Dorico Pro 5.1.0.2068; MacBook Pro M2 Max, Sonoma 14.2.1; 64 GB RAM
Apple’s Studio Display is connected to the MBPro via thunderbolt.
This behavior was present as well with MacOS Ventura and Dorico 5.0.
I use the 27” Apple Studio Display connected to the MBPro. This works fine for all the apps I use…except Dorico.
The following behavior only occurs when Dorico is on the Studio Display screen whether the Studio Display is set as either the Main Display or the Extended Display. Entering anything into Dorico whether it is notes, articulations, meters, text, et al. creates latency as in a second or more between hitting the key and seeing it appear on the screen to the point where the app is unusable. No other app on my computer exhibits this such as Logic Pro, Photoshop, Lightroom, etc. All is well when Dorico is on the MBPro screen. I’m just curious if any other Mac users with a similar setup have the same behavior and if there is a solution as I prefer to have the Studio Display as the main display. I’ve tried different display presets without any change in the latency.
Is there anything else plugged into the Studio Display’s USB ports? Or any other hardware configuration change?
Normally, massive latency of this sort is an audio or midi issue.
I have a Studio Display, and have used it connected to My M1 MBP without issue – normally with the laptop in ‘clamshell’ mode. (I currently use it with a Mini.)
Can you provide a Diagnostic Report (from the Help menu)?
There were two drives connected to the Studio Display. I removed them but it made no difference to the latency issue. The Diagnostic Report should be attached to this note. Thank you for your assistance. Dorico Diagnostics.zip (604.9 KB)
Hi, Jonathan. I experience the same thing with my 2023 Mac Studio. I have two monitors: a new Studio Display as the main monitor, and the old Apple LED Cinema Display that used to be connected to my mid-2010 Mac Pro . They are both connected via Thunderbolt, with the LED Cinema Display connected via a Thunderbolt-to-MiniDisplayPort adapter.
I’m pretty sure this is an issue with the Qt framework that Dorico is built on, and has to do with how Qt handles multiple displays especially if they have different resolutions. The Studio Display has twice the resolution of the LED Cinema Display, although the scaling is such that both monitors have the same apparent overall resolution.
I do plan to replace the LED Cinema Display with a second Studio Display this year. I’m hoping Qt deals with two identical monitors better than it does with two dissimilar monitors.
In your case, Qt is probably bothered by the differences between the MB Pro display and the external Studio Display. Until such time as the Qt issues involving multiple monitors are resolved, I don’t think there’s much you can do at this point.
Perhaps @dspreadbury can offer some insight on this.
Thank you for that insightful information, Howard. I wish there was a solution but what you said is very logical. I never would have thought that Qt could be the culprit.
Presumably, you can check whether Qt is the cause by testing other apps that are built on it, like Sibelius, MuseScore, Abelton Live, DaVinci Resolve, Calibre, Scribus, …
FWIW, I have a Studio Display and a 1080p Acer display; but I keep Dorico firmly in the Studio, and have not seen any problems.
I have seen complaints on MacRumors about “Micro-freezes” on a Studio Display, when used with a second monitor, relating to Auto-Brightness. Turning off Auto-Brightness apparently fixes it.
@benwiggy Ben, I was unaware of the auto-brightness issue with the Studio Display. I turned off auto-brightness and it helped quite a bit. It’s still not perfect — on occasion things like advancing the caret, or zooming the window with my trackpad, or opening or closing the properties panel, will take several seconds — but overall it’s better than it was. It will be interesting to see if replacing my LED Cinema Display with a second Studio Display will make any difference.
Curiously, Ben. What display settings do you use on your Studio Display? I’ve tried different presets on both the MBPro and the Studio Display but have not found a solution for the latency. My Automatically adjust brightness button is off and that doesn’t make any difference either.
I put both the Studio Display and the MBPro on the Apple Display (P3-500 nits) preset and there is improvement (although I know I did this previously without any improvement). I’ll test it later today to see if this solution persists.
I just disconnected my LED Cinema Display, and the latency problem has completely vanished. Obviously my initial placing of blame on Qt was incorrect, for which I am very happy! I hope things stay good when I add a second Studio Display later on. The Mac Studio is obviously not happy with a 13-year-old DisplayPort monitor connected to it.
I would be interested in hearing from others on the forum if they have encountered any UI response latency issues with two Studio Displays connected to a Mac Studio.
