Premiere not importing HEVC even with HEVC codec installed


Have HEVC codec installed but still cannot import HEVC footage into Premiere Pro? If you are experiencing issues like this, you HEVC video probably has a .MOV container. Fortunately, Adobe has recently released a fix for this issue. The most recent Premiere Pro CC 2018 (12.0.1) now supports QuickTime wrapped HEVC (AKA H.265) video files. For more info about HEVC support in Premiere Pro CC 2018 (12.0.1), please read the content below.
premiere pro adds support for mov hevc
HEVC support in Premiere Pro CC 2018 (12.0.1)

  • Premiere Pro CC 2018 (12.0.1) now supports QuickTime wrapped HEVC (AKA H.265) video files.
  • Note that only licensed Creative Cloud members have access to HEVC H.265 codec.
  • Trial versions of Premiere Pro CC do not recognize HEVC H.265 files.

For those who cannot upgrade to Premiere Pro CC 2018 (12.0.1), I would recommend transcoding the HEVC footage before ingesting. Also, HEVC is not a very performant format, on some occasions, you may still need to process “transcoded editing”. The content below will guide you through the process of converting HEVC files to ProRes/DNxHD for a smooth workflow in Premiere Pro.

How to transcode HEVC H.265 video for use in Premiere Pro on Windows or Mac?

Here’s what you need
HD Video Converter
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Step 1: Start up HD Video Converter as an HEVC H.265 to Premiere Pro Converter.

Step 2: Click ‘Add File’ to import your source media to the program.
HEVC support in Premiere Pro CC 2018 (12.0.1)

Step 3: Select output format
* If you are on a Windows PC, from the “Profile” bar, choose ‘Avid DNxHD 1080p (*.mov)’ as output under ‘Avid Media Composer’ column. (See the screenshot above)

** If you are on a Mac computer, choose ‘Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov)’ as target under ‘Final Cut Pro’ catalogue.
HEVC support in Premiere Pro CC 2018 (12.0.1)

*** Note that this converter program can only output Apple ProRes and DNxHD video up to 1080p, if you want to preserve 4K quality of your source files, you need to select “4K Video” > “4K H.264/MPEG-4 AVC Video (*.mp4)” as target format. To export 4K files, please make sure your computer has enough power to process 4K. If not, simply select Apple ProRes or DNxHD as output format depending on your OS.
HEVC support in Premiere Pro CC 2018 (12.0.1)

Step 4: Custom video and audio settings (for advanced users)
Click ‘Settings’ button, the ‘Profile Settings’ panel pops up, on which you are able to modify video and audio settings like resolution, bit rate, frame rate, sample rate and audio channel.

Step 5: When ready, click ‘Convert’ to start transcoding iOS 11 HEVC H.265 files to Premiere Pro supported format. As soon as the conversion is complete, click ‘Open Folder’ button to locate the generated files and now you are able to open them in Premiere Pro for further editing smoothly.

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