After Effects 2017 preview lagging

[7SBF]

I've update AE to the newest version and the preview is lagging. I can't preview in real-time anymore (RAM stuck at 11/12 fps or something). Even a simple motion in the simplest composition doesn't play smooth.

Also when I start previewing (spacebar), I can't stop the preview without After Effects crashing or lagging (constant spinning wheel) and have to wait for it to respond or restart AE.

Audio preview is also a horror. Within 2 frames of playback the audio slows down and pitches down. These problems I never had with the previous version. I can't work on my projects without a normal preview and animating on a voiceover. What's going on here? Any thoughts?

I'm working on a MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014)  - 2,5 GHz Intel Core i7 - 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

[Dave_LaRonde]

Long answer short -- DON'T USE THE SPACE BAR!  Do a proper RAM preview and see what happens.  If you don't know HOW to do a Proper RAM Preview, go look at the beginners' AE tutorials in this forum.

[openbyhand_LTD]

'Long answer short -- DON'T USE THE SPACE BAR!  Do a proper RAM preview and see what happens.  If you don't know HOW to do a Proper RAM Preview, go look at the beginners' AE tutorials in this forum.'

This is the most patronising and aggressive response to a problem I have ever seen on this forum.

I am having the exact same problem and have been using After Effects for the past 15 years. It's not a 'beginners' issue in the slightest. After Effects has gone from being a rock solid and dependable program to an absolute mess ever since Creative Cloud subscription was pushed onto its user base.

Long answer short, don't be so damn patronising and defensive about one of the most unreliable pieces of 'professional' software that money can buy.

[Szalam]

This has been an issue for a couple of years with Macs. The issue boils down to how Apple changed how redraw rectangles are calculated when they intersect the region at the bottom of the application window between the rounded corners, which forced After Effects to invalidate how it was re-drawing the timeline and then draw a much bigger region than expected, which slowed down the refresh rate during previews...if that makes sense. And it's taking the AE team a few tries to find the correct fix. They have been working hard at this and I hope to see a fix for it soon.

There are so many people with this frustrating issue that when they finally get it fixed, I predict much joy. Although, the length of time it's taken them to figure out the problem is irking many people.

[7SBF]

I see what you mean, but why am I not having any of these problems with AE cc 2014 on the same macbook pro? Looks like Adobe made some drastic changes which are not compatible with (every) computer. And it is indeed frustrating to say the least.

Hoping for a fix soon, because I do like the updates in AE cc 2017.

[Szalam]

felixs357207 wrote:

...why am I not having any of these problems with AE cc 2014 on the same macbook pro?

Good question!

The AE team made massively sweeping changes to AE's code in CC 2015 that fundamentally changed how AE works. This was to set the stage for a much more modern architecture. The UI and the renderer were separated for the first time in AE's 20+ year history. This was a great boon as it improved interactive speed while working with After Effects and it made them able to start working on a brand new renderer that will be less buggy and more modern than the old one with its multiprocessing hack.

However, there were some unintended consequences and many more bugs than expected. One of the bugs involved certain Macs (usually Macs with 4k or 5k screens) not being able to play back cached previews at the full frame rate.

The reason for this is rather complicated. The issue boils down to how Mac 10.11 changed how redraw rectangles are calculated when they intersect the region at the bottom of the application window between the rounded corners, which forced After Effects to invalidate how it was re-drawing the timeline and then draw a much bigger region than expected, which slowed down the refresh rate during previews. They've had a few tries at fixing the issue a bit - and the fixes have worked for some people, but not for everyone. I am hopeful for a full fix soon.

[7SBF]

So basically growing pains for Adobe (and their users). Thanks for your insights. Luckily the older versions are still accessible and stable!

[DieterVR123]

Hi felixs357207​, where can we download the previous version of AE?

[DieterVR123]

I'll answer my own question

Link: How to Find and Install Previous Version of Adobe Apps in CC 2015 | Adobe Customer Care Team

[7SBF]

[mikinemcek]

Dude, just ignore it. That guy never had any problem-solving answer to almost anything over the years I am observing and reading this forum. I developed good practice over time. Just read further and ignore.

[karstens50911909]

What a patronizing unhelpful and unprofessional response. I have been working with After Effects for the last 16 years, so its not a noob problem. Adobe needs to fix this and you should not patronize other users.

[joeygman]

David why do you bother replying to every single post when you never comment anything helpful?

[willamtakor]

Absolutely terrible response. wow

[7SBF]

Thanks for responding, but that is not the issue. Every type of preview shortcut gives the same problems:

No real-time (even this simplest animation).

Stopping a preview gives me a spinning wheel, what results in waiting for the app to respond or even closing and restarting.

No normal audio preview.

These problems I don't have with the 2015.3 version (which I'm using again now).

[jeroyg]

Please see my reply for this issue in the thread here...

AE2017: looping playback beachball

[7SBF]

Thanks. Minimizing the timeline or doing a full screen preview does the trick (also for the audio). I'll use this workaround for now, but I'm hoping for a fix in the near future.

[Matt_Gunn]

Same issue with me! Wish I hadn't upgraded now!!! ;(

[Szalam · Accepted solution]

Everybody who is having this issue, please install the latest update that came out last night: After Effects CC (November 2017) Bug-Fix Update Is Now Available

This update is 14.0.1 and might be a bug fix for this. It certainly fixes several other disturbing issues - especially for Mac users. It does not fix all the bugs that are new with the CC 2017 release (Known issues in After Effects CC 2017), but it does fix some issues that have been plaguing After Effects since the first parts of the new architecture showed up in the CC 2015 release.

If you can't see the update yet, you may need to wait a while until you see it as it can take up to 24 hours to populate an update across all the data centers. You may need to log out, relaunch the Creative Cloud app, and log in again.

[mikem18004724]

Update does not fix the issue for me.

[Roei Tzoref]

If you are using 14.0.1 and still having problems with playback then please be specific: are you playing back cached frames? How exactly does your playback misbehaves?

[StephaneA_AfterEffects]

I'm on Windows 10 and I have the same issue with CC 2017, no problem with 2014.

This problem exist since CC 2015 and it has not been fixed it is a shame !!

[Szalam]

What kind of monitor do you have?

[StephaneA_AfterEffects]

I have a 4k BL2711U Benq monitor as my main display and a Eizo Coloredge CG246 has a preview monitor witch is plug on my graphic card DVI port and I use Mercury Transmit to preview.

My system is a PC with Windows 10

Mother Board Asus X99 Deluxe II

Processor Intel 5960x

64 Go of ram

Graphic card 980ti with last driver

[Szalam]

Do you get real time playback of cached frames if Mercury Transmit is turned off and you're just viewing it on your main screen?

Are you using color management at all?

Have you tried disabling (or if it's already disabled, enabling) the Use Hardware to Accelerate...Panels option?

Do either of your screens happen to have a Multi-Stream Transport (MST) option? If so, try disabling it. Disabling it works to get RAM previews running at a solid speed on certain Dell 4K screens.