Unresponsive interface when zooming out the timeline and other interface issues.

[goguvarra]

UPDATE...AND SOLUTION:

In the last few updates of Premiere since I posted this the situation has greatly improved.

- improved timeline scrubbing and such in the update notes really do work

Thank you Adobe for taking for your time and hard work to improve this. Things can be even better but it is a long way

forwards for sure. Cheers!

PS. Can someone mark this as SOLVED, and maybe mark my own post as the correct answer to help others? It seems I cannot mark my own post as a "correct answer" 🙂

Hello,

The issues that I ll be describing below have been happening for years now but on this particular project they really got on my nerves so i decided to outline them, maybe there are workarounds or some solutions.

1) When the sequence gets somewhat large (10 audio tracks, 1h 30m length) and with multiple audio tracks scrolling (both vertical and horizontal) in the timeline becomes really sluggish and choppy. 

As I zoom in and less elements are visible in the timeline it gets better and better until it becomes "real time" again. This is because of all the little rectangles and cut lines that premiere has to draw I would assume? But is it so taxing on the system that it gets almost unusable? 

It makes navigating a bigger edit an ordeal. 

2) When zooming in an out with multiple audio tracks and cuts sometimes the waveforms dissapear and it takes a while for them to come up again. sometimes more than 15 seconds.

This again hurts my speed if i need to see waveform up close so I can compare multiple tracks or sync them by visually comparing the waveform. 

I have to wait everytime for the waveform to be redrawn.

3) Aside from the waveform having trouble being shown sometimes when zoomed in and starting playback the timeline indicator won t stop and it will continue going on by its own until a random set of seconds have passed. Again, this happens at higher zoom values, If I zoom out about 50% I don t remember this happening.

4) the newest thing that I found out today was that right clicking a sequence in the Project panel won't display the menu instantly if that sequence is more complex. 

It takes about 10 seconds for the right click menu to appear on a crowded sequence as opposed to instantly when I have just couple of tracks and elements in another one. I wanted to access "sequence settings" by the way.  

This is just frustrating.

This is what a "crowded" sequence means to me and the one that I used in all of the examples above.

[Ryan Fritzsche]

I've experienced versions of this many times over the years.  I have basically just decided Premiere can't handle long sequences (>20 or 30 mins) very well, yet it seems really counterintuitive that the length of a sequence would cause these issues.

My system: MacPro 6,1, 8-core, 64GB RAM, fast RAID storage, 1TB SSD, Mac OS Monterey. But issues like this go back pretty much the last decade that I've been using Premiere.

[Silkr0ad]

PP seems to have issues as soon as it's too much. No idea where it comes from. Are you working on a editing rig or a laptop?

[goguvarra]

I'm working on a laptop, but its on steroids, 11gen dekstop version i7, 32gb RAM, 3070RTX with the biggest wattage possible for a laptop, but i'll check on a buddy s workstation just to be sure, although as I've said this has been going on for years and my laptop only has almost 2 under its belt :).

So this is just how it is, Premiere can't work well with larger sequences...:(

PS. Also have a big problem with exporting this thing which I've written about here. Huge export times but only the audio seems to cause issues, exporting the video only works as expected.

https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-pro-discussions/very-long-export-times-due-to-audio-in-proje...

[Silkr0ad]

Well, my point of view about this is do not work on a laptop, especially if it's a big project like that, and yours look like, super super big.

As you said, even if it's on "steroid", I would not recommand to work on it. It's my point of view tho. I'm at war with people working on a laptop to do pro video editing for a lot of reasons but anyway..

For exemple I have an editing rig, less powerful than my laptop. Yet, not surprisingly, PP runs much smoother on my rig, and I'm much faster while working. Laptops tend to run too hot, especially with software like Premiere. Clearly the CPU is taking a beating, and the more you ask of it over the long term (like working on your big project), the more it's going to start struggling to keep up. 

I understand that a laptop is practical, but once again, it's just shooting yourself in the foot, especially on big projects. Move evrything on an editing rig and see by yourself, much faster, much smoother and better results at the end !

[goguvarra]

You make valid points and I understand where you come from but in this situation the problem is Premiere not how powerful the computer is.

I've opened the project on a friend's workstation, even more powerful than my laptop, and it is identical. Slow scrolling of the timeline when zoomed out, 3+ hours of render time in media encoder at least waveforms look like they load a bit faster when zoomed it but the problem is still there.

So not everything is linked to how powerful the computer is.

edit - just remembered, since we are talking about laptops. The new ones from Apple with the M1 chips are out of this world, and i'm not talking about the Pro versions. They are really really optimized and powerful. 🙂

[Silkr0ad]

For sure, laptop can work great, but after a few hours even the best is going to overheat

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi @goguvarra ,

I got your message. It sounds like you are having performance issues with a pretty heavy sequence. Thanks for all the info you have given thus far. Devs are asking for specific info in the template. If you want to file a bug report that is actionable by devs, may I suggest you format your post, as outlined in How do I write a bug report?

Use the template below to provide us with information: 

• Issue - A short description of the problem. 
• Adobe Premiere Pro version number: FAQ: How to find the exact version of Premiere Pro you're using?
• Operating system - Windows or macOS, and which version of those operating systems?
• System Info: CPU, GPU, RAM, HD:

  • CPU (model and generation, if available)

  • GPU and Driver Version

  • RAM

  • Hard Drive (and, if external, how the drive is connected: USB 3, Thunderbolt, etc.).

• Video format: Provide information about the type of video you're using. For example, XAVC-I 4:2:2 10-bit. If you're not sure, let us know what settings you selected on the camera. If you don't have access to the camera, sharing a sample file is useful. 
• Workflow details: Tell us any specific info about the project or sequence. For example, is it a multicam sequence?
• Steps to reproduce - Exact steps, in a numbered list, that are needed to reproduce the problem.  
• Expected result - What should have happened after the last step?
• Actual result -  What did happen after the previous step? 

Optional but helpful: upload media, project files, screenshots, or screen recordings demonstrating the issue. 

With that info, the product team can try to reproduce your issue and address it internally. It can also help support with diagnosing the source of your problem.

Keep in mind that you can always contact assisted support here for one-on-one troubleshooting. The chat pod is in the lower-right corner. Please ask to be connected to the "video queue" where our video support staff can help you directly. Ask for a case number, so it can be tracked by you and my staff in support. The video queue is open Monday to Friday from 7AM to 7PM.

Sorry for the frustration you are experiencing.

Thanks,

Kevin

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi @Ryan Fritzsche,

Thanks for your message. In fact, a long sequence has quite a bit of impact on the potential performance for editing functions. This is especially the case with 4K and larger formats. After you've added effects, graphics, and other elements to the sequence, the stress it puts on a computer begins to add up.

As you probably already know, there is a reason why a lot of RAM can really help longer sequences. So can a GPU with a lot of VRAM. Performance issues can be mitigated by using high speed drives, optimized codecs (instead of HEVC or H.264), and trusted "best practices" editors have been using since the dawn of NLE. That's my take from my perspective as a fellow editor and support representative. In other words, you often have to meet Premiere Pro half way with a system and techniques to make the software run as expected. I hope the advice helps.

Thanks,
Kevin

[goguvarra]

Thank you, Kevin.

As I posted in my initial post the problem is SOLVED :). Lots of thanks to the team!