PT8 edit window timeline jerky

[Dazly]

Has anyone else noticed that the scrolling of the timeline in the edit window is jerky since protools 8. I'm finding it really tiring on the eyes and wondered if anyone else has noticed or has a fix for it.


Thanks in advance

[Postman]

Welcome to the DUC. Yes there have been complaints, mostly Mac users, and you will find lengthy threads that include those complaints in the other DUC forums.

[Dazly]

Thanks, I am on a PC but can't find any threads about the timeline only video output being jerky. Can you help me with a link please.
Thanks

[Postman]

Have you checked in a PC-specific forum? You don't say whether you have HD or LE so I'm not sure where to point you. You also don't say which version of software you are running, which makes my searches less relevant.

HD? go here: http://duc.digidesign.com/forumdisplay.php?f=9
LE? go here: http://duc.digidesign.com/forumdisplay.php?f=17

Once you're in the relevant forum, plunge through those sticky links at the top of the forum where you will find lots of system specific advice and things to try. If no success, post a question there. Users with similar configurations may have better insight. Good luck!

[Dazly]

Thanks, I will have a look around but Its not platform specific as I freelance on mac and pc and the problem is on both. I work on HD systems.

[Postman]

So if you are just here to complain that PT8 is more sluggish than earlier versions, then all I can do is agree with you!

[Dazly]

Well, that and to see if anyone has found a solution........!

[tape2tape]

only notice it if I am running an h264 -- have to re-export QT as a dv file and that seems to fix the problem. this is running PT 8 LE on a PPC 2.5 with 4 gigs of RAM -

[Maskeeper]

Yep, experiencing this on an epidemic scale. 5 Brand New PT8 systems on Mac 10.5.6, running HD3 hardware.

Some systems experiencing EXTREME visual lag- like timecode window only updating once per SECOND. The audio plays back without issue and Video from mojo plays clean-- but the computer display is extremely slow and sluggish.

The playhead jumps during scrolling, the timecode widow display jumps in number. It also affects adjusting parameters in EQs as the screen does not show the parameter moving, so it just seems to jump up and down. All in all a nightmare.

Oddly though, some systems seem to display this issue more than others (and all are identical systems). Some sessions also seem to have the issue come up more than others-- like a system known to be bad about this might run fine on one session and remarkably slow with another.

My contacts at digi suggested changing the number of processors PT uses to free up cpu power for display but I've tried every setting from 1 processor to 16 (closing PT and relaunching each time) and nothing changes. The only workaround I've found is closing all the plugin windows and having only one open at a time.


If this issue is well documented has there ever been any comments from Digi on when to expect a fix? I'm a day away from just rolling all the systems back to 7.4 because this is seriously impacting productivity. This is not a small inconvience- this is something that is making software unuasable and costing thousands of dollars in lost hours and frustrated clients.

[Postman]

When I see my timecode readout start updating only 1 or 2 times per second it is always because of automation ramping or gliding on plugins. Suspend automation on all tracks to check for this. If the cursor and timecode display vastly improve with automation turned off, it is probably automation gliding.

Here's how it usually happens to me. Conform a session that has automation to a new picture cut, especially when scenes have been swapped, and there can be "holes" where new material will go. When automation parameters at the end of an existing scene do not match he parameters of the next scene, the parameters may smoothly glide or ramp across the entire empty area. PT gets very busy keeping all those changes going. IN PT7.4 it was typically a reverb, usually Reverb One, or Sonic NoNoise that made the display jerky. PT8 is affected differently and I've had to straighten out many plugins to get the display more smooth. No ramps, no problems.

BTW, the timecode display in PT8 is never "smooth" on my G5, and it gets less smooth as automation builds up over time. I must say, though, that Digi has balanced the program well. I'd rather have a jerky display than have jerky sounding audio(!), but it does cause anguish when trying to adjust things with a mouse.