Update After Effects and Adobe Media Encoder to the latest version, or make sure that both apps are of the same version.
Last updated on
Jan 19, 2026
Learn what to do when After Effects compositions in Media Encoder freeze at three seconds or render extremely slowly.
Issue
When you add an After Effects composition created with After Effects to Adobe Media Encoder, rendering could get stuck at three seconds. It could also take around eight hours or more to render.
Workaround
Check After Effects and Adobe Media Encoder versions
Turn off parallel encoding in Media Encoder
Add the composition to Adobe Media Encoder from the After Effects Render Queue.
You can select Composition > Add to Render Queue. In the Render Queue panel, select Queue in AME.
In Adobe Media Encoder, select Media Encoder > Preferences > General and turn off Enable Parallel Encoding.
Change the renderer in Media Encoder
In Adobe Media Encoder, select Media Encoder > Preferences > General.
In the Video Rendering section, change the Renderer to Mercury Playback Engine Software Only.
Reset preferences for Adobe Media Encoder
Make sure that Adobe Media Encoder and After Effects are closed on your machine before you start resetting the preferences.
macOS
Quit Adobe Media Encoder and After Effects.
Open the Finder, hold Option, and select Go on the menu bar.
Select Library and navigate to Preferences > Adobe.
Rename the Adobe Media Encoder folder to Old_Adobe Media Encoder.
Close the window and navigate to Documents > Adobe. Rename the Adobe Media Encoder folder to Old_Adobe Media Encoder.
Windows
Open the Run dialog (Win+R) and type %appdata%.
Open the Adobe folder, and rename the Adobe Media Encoder folder to Old_Adobe Media Encoder.
Close the window and navigate to Documents > Adobe. Rename the Adobe Media Encoder folder to Old_Adobe Media Encoder.
Perform clean installation of Media Encoder
Learn how to perform a clean installation.
Create stunning 3D animations in After Effects
Animate characters and illustrations, add motion to text, and more.
