Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

There has been a flood on the PP community forum about the problems people are having after "updating" PP CC from 2015.2 to 2015.3.

Projects you are currently working on will be updated and you will have problems (Save as a new name).
The ability to roll back to .2 disappears and the PP people initially seemed to be in denial.
I was able to roll back via an Adobe partner site who made the .2 version downloadable for re-installation.
Some hardware support has been dropped.
Here's some text I posted on one of the forums so it might seem out of context here, but you'll get the gist.
Treat it as an UPGRADE and Tick (or Untick) the advanced setting to leave the previous version installed.

There seems to be a lot of advice in this thread about General advice not to update in the middle of a project. I'm sure we all apply updates to windows, antivirus software and other software when advised, and usually no problem. One would expect the same with PP. If there is going to be changes that affect our projects it should be an upgrade with warnings.
I posted the rant below elsewhere in this forum, but a few days later I still feel this way, so here it is again. (and I'm not a professional editor but am working towards it.)

Dear Adobe people.
Where in the release notes does it tell us a particular piece of hardware is no longer supported.
Where in the release notes does it tell us this is not a minor .2 to .3 update, but a major update that will stuff up our current projects and we have to start them fresh.
Where in the release notes does it tell us if we update the software we will not be able to go back to the previous version without spending a day reading community posts and downloading the .2 version from a partner website and installing it. (is that even to be trusted?)
Where in the release notes does it say to go to advance settings and tick the leave old version installed.
I tell you what, I am considering if my 20 bucks a month for PP might be better spent elsewhere.
To have software that is used professionally released in this manner to professionals is unforgivable.

Re: Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

What I do now is, install a new hard drive along the Operation system (I'm MAC) and do a fresh install of Adobe products. I have been caught out previously with sharing projects between clients and different PP versions and Apple Operation systems. Backwards and forward comparability on PP is a real issue and I wish Adobe would address this.

Re: Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

We were having a slow week, and upgraded without incident. Turns out we needed the 360 emulation, so it was good that we did.

Re: Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

My system has also been slow and buggy since the update. Takes me much too long to switch between sequences, play and scrub through a timeline. Thankfully, the projects I have were mostly done, so I'm dealing with it.

Where was that .2 rollback? I can find it and I might need to do so for some older projects.

Re: Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

Oren, I got 2015.2 (build 9.2) from this link http://prodesigntools.com/swupdl/upd....2.0/setup.zip

Which was part of a post in this forum matter.
https://forums.adobe.com/thread/2171974

Reading ProDesignTools: Adobe® Developments in Focus website is complicated as it takes you from pillar to post and I cant work out which is the correct link, but it's there somewhere. :-)

Anyway, according to Pro Design Tools, Adobe are supposed to be addressing the current issue of not being able to re-install the previous version but I dont know when it will be fixed.

Re: Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

Its impossible for Adobe to know which hardware is used. If the hardware is a few years old you can expect for something not to work anymore.
This will give you an general idea https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-pro...nguageversions

General editors advice has always been dont update/upgrade a big project especially with a deadline

Premiere has never been backwards compatible

Most people just hit OK without reading the install window . (agree its a bit hidden but the advanced settings are there).
Its an user choice to delete or leave it.

I have always left older Premiere versions and their matching projects on my computer: just in case.....

Re: Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

Well then Ann, perhaps Adobe should test the software with people like me who don't know all the things you assume.

How would I know Premiere Pro has never been backwards compatible? I just pay my monthly subscription and when you issue updates I update. I have several projects that are part way completed so I will now choose not to update and it could be a long time before I do update, so why do I pay a monthly fee. I think I would rather buy software and then I choose when to update.

Please make Adobe call it an UPGRADE not and update, and put some general warnings on screen like "please finish all projects before upgrading" & "Some features from the previous version will not work on the new version" etc.

Re: Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

You can apply for beta testing.

How do you find out if Windows is backwards compatible or not?

They dont need to do that. As all projects can be updated/upgraded. But no software is 100% bugfree. And who will be affected and who will not that is anyone's guess.

I am guessing you are p....off and had to learn the hard way, as many before you. Even me.
This will all repeat itself the next cycle. Seen it so many times......
And it is not just with Adobe software.

Re: Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

Raising my hand here. I have been bitten by Apple and FCP before. Six months later, it seems like all the bugs are usually worked out and the upgrade is seamless. I used to bite my nails the whole six months, waiting until the coast was clear, but it turns out... I seldom use any of the new features. Now I don't upgrade (ever) until/unless there is a lull between projects.

Ask any IT person working for any business when they install upgrades. It'll be months/years after release. If you work for yourself, you're your own IT person. You learned an important lesson.

