In Adobe Premiere Pro, playback lag is a common issue editors face. It’s incredibly frustrating, whether it impacts just a few frames or larger chunks of your sequence. After long editing periods, it can feel like your patience is being tested beyond its limits!
However, there are plenty of things you can do to improve the performance of your editing system. While a permanent (or singular) solution is unlikely, here are Motion Array’s top tips to fix Premiere Pro playback lag and prevent those annoying dropped frames.
Summary
Part 1: How to check for dropped frames
The first step is to check if you’re actually dropping frames. Other issues, such as corrupted media files, can cause similar problems. Playback lag issues will be easy to spot, as your playback will jump across the sequence and the video will noticeably stutter. You can also hear playback lag in audio: The audio will drop in and out, similar to a loose connection in your headphones. If you’re experiencing other audio issues in Premiere Pro, this tutorial may help.
Occasionally, the dropped frames might be less noticeable. Premiere Pro has a Dropped Frame Indicator with a green icon that turns yellow when dropped frames are present. You can also hover over the indicator to reveal how many frames were dropped.
To add the indicator to your playback window:
- Click on the wrench icon.
- Select Show Dropped Frames Indicator.
Part 2: Top 15 troubleshooting tips to reduce Premiere Pro playback lag
Now that you know how to spot dropped frames, let’s explore ways to improve playback speed and quality. These should help to reduce Premiere Pro playback lag.
Settings tips
1. Confirm system requirements
Before we start, it’s worth mentioning that Adobe software comes with specific system requirements. Your computer will need certain specs to be able to use the software. These requirements include your processor (CPU), video card (GPU), memory (RAM), and storage, all of which work to support your editing.
Meeting these specifications is necessary for the software to perform its tasks. For example, on some devices, you won’t be able to edit 4K footage. If you’re interested in learning more, we’ve created a handy guide to Adobe Premiere Pro system requirements.
2. Increase the memory allowance
RAM is needed for each application your machine runs. Having many programs open while you’re editing will reduce your system’s speed, even on very powerful devices. Premiere Pro allows you to choose how much RAM you dedicate to other applications and how much is saved for your video editing.
To speed things up, go to Preferences > Memory. Here, you can change the amount of RAM your system is using for editing and for the other applications you’re running. Be realistic, though! This doesn’t mean you can open all your applications at the same time — shutting down non-essential programs while editing is still a must.
3. Check for updates
Otherwise known as the editor’s version of ‘turning it off and on again,’ this simple task can solve a lot of editing problems. Close down all applications and check your system for updates. Don’t forget to make sure both your system software and your Adobe programs are up to date. If your system software needs updating, you’ll likely need to restart your machine.
This is more than just a great tip for solving playback lag issues: it’s a key step when troubleshooting any problems you have.
4. Adjust media cache settings and location
Premiere Pro’s file-management system files away your assets and references them from their location. When you import media, it’s processed and cache files are created. A cache file is a temporary version of your media in a format that enables Premiere Pro to access and scan the file from your drive.
A problem with these cache files is that while each is quite small in size, together they begin to clog up your machine. So it’s important to manage your media cache size and location.
If you’re facing playback lag in Premiere Pro, try changing the location of your Media Cache to a local drive and delete the unused ones. Clearing your cache should be part of your regular maintenance, so try to do this monthly.
- Go to Preferences > Media Cache.
- Select Browse and choose a new location.
- Select Delete Unused to remove all the unused cache files.
- You can also change the settings to automatically delete cache files that are a set number of days old. Hit OK and you’re done.
Workflow tips
5. Work with proxy files
Some media assets are very large, so working with them could slow down your system no matter how strong your computer is. Fortunately, Premiere Pro has a solution for this with proxy workflows.
A proxy file is a lower-res version of your media created solely for speedy editing. Working with a lower resolution allows your system to process your edits faster and makes playback easier on your machine. Once your edit is complete and you’re ready to export, you can switch back to the full resolution with a click of a button.
6. Use a lower playback resolution
Sometimes, the reason for a lag might be immediately apparent. For example, if it lags only over a part of the sequence with several effects attached to it, we’d recommend you lower the playback resolution. Unlike proxy media, this doesn’t change the quality of the footage, just the quality of the visual player window.
Select the Playback Resolution dropdown menu from the player window and switch to ½, ¼, or ⅛ resolution.
