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File formats supported for import with Media Encoder

Learn about the file formats for video, animation, and images that can be imported into Adobe Media Encoder.

Note:

Due to changing needs of video professionals and content creators, we are discontinuing Adobe Prelude. Effective September 8, 2021, Prelude will no longer be available on Adobe.com. For more information, and instructions for downloading Prelude during the support period, please see our FAQ.

Some filename extensions such as MOV, AVI, MXF, and FLV denote container file formats rather than representing specific audio, video, or image data formats. Container files can contain data encoded using various compression and encoding schemes. Adobe Media Encoder can import these container files, but the ability to import the data that they contain depends on which codecs (specifically, decoders) are installed.

By installing more codecs, you can extend the ability of Adobe Media Encoder to import extra file types. Many codecs must be installed into the operating system and work as a component inside the QuickTime or Video for Windows formats. Contact the manufacturer of your hardware or software for more information about codecs that work with the files that your specific devices or applications create.

Note:

As of September 15 2017, Adobe Creative Cloud apps now rely on your operating system (OS) to decode/encode Dolby Digital and Dolby Digital Plus audio formats. Adobe no longer bundles the native libraries from Dolby with Creative Cloud products.

For information about how this change affects Dolby audio playback in your product, see Adobe Creative Cloud apps use native OS support for Dolby.

Video and animation formats

Format Description
3GP 3GPP file format
AAF Advanced Authoring Format
ARCUTX  Adobe rough cut format. This format is supported only when queued from Prelude and cannot be imported directly. 
Animated GIF (GIF)  Supported on Windows only, QuickTime Animation files with Delta Frames
ARI ARIRAW format
AVC-Intra, AVC-Intra LT, AVC Long GOP (Op1a), AVC Long GOP (Op1b), including AVC-Ultra Panasonic codecs
Cinema DNG High-resolution raw format
RMF Canon RAW format, Canon XF-HEVC, Canon C4 
DV Stream The native video format used for tape
DNxHD Op1a  Supported in MXF container
DNxHR  Supported in MXF container
FLV, F4V.  Flash video
MOV GoPro CineForm format
HEVC High-Efficiency Video Coding. HEVC (also known as H.265) codec footage in a QuickTime (.MOV) container, produced by an iPhone or iPad with iOS 11 or a DJI Phantom 4 drone. VFR support. HEVC Hardware Encode (Feature available on Mac OSX 10.13 and later and Windows 10 RS5). For information on HEVC video extensions supported on Windows, view HEVC Video Extensions.
IMX  Supported in MXF container
JPEG2000 MXF Op1a  Supported in MXF container
MXF Media eXchange Format. Supports MXF-wrapped DV (DALET). 
Note: Adobe Media Encoder supports ARRIRAW files in an MXF container. 

MPEG, MPE, MPG, M2V, MPA, MP2, M2A, MPV, M2P, M2T, MTS, MP4, M4V, M4A, VOB, 3GP, AVC, h.264

MPEG-1 (Audio Layer II), MPEG-2, and MPEG-4 formats. Variable Frame Rate (VFR) support in h.264. Mac H.264 (Feature available on Mac OSX 10.13 and later). Win-Intel H.264 Hardware Encode. Hardware accelerated decode is supported for H.264, .mov, and .mp4 containers in both VFR and CFR on Mac 10.13, later versions, and Windows 10 with supported Intel HW.

 

MXF OP1a  Supported in MXF container
Netshow ASF Windows only
P2 Movie  Supported in MXF container
CINE Phantom CINE format
MOV QuickTime movie. HEVC (also known as H.265) codec footage in a QuickTime (.MOV) container.
R3D RED Raw, RED Helium, RED WEAPON
SonyRAW  Supported in MXF container
Sony Venice V3, Sony Venice V4, Sony VENICE 2 Ver. 2 Supported in MXF container
AVI, WAV, BWF Video for Windows and macOS(requires QuickTime player), AVI Motion JPEG files on macOS
WMV, WMA, ASF Windows Media 
XAVC  Intra, XAVC Long GOP Sony codecs
Note:
  1. FLV and F4V formats are container formats that are associated with a set of video and audio formats. F4V files generally contain video data that is encoded using an H.264 video codec and the AAC audio codec. FLV files generally contain video data that is encoded using the On2 VP6 or Sorenson Spark codec and audio data encoded using an MP3 audio codec. Adobe Media Encoder, however, can import FLV files using the On2 VP6 video codec, not the Sorenson Spark codec. Also, Premiere Pro does not support FLV import. 
  2. Media eXchange Format (MXF) is a container format. Adobe Media Encoder can only import some kinds of data contained within MXF files. It can import the Op-Atom variety used by Panasonic cameras using the DV, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, DVCPRO HD, and AVC-Intra codecs to record to Panasonic P2 media. Adobe Media Encoder can also import XDCAM HD files in MXF format.
  3. Several formats associated with specific modern cameras use MPEG-4 encoding. For example, the XDCAM EX format uses MP4 files, and the AVCHD format uses MTS files.

Audio formats

Format Description
ASND, multi-track files imported as merged single track Adobe Sound Document 
Adobe Audition tracks Audition track format
AAC, M4A Advanced Audio Coding 
AIF, AIFF Audio Interchange File format 
AVI, WAV Video for Windows. Require QuickTime Player on Mac OS.  
MP3, MPEG, MPG, MPA, MPE MPEG Audio Layer 3
MPEG 2 MPEG 2
MOV; on Windows, require QuickTime player QuickTime format
WAV Waveform format
WMA, Windows only Windows Media Audio format

Still-image formats

Format Description
AI, EPS Adobe Illustrator 
ARI ARRIRAW 
BMP, DIB, RLE Bitmap 
CIN, DPX Cineon/Digital Picture Exchange. Support for DPX asynchronous decode. 
GIF Graphics Interchange Format 
HEIF High Efficiency File Format supported on both Mac OS 10.13 or higher, and Windows 10 (version 1809 or higher). On Windows, both the HEIF image extension and the HEVC Video Extension needs to be installed. For information on HEIF image and HEVC Video extensions, see HEIF Image Extensions and HEVC Video Extensions.
ICO; Windows only Icon File 
JPE, JPG, JPEG, JFIF JPEG 
OpenEXR High dynamic range file format
PSD Photoshop 
PIC, PCT PICT 
PNG Portable Network Graphics 
TGA, ICB, VDA, VST Targa 
TIF, TIFF Tagged Interchange File 
Note:

You can import files of any still-image format as a sequence. For more information, see Import items into the encoding queue.

Closed captioning formats

Format

Description

DFXP

Distribution Format Exchange Profile 

MCC

MacCaption VANC 

PTL, PRTL

Adobe Premiere Title 

SCC

Scenarist Closed Caption 

SRT

Subrip Subtitle format 

STL

EBU N19 Subtitle 

XML

W3C/SMPTE/EBU Timed Text

Project file formats

Format

Description

AEP, AEPX

After Effects project

CHPROJ

Adobe Character animator project 

CMX3600 EDL

Edit decision list (EDL) 

FCP XML

Final Cut Pro XML 

PRPROJ

Adobe Premiere Pro project

 Adobe

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