And if you don't like Adobe's business model, don't buy from them. There are lots of other video editing platforms out there that charge a one-time fee. I'm not a defender of their crappy business model, I don't like it either. But for Pete's sake stop whining about it. It's been years that they've had this model. If it's not working for you, move. If it's working for you, suck it up.

Re: Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

I'm working on a Windows 8.1 laptop.
Have been working about 6 weeks on a project and had absolutely no issues. Recently updated to CC 2015.3 and now preview is choppy and every time I attempt to output anything longer than a minute, Premiere Pro crashes.
I did manage to roll back and install CC 2015.2, but saving my project to be compatible with 2015.2 is not working — so I have no choice but to revert back to an old draft from when I was still using 2015.2 and will have to now recreate all the work that was done since updating.
Is this what we're paying Adobe so much money monthly for?

My laptop is only about a year old and does meet the minimum recommended specs for Adobe Premiere Pro CC

Re: Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

You cannot save a 2015.3 project to a compatible 2015.2 project.
Like said before: Premiere has NEVER been backwards compatible.
Only way to get a 2015.3 project into a 2015.2 project is to export as XML and import into 2015.2.
But If you have used new features they wont show.

Re: Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

Hi Ann, Thanks
Yes I realize that. And the XML route is not working for me.
I've reinstalled 2015.2 and using an old draft that I completed before the update to 2015.3.
Now I just have to mirror the changes I made since then.
Just frustrating that Adobe would put out such a buggy update

Re: Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

I found (what I hope) is the solution to the buggy playback issue, locking, and freezing. It has to do with the default preferences that forces Adobe to use the computer's integrated graphics H.264 decoder instead of the GPU. Details can be found on the forum: https://forums.adobe.com/thread/2175589

Basically, it's unchecking a box Preferences>media, Enable accelerated Intel h.264

Just tried it and my system seems to be snappy again. Time will tell.

Re: Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

Yes, no reason why Adobe cannot thoroughly check the literally infinite number of systems available on two wholly different platforms. That's just laziness.

Re: Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

I know you're being sarcastic Gary, but Adobe do know what they don't support any longer as this quote in the forum shows.

"And not only is Compute Capability version 2.0 or higher required, but also driver version 353 or higher "

The problem is Adobe are being a bit elusive as to what the new minimum requirements are in the update release notes.
If you go to the "Full release notes" web page on the left is a link to system requirements web page, but the requirements for 2015 is just blanket for 2015, no point releases. And its reasonable to expect that if your graphics card was working on 2015.2 it would work on 2015.3 but apparently not for some.

That wasn't my issue, but someone else's.

I suppose if you really read and comprehended the system requirements, then that persons graphic card was last on the list on CS6 only. So I suppose Adobe can argue it hasn't been supported since CC started even if it did work.

Needless to say, from the posts on the Adobe forum that are continuing, this release is very buggy and not quick way to roll back to 2015.2

Re: Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

Anyway I am a happy camper. 2015.3 is very stable on my 7 year old machine (i7-940/gtx 480).
Still have 2015.2 (and CC and CS6. Most of the CS6MC, Element 14) on my computer.
And very happy we now have proxies.

Re: Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

Judging from my experience the bugginess was not a result of hardware compatability but rather project specific. My particular project that originated in CC 2015.2 became impossible to work in after updating to CC 2015.3 even when trying three different computers, including one mac.
I currently have both versions installed. I've started a new project in 2015.3 and my computer handles it fine even when using multiple video tracks (more than the previous project that fails in 2015.3).
I've been incrementally deleting stuff from my 2015.2 project that has issues in 2015.3 to try and isolate whatever might be causing the problems but so far it has been illusive. Maybe it's a combination of things that don't translate well from 2015.5 to 2015.3. For example I noticed that when I removed the title clips the project rendered fine but still drops frames all over the place during playback.
Anyways, from my experience the issues don't seem related to any particular hardware setup. All systems I tested on were relatively new and can typically handle Premiere Pro tasks

Re: Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

You don't even need to apply. Just pay your monthly subscription fee, and Adobe will release buggy updates for you to 'test' out.

Re: Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

Well, I've got to agree with Ann on this. First off, I managed computer IT for a 1000+ machine shop at one point, which included Mac, Windows, Sun and Linux. and have been using a variety of systems for 25 years. I've had to manage massive OS upgrades, like Sun Solaris, Mac and Windows and try and keep users from just jumping before testing. I've been using Adobe products for about 4 years, having been through Sony Vegas for a number of years, and Final Cut Pro before X. I tell you all this so you understand that upgrades have been problematic for decades. The basics don't change, though. So my thoughts...(which Adobe should probably hand out)

Always wait, if you can, to be done your projects before doing an upgrade to any major piece of software, like Pr. Why? Because there could be incompatibilities with third party products (ie. Boris, or whatever) that may take a week or more for them to update.

