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Level 1

12 points

Final cut pro freezes system when rendering

I updated to MacOS 10.14.3 yesterday (and there was an update for Pro Video formats as well). This morning I went on editing a project (nothing fancy, it was really fast earlier) which worked pretty well, but when I wanted to export a master file, it made the whole system freeze. I tried a different project as well, which seemed fine at first, but when it started to render some background files, it froze the system as well. I've never had any problems in these projects. When the render or export does work, it's extremely slow (it needs 30 minutes for 3 minutes of video).

This is what I tried already:

Reinstalled Final Cut Pro
Did an NVRAM reset
Removed the FCP settings when starting FCP
Run a first-aid in disk utility in Recovery Mode

My system should handle it easily:

Mac Mini (2018)

6 core 3,2 ghz Intel i7

32gb RAM

Working on these project from the internal 1tb flash drive with plenty of space left.

Anyone who has an idea what to do? I'm tired of googling and finding nothing that helps.

Thanks!

Mac mini 2018 or later

Posted on Feb 11, 2019 7:25 AM

Best reply

JJWWMM Author

Level 1

12 points

Posted on Feb 14, 2019 12:14 PM

My update for today:

I tried putting my system back in time to OSX 10.14.2. But after trying it 2 times and waiting for 20hours in total, it appeared that Time Machine didn't like my idea and got an vague message about the installation being unsuccessful.

I talked to Apple Support again. This time I tried entering the recovery mode with Shift-Option-Command+R to reinstall the version OSX that came with my newly installed MacMini. Tried it twice and got both times 10.14.3 installed (and not.2 as hoped).

With my system running a completely clean install of 10.14.3, I installed FCP again and the plugins and guess what: nothing changed. The system froze as usual.

Another thing I found is that the update Pro Video Formats 2.1 (that came with 10.14.3) that I installed isn't the cause of the issue. On my clean 10.14.3. install, I tried FCP (without succes) and after that, I installed the extra update for Pro Video Formats 2.1 from the system settings / software update. So that's another thing that we can exclude.

I contacted Pixel Film (which responded really quickly and helpfully) and we did some searching and tried some solutions, but nothing worked (as I was expecting by now).

I'm starting to think that it's not the fault of the third party developers (since it's a problem with Pixel Film, Flicker Free and Color Finale), but it's something in 10.14.3 that's the real problem. For now I'll work without third party plugins and keep hoping for a fix.

--------------------------------------------------------------

There's one upside to this story: I bought this Mac Mini in December 2018 and I've been having the well known bluetooth issues with connecting my Apple keyboard and Magic Trackpad. With the clean install of 10.14.3 these issues seem to have dissapeared, so: yay.

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101 replies

Feb 22, 2019 12:36 AM in response to JJWWMM

I was having the same exact issue, FCPX would freeze while rendering as would my entire computer. I have temporarily removed ANY plugins that were associated to FCPX and it fixed the problem. The one plugin in particular that was causing my freezing was MInstaller and mLut by MotionVFX (which has worked great on passed versions of FCPX).

Also note that before removing my plugins I deleted and re-downloaded FCPX and updated all of my software to no avail. The plugins were definitely the issue. I hope this bug is fixed in the next version and I hope this helps someone who was as frustrated figuring it out as I was.

WV-Films

Level 1

4 points

Feb 23, 2019 3:10 AM in response to CBParkers

What has worked... sort of... has been closing FCPX and restarting. It will then briefly render all PixelFilmStudio plugins. However, this is a temporary fix. Once the computer goes to sleep or you leave FCPX to use another app, the freezing issue starts again. So again, temp fix but definitely Pixel Film plugin problem. It has to be a security issue implemented in 10.14.3

Mar 4, 2019 11:48 PM in response to JJWWMM

I experience the same problem too, with OSX 10.14.3 and FCPX 10.4.5 : when applying the Cinema Grade or LUT Utility plugin to a clip in the timeline the entire MacBook Pro get's so slow it's useless and basically freezes. The background rendering tasks have a serious problem and stall most of the time. Deactivating the plugin brings everything back to normal. Also deactivating the antivirus program or shifting the render files to local didn't solve the problem.

