Adobe Premiere Pro Red Giant Universe issue on Windows ('Error connecting to Universe runtime') acknowledged, workaround inside

Adobe’s Premiere Pro is a popular video editing software used by professionals worldwide. Part of the Creative Cloud program, it was first launched in 2003 and is the successor to the widely used Adobe Premiere.

Over the years, Premiere Pro has been used to edit numerous movies such as Deadpool, Monsters, and Gone Girl.

Just a few weeks ago, users said they were experiencing an audio/video glitch when they tried exporting H.264 files from Premiere Pro to network-attached storage.

And now, Adobe Premiere Pro users are reporting an issue with the Red Giant Universe plugin on Windows. It looks like the plugin stopped working after users updated to v22.1.1.

Many say they are unable to access the Red Giant Universe plugin and are instead greeted with an “Error connecting to Universe runtime” message whenever they try to apply or load any effect.

Others say they are getting a Universe Runtime error. Reinstalling the application seems to make no difference.

Basically, as of about 4 hours ago and upon allowing Creative Cloud to install the 22.1.1. update, I am unable to access the Red Giant / Maxon Universe plugin. Now, both pre-existing projects with Universe affects applied to the timeline are throwing the “Error connecting to Universe runtime” code, AND brand new projects are doing the same when trying to apply a Universe effect to a new sequence / clip.
(Source)

Hello, we have a similar problem on our Mac M1 stations, Maxon Red Giant complete install all the suites without issue excpet for RG Universe. It’s shown on the loading screen of premiere pro but then when you look for the plug on the effects tab is not there. I reverted premiere pro to 22.0 but the problem persist.
(Source)

Thankfully, Maxon has acknowledged the Premiere Pro Red Giant Universe plugin issue and said that they are working with Adobe to find a fix.

The most recent Adobe Premiere Pro update (ver 22.1.2) introduced an incompatibility with Red Giant Universe on Windows machines, resulting in the error message “Error connecting to Universe runtime” when applying or loading any Universe effect.
Our development team is aware of the issue and is diligently working with Adobe to resolve this issue. The solution for this issue is to downgrade Premiere Pro back to 22.0.
(Source)

They also suggested that those dependent on the Red Giant Universe plugin can downgrade to Premiere Pro v22.0 since it seems to be working in that version.

We hope Maxon and Adobe work together to fix the issue since it is making it impossible for many to use the latest version of Premiere Pro.

Rest assured, we will let you know once a patch is out so make sure you stay tuned for updates.

Note: We have more such stories in our dedicated Apps Section so be sure to follow them as well.

PiunikaWeb started as purely an investigative tech journalism website with main focus on ‘breaking’ or ‘exclusive’ news. In no time, our stories got picked up by the likes of Forbes, Foxnews, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Engadget, The Verge, Macrumors, and many others. Want to know more about us? Head here.