7. Turn off high-quality playback
Not only does Premiere Pro have Lower Playback Resolution options, but it also has a High-Quality Playback feature hidden away in the wrench icon settings. This setting will display the highest-quality visuals possible, but it can often cause lag. In reality, there isn’t much visual difference when using the setting, so don’t be shy about dropping it if you’re still struggling with Premiere Pro playback lag.
8. Disable auto save
While working on your project, Premiere Pro frequently autosaves your progress, which can slow down your computer. We recommend you try disabling this cautiously, as you don’t want to lose any final edits! Head to Preferences > Auto Save, then uncheck the Automatically Save Projects checkbox.
9. Use GPU acceleration
Explaining this can be quite technical, so let’s keep it simple. You can find more details about GPU acceleration if you’re curious. Essentially, your Graphics Processor Unit (GPU) is the part that takes care of processing your visuals. GPU Acceleration happens when the system ‘looks’ at all the processes a piece of software is running, and splits the workload between your GPU and CPU.
Check that your project is set to use GPU acceleration. This will take some of the workload from your GPU, freeing it up for faster graphics processing, such as playback.
- Go to File > Project settings.
- Check the Renderer dropdown menu is set to use accelerations.
For Mac users, there’ll be two options: OpenCL (created by Adobe) or Metal (made by Apple.) It’s worth trying each one to find out which works best for your systems. PC users will need to select CUDA. Remember that this will need a strong device to work at its best.
10. Match your footage and sequence settings
If your footage is a different size to your sequence, it might cause playback issues in Premiere Pro. For example, you may have scaled-down 4K footage to fit a 1080p sequence. A better option is to match your editing sequence to your footage settings so your system doesn’t need to use processing power on the resizing.
To check if your sequence settings match, do the following:
- Right-click on any piece of footage in your Project Browser and select Properties.
- Next, click on your sequence to highlight it and choose Sequence > Sequence Settings.
- Change the Sequence Settings to Match Footage Settings, and hit OK.
11. Use the Global FX Mute button
Global FX Mute is a handy little button that lets you toggle your sequence effects on and off. Since using lots of effects is one of the leading causes of Premiere Pro playback lag, being able to switch them on and off can ease the frustration of dropped frames.
To add the FX toggle button:
- Click on the + button in the Playback Window.
- Drag the small FX icon to your Playback Window button bar.
- You can now click on this to toggle all the sequence effects on and off.
This can be useful if you’ve added animated titles and want to see them play smoothly without processing footage effects.
12. Close your Lumetri Scopes panel
Lumetri Scopes are great for analyzing your footage color, but running them takes a fair bit of processing power. If you’re not using them, close the window. It’s a simple fix, but removing this small element can quickly free things up.
13. Render, render, render
We get it. You want to get on with your editing. Who’s got time to sit and render out the sequence, let alone over and over again?
Even if you’re not using many effects or layers, rendering the sequence can help fix playback lag. So, keep an eye on your render line! If it’s red, your project needs to be rendered. Find out more about rendering in this tutorial.
14. Turn off any overlays
Hopefully, you’ll see a recurring theme with our lag fixes by now. The more you can reduce the visual elements being processed, the faster the processing will happen. This extends to all of the overlays for your Playback window.
Turn off your Safe Margins, Transparency Grid, and other overlays if you’re not actively using them.
15. Use Render and Replace
Dynamically linked or nested compositions — or clips that are effects-heavy — might be the cause of your Premiere Pro playback lag as your system is processing a lot of elements at the same time. Look at it this way: The more work you have to do to a clip, the more work your system will need to do to play it back.
The Render and Replace Clips function is an excellent way to save your machine some heavy lifting. Premiere Pro renders the clip with all its effects and replaces it with a simplified version — it essentially flattens all of the layers into one.
- Click on any clip you want to condense.
- Go to the Clip menu and select Render and Replace.
Don’t worry, you can still change the effects on the clip later, but rendering clips helps your system access them quickly and play back more efficiently.
If you’ve only started your video editing journey recently, you must consider the type of editing you want to do and the system requirements you need to meet. If you’ve been editing for a while, you’re probably well-versed in the irritation of dropped frames.
Motion Array hopes you’ve found our guide to fixing Premiere Pro playback lag helpful (and learned a few extra tricks on the way)! Most importantly, we hope these tips will help you get back to your projects faster.
