Learn about the new features in the January 2026 (26.0) release of Adobe Media Encoder.
Adobe Media Encoder can run AI-powered content analysis on your video and audio files before you open them in Premiere. After this pre-analysis, it creates sidecar files (.prmi) stored alongside your original media. When you import the footage, Premiere uses this data to immediately enable searching by visual content such as objects and scenes, audio characteristics like sounds or music, and spoken dialogue transcripts, without needing to re-analyze the media in Premiere, saving significant time.
Adobe Media Encoder now runs natively on Windows ARM-based computers, including the latest Copilot+ PCs. This native support means the app can fully leverage the efficiency and architecture of ARM processors, resulting in significantly faster encoding speeds, optimized performance, and improved battery efficiency.
The latest update introduces a queue status display in Media Encoder, designed to make managing the encoding of large file batches more intuitive and efficient. Using the Queue panel, you can now easily track progress with a clear text indicator that displays the total number of jobs in the queue and the number that have been completed. This feature is especially helpful when rendering multiple files, as it provides immediate visibility into the encoding process without requiring you to check individual job details.
Additionally, the Queue panel updates in real time, adjusting totals as items are added or removed. Hovering over the UI reveals a detailed breakdown of job statuses, including processed and unprocessed items.
Fixed issues
Check out the latest fixes, performance improvements, and more.