When you begin your upgrade if you are forced to in the middle of a project, upgrade your third party software *first*. That way you know it's been updated.

Then make a last backup of your .last project and then upgrade, so you can fall back to a last known good version. Don't ever assume you are going to get away without pain. Remember, to assume is to make an Ass of U and Me.

Operating System upgrades are *always* optional. And should be treated as a very high probability of pain. I always wait months. Do testing on secondary drives if you can!

Windows systems, because of their configuration flexibility, are *more* prone to having problems than Macs. I'm not saying Macs are better, there is just less options for failure. That's both good and bad! Check your nVidia drivers for example to see if they are current with the new upgrade. I always try to.

Always assume you have the ability to upgrade without erasing the previous version. I have had at least 3 versions of Pr on my machine at once at one point. I now only keep the last version.

There's lots more but it's late. Hope this helps! Sorry you have had this problem, but as Ann states, this is standard operating procedure for dealing with any software company working today. There are too many configurations on the market and too many historical systems still working out there. Old graphics cards, old OS systems. I've had horrible experiences with both Sony and Apple, so it's not just Adobe. At least be thankful if you weren't here when Apple abandoned all of us on FCP7, bringing out a substandard product that took years to get back to FCP 7 capabilities. Now that was painful! Some upgrades are painless, some make you tear your hair out, if you have any!

Carry on and mind the gap!

Re: Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

Thanks Al for participating in this discussion which started as me venting my frustrations after seeing many others having similar problems.
I'm not trying to blow this up or anything, but I do have some thoughts to share below.


A lot of video editors are not IT managers, just computer operators trying to follow instructions on ever more complicated systems and software.

It's not and upgrade, it is an update, from 2015.2 to 2015.3, I think there is a big difference.

Agree, CS6 to 2014 to 2015 were upgrades.

I'm pretty sure installing 2015 gave me an obvious option to leave 2015 installed. definitely true for CS6 to CC.

Adobe did not leave a method of going back to 2015.2 if you didn't untick the hidden box to "remove old version"

Agreed about upgrades, but I'm sure we all let windows to updates all the time.

As above

That's my thoughts.
regards
Merv

Re: Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

Mervin, you seem determined to not learn anything from the trouble you're in. Nobody's blaming you, we're just telling you how the world works. Your line-by-line rebuttals aren't helping anybody, least of all you. I can't make Adobe change their release and upgrade (or... update... whatever the difference is to you) process, but I can help you know that when you upgrade... you should know the process most folks use and what the risks are. Don't be so defensive. We're here to help.

Re: Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

Thanks Mervyn. I am no longer an IT pro, just a guy who uses Pr a lot for my business. I brought it up to simply let folks know that this has been a problem the user base has been fighting for decades and is not unique to Adobe. I think you got the gist of my points, which were that any of these upgrades can bring pain (G). The difference between upgrades and updates sometimes is defined by marketing types, I assume all are the same. A dot release should not add features! That's the basic definition of dot versus version update. It might add bug fixes, or some utility to help a specific customer type that has a problem. Any release from a company like Adobe requires what's called 'regression testing" or stress testing. That means labs full of all sorts of typical user gear. Any specific configuration is likely to be missed,. That Adobe changes graphics on their splashscreens lead me to believe that they are not dot releases in Adobe's mind. They are spending marketing dollars to differentiate product! That's not a dot release. Dot releases are essentially slipstreamed through.

As to Adobe not leaving me without a backout plan when I don't tick the hidden box, I'll have to look at that more closely. You probably are correct.

A good example of what I'm talking about is found in the Wiki discussion on Windows 7. Note the variations, the updates of service pack 1. It didn't highlight new features that an average user would need. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7

All done in a spirit of learning for all of us.

all the best.

Re: Beware of updating Premiere Pro from 2015.2 to 2015.3
 

Here I go, getting defensive again... :-)

Mike, I have learn't a lot over this, I learned how to untick a box, I learned Adobe thinks upgrades are updates, and many other things.

My line by lines rebuttals helped me feel better. (damn, there's another)

Adobe have acknowledged my comments on their forum and advised they are forwarding them to the development team.

I do know how the world works. I'm in my late 50's (50 is the new 40 isn't it?) and been in business most of my life as a TV tech, video library owner (first one in town), ISP when the internet began (First one in the region and very successful business), computer sales and service shop, and for the last 10 years a broadcast technician looking after radio and TV transmitters. I've always had a on & off interest in semi pro video production, mainly weddings and events and may do it full time one day.
By questioning and commenting and even complaining we can sometime make a difference.

I hope this helps you understand me a little better and I'm glad we are all here to help each other, this is a great forum.

I've also come to the conclusion I'll be better off with a non-subscription NLE package due to my part time editing work and long gaps in projects.

Anyway, I think I've had enough rebuttleing, I'm all rebuttled out.