Natron: Node Graph slow in Big Sur

Blackvfx2018 · April 19, 2021, 5:45am

Since Apple Big Sur came out, Natron’s node graph panel is slow or a delayed response when you drag the node(s) in the node graph. Is there any reason for this?

rodlie · April 20, 2021, 10:24am

The node graph has not changed, so I guess macOS did. I’m not that up-to-date on macOS (still run HighSierra).

Maybe @devernay has some ideas regarding this issue?

devernay · April 20, 2021, 6:58pm

github.com/NatronGitHub/Natron

Node graph slow in macOS Big Sur

opened 06:58PM - 20 Apr 21 UTC

closed 05:28AM - 03 May 21 UTC

devernay

difficulty:medium func:gui prio:normal status:confirmed type:bug ver:2.x

### Problem The node graph is awfully slow on macOS Big Sur (macOS 11.2). Eve…n when dragging a single viewer node around, the display is lagging a lot. This was [first reported on the Natron forum](https://discuss.pixls.us/t/natron-node-graph-slow-in-big-sur/24618/2). It works fine on Catalina (macOS 10.15) ### Steps to Reproduce 1. Launch Natron 2. Drag the Viewer node around Profiling revealed that Catalina and Big Sur took very different paths inside QGraphicsScenePrivate::q_processDirtyItems(): - The Catalina version spends some time in `-[NSView _oldDisplayRectIgnoringOpacity:isVisibleRect:rectIsVisibleRectForView:]` - The Big Sur version spends a lot of time in `-[NSBackingLayer displayIfNeeded]` After doing some research it seems to be related to a major ~~bug~~ change in macOS Big Sur: - https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/663256 - https://gist.github.com/lukaskubanek/9a61ac71dc0db8bb04db2028f2635779 - https://trac.wxwidgets.org/ticket/19111 (with fix [here](https://github.com/wxWidgets/wxWidgets/blob/master/src/osx/cocoa/window.mm#L887) which requires the 10.12 SDK) - https://forum.juce.com/t/apparent-serious-juce-painting-issue-in-big-sur/43430 There are some fix proposals (one being to [disable NSViewUsesAutomaticLayerBackingStores on Big Sur](https://gist.github.com/lukaskubanek/9a61ac71dc0db8bb04db2028f2635779#4%EF%B8%8F%E2%83%A3-current-approach)). We can either implement one of these fixes, or wait for a fix from Apple (which will probably never happen according to [this message](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/663256?answerId=646653022#646653022)). ## Proposed solution: Patch Qt4's [src/gui/kernel/qcocoaview_mac.mm here](https://github.com/qt/qt/blob/4.8/src/gui/kernel/qcocoaview_mac.mm#L1000) to add: ``` #if __MAC_OS_X_VERSION_MAX_ALLOWED >= 101200 - (void) viewWillDraw { if (NSAppKitVersionNumber >= 2022.00) { CALayer* layer = self.layer; layer.contentsFormat = kCAContentsFormatRGBA8Uint; } [super viewWillDraw]; } #endif ``` (the Big Sur runtime check comes from [VLC](https://www.mail-archive.com/vlc-commits@videolan.org/msg61091.html)) We will have to compile a macOS version for 10.12+ ### Versions * **Natron version/commit** (they can be retrieved from the About Window): 2.4.0 * **OS version:** macOS Big Sur

devernay · April 20, 2021, 6:59pm

Short answer: blame Apple.
I will try to make a fix, but not sure when.

Blackvfx2018 · April 20, 2021, 8:28pm

Thanks and cool breeze!

devernay · April 23, 2021, 6:07am

I got (good) news for you: https://github.com/NatronGitHub/Natron/releases/download/v2.4.0/Natron-2.4.0-macOS1015.dmg

Blackvfx2018 · April 23, 2021, 7:47pm

It is working much better now. Major Thanks. I will make the announcement on facebook.