Mar 5, 2019 12:47 AM in response to JJWWMM

It seems that only latest models of MBP with single, integrated GPU affected after latest macOS 10.4.3 update. FCPX is freezing when using third-party plugins. I'd be curious to confirm that my assumptions are indeed correct.

Mar 5, 2019 10:16 AM in response to JJWWMM

Experiencing the same issue. MacBook Pro 2018 13inch 2.7 - 4.5 GHz Intel Core i7. Color Finale rendering takes forever and often requires a "Command+Q" to force it to close the application.

Anyone tried 10.14.4 Beta 4 to see if there's been a fix in it?!?

Mar 7, 2019 6:40 AM in response to misterblacktea

When you say removing the plug-in takes care of the problem are you talking about removing them from the clips or deleting them from the computer? Is there a way to remove them from my clips all at once or do I need to go to each clip and remove?

Thanks, I need to get this project done!

Mar 7, 2019 8:00 AM in response to gregfromchilton

I said deactivating, which means deselecting the plugin in the effects panel. Like this I can bring them back to life quickly, once the problem ist solved. I wouldn't know how to batch-deactivate for an entire timeline - but I sure would like to learn that too!

Mar 7, 2019 2:11 PM in response to whilecoffee

There have been some reports of problems with third party plugins, and some people have written that they seem to be solved in the latest beta of 10.14.4. Just passing it along, as I cannot test this.

WV-Films

Level 1

4 points

Mar 9, 2019 8:56 AM in response to Stargazers

It'd be nice if someone would fix or be able to take accountability for the situation. I'm out $200 in PixelFilmStudio FX and they haven't posted anywhere on their site suggesting a remedy or that it's even an issue to begin with.

iNeedPow

Level 1

4 points

Mar 10, 2019 3:00 PM in response to Nekris

I have the EXACT same issue. I'm assuming those purple layers are adjustment layers... that's when I run into the most trouble. When I put an effect on an adjustment layer, and then try to do ANYTHING else, or even let it render. It just, freezes. And I have to force quit.

Apple needs to get their act together and fix this ASAP, or they're going to start losing creators to Adobe Premier.

Tom Wolsky

Level 10

151,234 points

Mar 10, 2019 3:12 PM in response to iNeedPow

Create a new admin user. Reboot into that user. Make a new library. Download the BruceX Test

https://blog.alex4d.com/2013/10/30/brucex-a-new-fcpx-benchmark/

Run the test and report how the application behaves.

Mar 12, 2019 4:32 AM in response to JJWWMM

This issue is not caused by any third-party software/plugins. The same freezes can be easily replicated using Final Cut’s built-in titles and effects so it’s most likely a bug in the recent MacOS update. It only occurs on machines with an integrated Intel Iris Plus / UHD 5XX or 6XX series GPU (without a discrete or external GPU) so a faulty update for the Intel GPU drivers would be my best bet.

Anyone who has access to apple’s bug reporter - report it as soon as possible. Hopefully it will help them find and fix the issue faster.

denver11

Level 1

4 points

Mar 13, 2019 8:33 AM in response to particle

I have the same issue. Can confirm. I did an erase/clean install of MacOS. Just going through projects freeze up my system.

I'm running Intel Iris Graphics 540. I have an ongoing case ID with support, but they're not responding to my emails.

Will report it.

Ludo3d

Level 1

4 points

Mar 13, 2019 2:55 PM in response to juca2929

Hello

Same issue for me, rendering H264 4K computer version on a Mac Mini late 2014 iris graphic board - 10.14.3 , FCPX 10.4.5 no plugins.

Same issue on a 2nd Mac Mini with same config / OSX & FPCX

No issue on a Macbook pro OSX 10.14 (same project)

I also notice some issues with GoPro Fusion rendering H264 output

I have send a report to Apple

Mar 19, 2019 10:01 PM in response to CBParkers

To those of you who fixed this by removing plugins, is there a simple window where I can see all third party plugins and disable them? If not what is the correct process?

(Tearing my hair out that I even have to do this.)

Final cut pro freezes system when rendering