After Ventura PM latest Version is extreamly slow

[Max Lemesh]

Great news Dennis!

[Kirk Baker]

We have a new build of Photo Mechanic that we believe should resolve the performance issues that resulted from some of the changes that were made in macOS Ventura.

Because we had to make significant changes to how Photo Mechanic draws images to the screen in order to get back the performance you have become accustomed to, we are releasing this build for a testing period before we push this as a general public release. By downloading and using this build, you are acknowledging that this is build is for testing purposes, and we ask that you report any and all issues that you encounter while using this build by replying to this post. While all of our internal testing has shown a great improvement to the performance of Photo Mechanic under macOS Ventura with this build, it has not undergone our typical QA process, so it is possible that there are some bugs that have been introduced by the changes made to address the performance issues. Bugs will always exist, and we can only fix them if we know about them, so please don’t hesitate to contact us if you experience any. Please also let us know if this build does resolve the issues that you reported, as positive feedback helps us to know that you tested it.

To download the disk image for test build of Photo Mechanic 6, click: (links removed, see this post for new links: http://forums.camerabits.com/index.php?topic=15293.msg75547#msg75547)
For Photo Mechanic Plus, click: (link removed)

Once you open the disk image, you can either install the new build as if it was any other update for Photo Mechanic, or you can install it alongside your current installation of Photo Mechanic. For Photo Mechanic 6 users, you can either Keep Both or Replace your current installation when the Finder asks. If you Replace it and need to the current public build for any reason, you can find a link to download it on our Downloads page. If you choose to keep both, please make sure that you are launching this new build. You can check if you are running this new build by going to the Photo Mechanic 6 or Photo Mechanic Plus menu and choosing “About Photo Mechanic (Plus)“. In the window that appears, you should see “Photo Mechanic (Plus) Version 6.0, build 6675”.

Here is the list of changes in this build:

• Fixed: Improved preview and thumbnail performance on macOS Ventura and on older macOS versions, especially when running on Apple Silicon Macs.  Intel-based Macs should also see performance improvements as well, but Intel-based systems were unaffected by the new macOS release.
• Fixed: Video controls not High-DPI aware.
• Fixed: Space bar does not play video in Preview window after switching to a new image until cursor is within Preview area.
• Fixed: Command-A in Find window text box does not select all text.
• Fixed: Autocomplete not functioning as expected for {variables}.

Please give the new build a try and let us know what you think of it.

-Kirk

[Dub]

Hello to all,

Downloaded just now... Although I am not concerned, being under Big-Sur (MBP M1 13").
Clear improvement of the display speed and especially no more problem of displaying the 4 icons "i", "Magnifier" and "Rotations" when hovering over the thumbnails !!!
(problem reported early 2021)
So a big thank you for that... ;o)

I continue the tests...

[Max Lemesh]

We have a new build of Photo Mechanic that we believe should resolve the performance issues that resulted from some of the changes that were made in macOS Ventura

M1 Max, Ventura 13.1, Apple Pro Display XDR

PM works as fast as before the issue now.

Thank you team )

[BobNL]

M1 MacBook Air, 8GB RAM. Mixed results. At first spinning beach balls. Sometimes slow going forward. Going backwards is fast. After that going forward also till a certain point. Looks like some caching thing? But definitely better than with the previous build which was nearly impossible to use.

[Kirk Baker]

M1 MacBook Air, 8GB RAM. Mixed results. At first spinning beach balls. Sometimes slow going forward. Going backwards is fast. After that going forward also till a certain point. Looks like some caching thing? But definitely better than with the previous build which was nearly impossible to use.

What are your caching settings?  Please post a JPEG screen shot of the Caching page of your Preferences dialog.  Use the 'Attachments and other options' link when you're composing your reply to this message and there you'll be able to upload your JPEG format screenshot.

Thanks,

-Kirk

[RogerB]

I'm using a Macbook Air with the M2 chip (2022), 24GB memory with a 32in external LG monitor connected via USB-C.  I had Monterey (12.6.1) installed when build 6675 was released, so I installed it alongside build 6645.  I briefly tested and could see no discernible difference in scrolling speed between the two builds on Monterey.

