Error connecting to Universe runtime - After the Premiere Pro 22.1.1. update 12/14/2021

[RoadsEndFilms]

I thought that starting a new, updated thread about this might be smart as it directly relates to the Premiere Pro v 22.1.1 update. 

Basically, as of about 4 hours ago and upon allowing Creative Cloud to install the 22.1.1. update, I am unable to access the Red Giant / Maxon Universe plugin. My experience like I'm sure many others out there is that my Red Giant Universe, now under the Maxon App, was completely up to date and working perfectly as of this afternoon with the previous version of Premiere Pro until I updated through Creative Cloud.

Now, both pre-existing projects with Universe affects applied to the timeline are throwing the  "Error connecting to Universe runtime" code, AND brand new projects are doing the same when trying to apply a Universe effect to a new sequence / clip. Given that, this feels like an Adobe issue to resolve and NOT a Red Giant /Maxon problem. 

Through some trial and error, I concluded that I am able to hold and press the ENTER key to get past the error during program load and actually open a project with Universe effects already applied in the timeline (albeit it without any of them working), which is nice as for a few panicked moments I thought I had completely lost an edited sequence. Still, that does not solve anything. 

I am running Creative Cloud on a windows 10 pro 64 bit system that is incredibly up to date and fairly powerful. Both Creative Cloud Desktop and Maxon App are their most recent versions. Yes, I did try to restart, uninstall and reinstall, to no avail. I would prefer to not roll back to a previous version or moment in time, and instead have this issue addressed. 

[_jeffersondonald]

This is still an issue in December 2021. I have uninstalled and re-installed the Maxon App and Universe, but I still receive the error in Premiere Pro. Oddly enough After Effects seems to be running fine...for now. I have contacted Maxon support. The automated email says it may take up to 72 hours to receive support if it concerns a Red Giant product. The email also encourages one to check the Knowledge Base for an answer, which, of course, if useless.

[R Neil Haugen]

Wow, that's not great help over at Maxon. I got a response in about 12 hours to lodging a ticket for support, and then got help pretty quickly to figure out the steps to get it working here in about six more. During that day.

Neil

[_jeffersondonald]

Oops, I was wrong. Red Giant support could take up to 10 days. 🙂

Posting a screenshot of the email that contains that portion.

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi jeffersondonald,

I saw one other person having this issue. Sorry. I'll keep my ears open for a possible solution or workaround. 

Thanks,
Kevin

[Tragicom]

"Error connecting to Universe Runtime" - began immeditely after updating to Adobe Premier Pro 22.1.1  12/14/21.   Also updated to After Effects latest 22.1.1 and it has no problem connecting Universe runtime.   Dev teams from AE and Premier are completely seperate.  Maxon app and Universe reinstalled but no joy.    All was well until I updated Adobe apps.     Adobe CC updates are fast becoming legend.

[_jeffersondonald]

Face palm because I upgraded today or yesterday.

[R Neil Haugen]

The Maxon app and the change from RedGiant to Maxon are not necessarily going so smoothly as we users would hope. Ahem.

On first installing shipping 2022, my RedGiant Universe wouldn't function. It took a day to get a response from Maxon support, but ... after I did get an email reply ... it only took another four hours or so to get it sorted and my plugins working.

But with the new release today, Colorista is working ... but the Universe stuff simply says "resintall Universeruntime.dll" ... huh.

Neil

[_jeffersondonald]

Given what you said and was posted from Tragicom, I'll see if I can roll back to previous release or at least install previous version.

[RoadsEndFilms]

I am experiencing this exact same problem which is incredibly frustrating as not more than an hour before I was working on a client project that included some Universe transitions and now subsequently will not open. The fact that I am on a deadline which now screws me aside, I feel this is perhaps Adobe's issue to address since it was a Premiere Pro update that caused the issue, NOT a Maxon app update. 

[RoadsEndFilms]

I further deduce that if I create a NEW Adobe Premiere Pro project and attempt to use any Universe effect, I can not. So, the problem is not limited to projects that already have Universe effects applied in the timeline (which I originally thought might be the case). 

As an aside, I am able to hold and press the ENTER key to get past the error during program load and actually open a project with Universe effects already applied in the timeline (albeit it without any of them working), which is nice as for a few panicked moments I thought I had completely lost an edited sequence. Still, that does not solve anything. 

[Szalam]

Rolling back to the previous version of Premiere Pro will make everything work again.

Both Adobe and Maxon/Red Giant are aware of the issue and are working on a resolution.

[_jeffersondonald]

Thank you.

[PanAura]

I'm having the same issue today after updating Premier.

[erh3]

Hi all,

Having the same issue on my end. Tried uninstalling Maxon app/Universe, reinstalling, etc. The project hangs on open and eventually I get the same error message. I can confirm that I'm having no issues opening Resolve projects with Universe effects applied and adding Universe effects on the same machine (for what it's worth). Good fun...

