Timeline doesn’t show video preview

Last updated on Jun 23, 2025

Find out how to delete preview files in Premiere Pro to fix issues when the timeline fails to display the video preview. 

Delete the preview files and check if the preview works. You can delete render files within Premiere Pro, or by navigating to the folder where they are saved and deleting them from that location.

  1. Select the sequence and select Sequence > Delete Render Files. This option might be grayed out if the timeline is not rendered.

  2. Alternatively, select File > Project Settings > Scratch Disks. Look for the location specified for Audio Previews and Video Previews. Navigate to that location in macOS Finder or Windows Explorer and delete the preview files from that location.

    If you delete previews you need to rebuild them manually (Sequence > Render In to Out), otherwise the playback might become choppy. 

Note:

Clearing the cache causes Premiere Pro to regenerate these cache files when you open the project after clearing the cache. It may take some time for Premiere Pro to respond properly during playback or preview while these cache and .pek files are being generated.