I then installed Ventura (13.1) and did some more testing.  Starting with build 6645, I opened a contact sheet on a folder with about 1500 images in it, selected the first one, then held down the right arrow key for 5 seconds to see how many images it would scroll through in that time.  I repeated it a few times to allow for my reaction speed in releasing the arrow key and each test was within 3 images of 60 - in other words it scrolls at about 12 images per second on my system.  I repeated the test using the preview window, and again in the Metadata Info window (holding down Cmd-Shift-N to scroll through the images).  In both cases the result was a scrolling speed of approximately 12 images per second.
 
I then moved on to the test build (6675) and repeated the tests in the same folder and got the same result, it scrolls through at approximately 12 images per second in the contact sheet, preview window and Metatdata Info window. So in this configuration build 6675 is performing at the same speed as build 6645 when scrolling through images on Ventura, I see no improvement over previous builds.

I then removed the external monitor and repeated the tests using the laptop screen.  In this configuration build 6645 exhibited slower scrolling - approximately 9 images per second in the contact sheet, 4 images per second in the Preview window and 10 images per second in the Metadata Info window.  Build 6675 is much better, back to 11/12 images per second in all cases.

So in summary, I only experience slow scrolling with build 6645 when working on the laptop screen, and build 6675 fixes that for me.  When working with the external monitor I can find no difference in scrolling speed between the builds.

I haven't found any regression or new bugs in build 6675, but I will keep using it and report anything I spot in this thread.

[Kirk Baker]

I'm using a Macbook Air with the M2 chip (2022), 24GB memory with a 32in external LG monitor connected via USB-C.  I had Monterey (12.6.1) installed when build 6675 was released, so I installed it alongside build 6645.  I briefly tested and could see no discernible difference in scrolling speed between the two builds on Monterey.

I then installed Ventura (13.1) and did some more testing.  Starting with build 6645, I opened a contact sheet on a folder with about 1500 images in it, selected the first one, then held down the right arrow key for 5 seconds to see how many images it would scroll through in that time.  I repeated it a few times to allow for my reaction speed in releasing the arrow key and each test was within 3 images of 60 - in other words it scrolls at about 12 images per second on my system.  I repeated the test using the preview window, and again in the Metadata Info window (holding down Cmd-Shift-N to scroll through the images).  In both cases the result was a scrolling speed of approximately 12 images per second.
 
I then moved on to the test build (6675) and repeated the tests in the same folder and got the same result, it scrolls through at approximately 12 images per second in the contact sheet, preview window and Metatdata Info window. So in this configuration build 6675 is performing at the same speed as build 6645 when scrolling through images on Ventura, I see no improvement over previous builds.

I then removed the external monitor and repeated the tests using the laptop screen.  In this configuration build 6645 exhibited slower scrolling - approximately 9 images per second in the contact sheet, 4 images per second in the Preview window and 10 images per second in the Metadata Info window.  Build 6675 is much better, back to 11/12 images per second in all cases.

So in summary, I only experience slow scrolling with build 6645 when working on the laptop screen, and build 6675 fixes that for me.  When working with the external monitor I can find no difference in scrolling speed between the builds.

I haven't found any regression or new bugs in build 6675, but I will keep using it and report anything I spot in this thread.

How fast is your keyboard repeat rate?

-Kirk

[RogerB]

How fast is your keyboard repeat rate?

-Kirk

I have it one notch down from "fast".

Do you want me to repeat the tests with a different repeat rate?

[Kirk Baker]

How fast is your keyboard repeat rate?

I have it one notch down from "fast".

Do you want me to repeat the tests with a different repeat rate?

On macOS, the fastest keyboard repeat rate is thirty repeats per second.  The next notch down is ten repeats per second.  If you're testing by holding down the right arrow key, then the rate at which you can view images will be governed at a minimum by that rate.  There can be other limiting factors like disk speed, CPU speed, memory bandwidth, etc. that can slow things down further.  For instance, browsing on a fast internal SSD will always outpace browsing on a network drive.

