Premiere Pro CC2019 freezes and skips on a Mac

[madashell1]

I am running Premiere Pro CC2019 version 13.1.5 on a Mac Pro from late 2013 with 3.5 GHz 6-Core Intel Xeon E5, 64 GB 1866 MHz DDR3 memory, and an AMD FirePro D500 3072 MB graphics card.  The operating system is Mac OS Sierra 10.12.6.

The video freezes and skips when playing the timeline.

I tried deleting the profile directory from the document directory, but the same problem came back.

[madashell1]

With this operating system and hardware, do I need to use a legacy version of Premiere Pro?  If so, how do I do that?

[Jeff Bellune]

I assume you've had that computer and that version of Pr for a while now?

Is this problem a recent development?

[madashell1]

The problem has become more pronounced in the last couple of months.  I had the computer checked at a Mac repair facility and they said it wasn't a hardware problem.  When I am prompted to upgrade to the latest version of Premier, I do so and that is why I think the change to CC2019 version 13.1 might be the problem.

[madashell1]

Jeff,

I have had the computer since 2014 and have been editing in Premiere Pro for several years.  Last week I had the computer checked by a Mac repair service and they told me it was not a hardware problem.

I upgrade Premiere Pro when prompted until the latest versions (14 or 15) telling me they are incompatible with my system.  I’m running version 13.1.5 and the stuttering started a couple of months ago, perhaps when I upgraded to 13.1.5.  When I start to play a sequence it is ok, but after a few seconds there is a lag and skip in video.

Is there a size limit for Premiere Pro files?  I shoot a topic over time and have all of the related files linked in one Premier Pro file.  This file is only 6 mb.

Thanks for responding.

Bill Johnson

[madashell1]

I should also add I use a G-Speed Shuttle XL TB3 external drive and the Premiere Pro file is on the external drive, not my computer hard drive.

[Jeff Bellune]

When you say "the Premiere Pro" file, are you referring to the Premiere Pro application file or the media that you are using inside of Premiere Pro?

If it's the application file, move it to your Applications folder. If it's the media file(s), try moving them to the internal drive and see if it makes any difference.

[madashell1]

I am not ready to buy a new Mac.

I need a legacy copy of Premiere Pro that works with MacOS Sierra 10.12.6.  Where can I download that version?

When I try to open an old file in Premiere Pro, it says it must be converted, but doesn't give me an option to convert to a version of Premiere Pro that still works with my Mac.  Premiere Pro 14 and 15 are incompatible software and PP 13.1.5 freezes and skips on the timeline.

[Jeff Bellune]

I didn't suggest you buy a new Mac. 

I asked if moving your media to an internal drive on your Mac Pro made any difference in the performance in Pr 13.1.5.

[madashell1]

I may have had a corrupted Premiere Pro file.  Premiere Pro 13.1.5 does run on OS 10.12.6 when the program is on the computer and the files are on the external drive.  I have created a new Premiere Pro file and will reedit from the original files.  I have eight hours of original video that will probably get edited down to eight minutes.

[madashell1]

I think I understand the problem.  I exceeded the file size or number of media files that Premiere Pro can handle in one PP file.  This means I will have to break up large projects into multiple Premiere Pro files.  This also explains why the problem (lag and skipping of video) got progressively worse as I shot more video and added it to the PP project.