning off mercury transmit (although honestly what kind of a solution is that? I need to be able to see my work in full screen). RAM is maxed out. I've got my project file, media, and proxies on 3 separate drives (one internal, the others Thunderbolt 2 and 3 - both RAID).

Editors want software and its accompanying UI to be as fast as they can use their keyboard. Adobe, please, please, PLEASE stop introducing new features and focus entirely on making the basics rock solid. If I wanted to edit with lead boots on, I'd be on Avid.

[jonokino]

UPDATE: my lag might have something to do with changing the length of the timeline during an edit. When I do a simple extract, or cut and paste, as long as I'm overwriting and not doing an insert, everything runs smoothly. But if the clips down the timeline have to shift their position in any way, (for instance in an insert or a ripple trim) I get 2-3 seconds of lag. Sometimes a beach ball of death. Yellow trims, ripple deletes, etc. It gets tripped up when the overall timeline changes its length, and the clips with it.

[jonokino]

NEW UPDATE - MXF files are the culprit. I've got Arri Alexa MXF files. The codec is Apple ProRes 4444, but there is something about the MXF container that causes this slowdown. Again, it's entirely UI, not playback.

[kinglevel]

OMG... that did it..
*I sorted some of my footage in more bins
*And put everything in one major top bin...

*Closed all of them

latest studio Nvidia drivers, 536.99

Premiere 2023, 23.6.0

That resolved the issue were my interface was lagging A LOT but smooth playback...  Been pulling my hair for 3-4 hours now.. thx

[scrozier]

The interface has seen some improvements in the last year or so I just want to say THANK YOU for putting in some TLC on these quality of life issues. 

That said the overall interface still lags behind when drawing the timeline to the screen. Even with the beta version which touts improved timeline drawing performance. (As an aside I think this is an issue somewhat tied to Windows 11 Premiere. I think the m1/2 Macs they have ironed out more of these.) 

Things that have been drastically improved:

• The CTI draws way faster than before, bsically velcroed to the mosue now. Not lonnger stutters around badly when trying to scrub.
• Timeline interactions like moving and trimming clips are much more responsive to the mouse. 

Things that are still sub 60FPS / Problems Even in Beta (at least on Windows 11 )

• Scrolling and zooming a timeline is still rendering at 20-30FPS (see first video) , even worse if you have locked tracks Way slower than what Resolve and other NLEs can do.  
• Waveforms still draw and redraw too often when zooming or scrolling giving a lot of flickering problems. (Sony) Vegas and Audition figured this out decades ago. Time to patch this. 
• Maximized bins on second screens or even within a ~ window still struggle to scroll through columns smoothly. Still only giving about 15-20 FPS.

[Klaus30152164ramu]

I found out something again today. After Adobe Support found nothing for 3 hours, I started the PC in safe mode. And lo and behold, Premiere runs like butter. The only disadvantage is that CUDA support is no longer possible. Unfortunately, I don't know which systems are switched off in Safe Mode, but it must be something important that causes Premiere to hang. Maybe you know more about it. Try it out.

[Klaus30152164ramu]

i found the bug (at least for me it works). after i switch to the safe mode of windows and everthing was running like butter, i start to troubleshoot th issue. Found out that is jas somthin to do with the energie option. Her is the thing my PC was set to "energy safe mode" and so my RAM was not getting enough Poer to compute. after i swith to "high Performance" everthing is runnig fine. I realy dont think i am the one that set the px into Energysafe mode. Maby ist came with an Windows Update. How ever, ia m More than happy that it works fine now. Maby Adobe can take this information into there "How to fix bad premire Performance" Tutorials. 

[beebt0wn]

On a MacPro 2019, also encountering same issues. Only have somewhat stable application functionality with 23.5.0 - I've tested all the newer updates (23.6, 23.6.2 and 24.0.3) - and each one cripples the entire workflow. Moving mouse around, scrubbing, interacting with bins, basically anything involving the interface is completely useless.

[Marcos27562808ay6d]

In all versions after 23.4, the interface was slow and stuck when using 2 monitors. As is the case with most people here. Even though it is on the same video card and works perfectly in version 23.4
In addition to being very slow, I can't leave the "track mixer" on a monitor other than the main one, as the timeline stops responding and doesn't display where the time indicator is.
When I return to the 1-monitor workspace, it flows a little better.

There is no way to continue paying for a program that has 10 bugs that are ignored for every new feature. There are bugs from old versions that were never fixed, just improved.

[Anthony246441165omy]

WTF is wrong with v24 and why hasn't Adobe responded yet? 

Experiencing major UI lag across all panels in v 24.1.0 -- I've stripped down all my panels, accelerations, cleaned up my bins, and removed all timeline visualizations like waveforms, markers, duplicate frames (that are still janky and useless in v24) and even track names.  Proxies attached and all media running off of T7 Shield SSD.   PP is still 1-2 seconds lag on making any timeline edit, lagging on opening bins, or selecting any drop down menu.  It is miserable, and I can't downgrade to v23 because I need to share this project with other editors who are tapping their feet waiting for me to complete basic tasks.  

Processor: 3.6GHz 10-core
Memory: 64GB
Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT 16GB

[GregEdits]

Having all these issues.  Specs: M2 Max, 64GB RAM, 8TB ssd, using a 10GBe line to edit a TV show and using Premiere Production. The interface is completely unusable. Zooming in and out of the timeline takes 5-7seconds to get any response. Completely zoomed in though it acts normally.  But this is extremely difficult to do on a timeline greater than even 10min.  Episodes are 44min runtime being split into 2x 22min reels.  

Using all low res prores proxy files and it doesn't matter. Everything is horendously slow.  Tried all the methods in this posting with no positive outcome.  On my Windows PC its handling this show like a boss.  But anything with MacOs and its just the worst experience ever.  

[guessbylight]

I encountered almost the same problems as everyone else, with a lot of details, lag and slowness, and even constant crashes, requiring forced exit, etc. The terrible thing was that pr always performed normally at the beginning of the project, but after a period of time, various problems began to appear, especially the project export, which was too frustrating. As a user who has used pr for decades, after updating the device and software version this year, it ushered in such a critical attack. And I've been scrolling through everyone's posts, and there are few standard answers that completely resolve this question. Come on, it's 2024, can't a company as big as ADOBE take two or three years to fix these product bugs? I'm going to be disappointed