The crux of the problem with PM6 and macOS Ventura is that it was taking a long time to physically draw the image on the window.  For our tests, we precache the images by having a limited set of photos (in my test it was 365, 8 megapixel images) and then test the speed of browsing.

We have some timing tests that we can run on our internal builds that take the user out of the equation.  Here are some example timings for build 6645 and 6675, with all images pre-cached which is at this point, timing mostly the 'draw speed'.  In my tests I am hiding the thumbnail gallery, hiding the histogram, hiding the info text, and not having the contact sheet scroll along with the preview. Each of those features has some overhead.  The window is as large as I can make it on a 4k display.

Mac OS Mojave, Mac Pro 2012 128GB RAM, build 6645: 10.969 previews per second
Mac OS Mojave, Mac Pro 2012 128GB RAM, build 6675: 36.008 previews per second
Mac OS Ventura, Mac Mini M1 16GB RAM, build 6675: 58.445 previews per second

I don't have a timing for build 6645 on my Mac Mini, unfortunately.  Though with the above timings, you can see that the Rosetta2 emulated build of 6675 is nearly twice as fast as my Intel CPU system with no emulation.

Perhaps a better test is to see how much lag there is to go between two images (back and forth) with you alternating key presses of the right and left arrow keys.  Is it responsive?  Or does it lag?  If there's no lag with this test and there are lags elsewhere then it's not a draw speed issue.  The issue lies somewhere else and would have to be investigated.

A faster key repeat rate would be a better test from your end, given that you don't have access to our timing tests.

HTH,

-Kirk

[BobNL]

Cache settings are on default. Opening up a folder with about 2500 files from internal SSD. Shortly the beachball appears (no problem). Selecting the first photo and press spacebar to open the preview (all in fullscreen mode). The photo first opens small, sometimes with the beachball. Then enlarges to fit the window. Going forward is then slow for a couple of photos. Then it becomes faster but does stutter (like 1,2,3, pause). Going backwards (and again forwards) is then very fast.

[Kirk Baker]

Bob,

Cache settings are on default. Opening up a folder with about 2500 files from internal SSD. Shortly the beachball appears (no problem). Selecting the first photo and press spacebar to open the preview (all in fullscreen mode). The photo first opens small, sometimes with the beachball. Then enlarges to fit the window. Going forward is then slow for a couple of photos. Then it becomes faster but does stutter (like 1,2,3, pause). Going backwards (and again forwards) is then very fast.

What kind of images?  JPEGs?  RAW?  If RAW, what kind?  What resolution is your display?  Are you in Zoom mode when you're previewing?  Do you have lost shadows/blown highlights turned on?  What sort method are you using in the Contact Sheet?  What other applications do you have running while you're using Photo Mechanic?

Would it be possible for you to record a video that shows the problems occurring and share it with me?

Thanks,

-Kirk

[BobNL]

Hi Kirk, RAW, cr2 from 1Dx mk2. Resolution set to more space (doesn't show me the exact resolution). Zoom mode off, shadows/highlights off, Histogram on. Sorting set to capture time. Happened with and without other apps open (Safari & Spark email). Might be able to record a video over the weekend.

Even with the above mentioned problems it's way better than the previous build. Last weekend I used the old build and it was basically unusable in a time pressured environment. Keep the improvements coming!

[Kirk Baker]

Bob,

Hi Kirk, RAW, cr2 from 1Dx mk2. Resolution set to more space (doesn't show me the exact resolution). Zoom mode off, shadows/highlights off, Histogram on. Sorting set to capture time. Happened with and without other apps open (Safari & Spark email). Might be able to record a video over the weekend.

Even with the above mentioned problems it's way better than the previous build. Last weekend I used the old build and it was basically unusable in a time pressured environment. Keep the improvements coming!

Could you try changing your sorting type to Filename and see if that improves the initial opening of the contact sheet?

Thanks,

-Kirk

[BobNL]

Makes no difference. First one still first small, 1-2 seconds later fits window. Press arrow key, 3-5 seconds later next photo appears, next in 1-2 seconds then faster and faster. Holding down arrow key still stutters.