[AnimoMotion]

Yeah this is dreadful. Again Premiere is completely unreliable. There really is no reason not to switch to Resolve now. It's free, reliable, robust and not running on a 20+ year old architecture with tons of outdated features. I open projects with hope more than expectation. 

[Tragicom]

Unfortunately the reality is Premier has always been clunky even on a good day when its stable and playing well with the 3rd party world.    Premier is undeniable the weakest app in the entire Adobe stack when it should be the most robust...where the final conform takes place.   Its sort like having Yoko Ono hang around the studio while the Beatles were trying to create.   A massive buzz kill.   

Adobe, how can I help resolve this?   Please advise.   

[R Neil Haugen]

Hey hey hay ... loved the Beatles analogy ... lol

There's stuff into both the Pr devs and the Maxon support. Hoping someone gets back to us all soon.

Neil

[JohnnyRocket]

So I've learned you can "Okay" out of all the error messages, and still use Premiere, Not sure if itll affect anything when doing the final render though.

[Szalam]

Rolling back to the previous version of Premiere Pro will make everything work again.

You can click through the error messages, but Universe plugins won't work.

Both Adobe and Maxon/Red Giant are aware of the issue and are working on a resolution.

[Unspeakable Media]

So they removed all our posts and locked that last thread, which is not the correct answer, so that's super shady. I've reached out to my 2 connects in their development department to let them know that happened and to see if they have any suggestions. I've also reached out to my connect at Maxon to see if there's anything they know on there end. But for now, doing a Level 1 Clean on Maxon/Universe makes it so the popup officially goes away. But reinstalling it fresh after that makes the error pop back up. So doing a full clean install of Maxon does not work. Here's Maxon's directions for a Level 1 Clean:

Please try and perform a Level 1 Clean

These steps will uninstall the Red Giant Service from the system and delete all its files, including the database file.

Windows
Open an Explorer window
Navigate to C:\Program Files\Red Giant\Services
Right-click the uninstall-red-giant-service.bat file and select “Run as Administrator”

Mac
Open a Terminal window
Run the command: sudo /Library/Application\ Support/Red\ Giant/Services/uninstall-red-giant-service.sh

Then, reinstall the Red Giant Service via a suite installer or the Maxon App installer.

So at least this step helps being able to access projects. But there's no Universe, which is the main issue, and that's definetly on Adobe's side. I'm going to roll back my installs right now and update if that's a fix for now.

[RoadsEndFilms]

Unspeakable, I got some notifications that they moved posts from a similar thread started in February to this new thread which I started yesterday because it specifically relates to the 22.1.1 patch. That's why some of my posts in this thread look repetative - because my comments from the other thread before I started this one got migrated over as well. So I don't think its a shady move so much as some moderator trying to keep things clean. 

That said, that's some good thoughts on uninstalling Maxon to be able to at least access projects that have Universe effects applied to the timeline, however its no solve as you say and if you simply press and hold the enter key you CAN finally access the project without uninstalling anything - just won't have those effects enabled. Personally, I don't want to uninstall / reinstall unnecessarily at this point. I'm hoping a patch will come and come quickly. 

I do have a sort of dumb question though for everyone - other than rolling back to a previous moment in time via windows recovery, how are people "rolling back" to the previous version of premiere pro? I don't see any way in Creative Cloud to be able to do this. 

[R Neil Haugen]

In the CC Desktop app, Preferences, the Apps tab, make sure "show older apps" is set on.

Then from the All Apps tab in the CC Desktop app still, scroll down to the Premiere Pro line, click on the three-dot menu icon on the far right, and click "Other versions".

That pops up a list of other PrPro versions to select. This is what my 'other versions' list currently shows:

And of course, you can have 'full' major versions installed simultaneously. So I always leave earlier versions installed, never remove them. On this machine, new last year, I've got 2019 through the current public beta installed. On my previous rig, I've still got 2014 and on installed.

Neil

[RoadsEndFilms]

Neil, 

Incredibly helpful and a workaround for now. Thank you very much!

Carey

[Kevin-Monahan]

Roadsendfilms,

Hi, and sorry for the issue.

So I don't think its a shady move so much as some moderator trying to keep things clean. 

Thanks, that is correct. 

Regards,
Kevin

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi Unspeakable Media,

Sorry for the confusion.

I am in support and moderate the forums here. I am not on the product team. I did the work on locking the legacy thread from earlier in the year, as it contained an answer which is not currently helping people solve the issue and was causing further confusion, I think.

With that in mind, I moved the current threads from that old post and added it to a current post, a post that is gathering the most views on the topic currently. This was done for a very good reason (and there was no ill intent in it): placing all the current info under one roof so to speak and to make sure that a current solution be reached as soon as possible.

Thank you, though, for trying to find a solution for yourself and for others in the community. It is unfortunate that your instructions on a clean reinstallation of the plug-ins is not helping.

The product team is aware of the issue and is working on finding a solution ASAP, though. Looks to be a top issue for this particular version, so I will be advocating for you and others on this post. It appears that other Maxon products are being affected, as well.

I'll report back on that as soon as I hear anything. I hope that is OK.

Regards,
Kevin