External camera laggy - low frame rate

Yes. I have LG 5k's at home and office, and computer has to be restarted each time I move from one place to other in order to recognize any USB devices plugged in to monitor. Often crashes just from getting plugged in before I even have chance to restart. I strongly don't recommend updating to latest generation MBP's if you have LG 5k monitors. I'll be downgrading to prior generation as soon as my old computer is back from repair. :-(

Hmmm, so an interesting thing just happened. While on a zoom call testing the new plumbing over the TS3 Plus several minutes into the call, having verified that audio and video were fine for the other people on the call, the screens (I have 4 in total including the laptop's in built one) froze for several seconds then the 2 external hanging off the USB-C ports on the LG went black, but the LG and internal monitor settled down.

After apologising to the people on the call, who were fine as zoom had automatically switched to the laptop's internal camera and mic, I checked the USB tree in System Profiler and sure enough, the USB 2.0 hub in the LG and all peripherals hanging off it (ie camera and mic) had disappeared.

After finishing the call I disconnected and reconnected the TB3 cable between the laptop and the CalDigit and after several seconds of resyncing everything came online again.

Will try and do further testing.

Thanks for the ongoing updates. I posted near the beginning of this discussion echoing the same problems with the LG monitor after getting a 2020 13" MBP and continues to be a problem. I work at a university and noticed that the same LG monitor was being sold at the campus bookstore that is an authorized dealer of Apple. The LG monitor was set up as a demo. I plugged it in to one of the display 2020 13" MBP and there was no problem with the camera lag. The next day I brought my 2020 13" MBP and connected it up to the LG monitor on display. And there was no lag! So, are there certain builds of the LG monitor that are experiencing this? I purchased my LG monitor when they first came out. Is anyone experiencing this problem on a new 2020 MBP and a newer LG monitor? Any thoughts out there? If "newer" LG monitors don't experience this what was changed? I've used the LG monitor app and have the latest firmware. Maybe next time I can get model number off the display LG monitor and compare it to mine to see if it is different.

FWIW - My 2020 Intel is now working acceptably with the latest version of the 5k monitor. For a while, it required a reboot every time I plugged in (which was tough because I have one at work, and one at home, meaning I was rebooting at least twice a day). This recently resolved itself, and I'm now back to where I was with my 2018 MBP. Keep in mind, it still does not work at all with my earlier generation 5k's, but apparently, they've at least resolved it for new customers buying all new gear. The situation overall is still totally unacceptable, but for those who need the latest Intel inside MBP for VMWare or some such, and want the 5k monitor, there seems to now be a solution, albeit an expensive one.

You need to download the companion app: Reincubate Camo and connect to your MBP via a USB-C to Lighting. Works great, just need a way to hold your iPhone, tripod, etc.

No I understand. I mean returning the monitor... i just bought it and still have the window of return...

Likely time to start hammering LG Support as well. They claim the 5k monitor is compatible with MacBook Pro (2016 and later). That's clearly not true.

I wouldn’t bet that it is software only. It is definitely something going on with the 2020 13 inch (10th generation) MacBook Pros. It does NOT happen with the 2018 13 inch MacBook Pro (8th generation) or with the 2019 16 inch MacBook Pro.

I am not sure about the 2020 MacBook Air.

Finally, the fact that Apple is on the way to taking it off of their website tells me I wouldn’t expect they will fix this. Hopefully they will ship their own monitor at a lower price point sometime soon.

I didn't see a change from 10.15.5 to 10.15.6, but the USB bus is definitely not just fine. All USB devices are not detected when switching from one LG 5k to another while the computer is sleeping. Getting the system to recognize devices requires a reboot. Even restarting the usb service in terminal doesn't work.

magicmarc Said:

"External camera laggy - low frame rate: [...]Reinstalling 10.15.4.[...]"

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The Update is the Culprit:

You made this change to your Mac. So, it has to do with this, all the way.

So, what to do:

Restore to a Time Machine Backup:

Any Time Machine Backups made prior to this update installation? If so, restore to one.

To Fix it, Perform a Downgrade:

1. First, create a Time Machine Backup (TMB) of your current Mac.
2. Once created, transfer it over from your backup.

Learn More Here: How to move your content to a new Mac

In Depth:

1. Back up your Mac:

Create a Time Machine backup of your Mac, so that you can have something to restore your Mac from, should anything go wrong with the transfer.

2. Migrate and Reinstall Data and Apps:

Next migrate it over from the Time Machine Backup you created in Step 1 to this 2019 Mac. Some of your apps may not work with macOS Catalina or Mojave, if they are not64-bit. If something does not run in the new install, request from the developers new keys for the software. Inform them that your Mac has crashed, and that they give you the installation files you need (Ask for 64-bit installers).

I have a 2018 MacBook Pro 13" and a 2020 MacBook Pro 13" and 2 LG 5k monitors. I am having the same lag with the LG 5k camera across all apps and the issue follows the new 2020 MacBook Pro on both monitors. The 2018 works perfectly.

I had a final resolution call last week. “There is nothing we can do about it but we know about it and we will work to fix it”. So, I’m stuck with it? “Yes”. Is there a timeline? “no”.

terrible. I am unplugging it 10 times a day to plug back in my 2017 to use that.

i couldn’t be more frustrated.

Hi John,

There are solutions. First, as I've said, Apple gives a reasonable trade-in price for the Intel 2020 MBP's. Personally I would have made the trade even without the monitor camera issue. M1 is just that much better.

Second, you only need purchase an external webcam. I have the Logitech Pro which I got for $75. It works great and is higher resolution.

I do share your disappointment about Apple's lack of response but in my opinion it's not really worth getting upset about since there are alternative solutions and since the M1 is such an amazing piece of hardware: I use Adobe Lightroom Classic for a lot of my work and on my Intel MBP, it made the fans scream constantly. Adobe has not even updated LR for the M1 Macs - it runs through Rosetta - yet its performance is still amazing.

My suggestion? Dump the Intel and get the best computer ever made.

Not that we should need to spend more money to overcome this. But I purchased a Logitech Brio and it works great with the new MacBook Pro.