If you experiencing audio only issues while working with an MP4 file in HitFilm, it is probably because your MP4 file is compressed with the HEVC H.265 codec. In that case, you will need to convert HEVC MP4 files to DNxHD or ProRes codec first for a smooth editing workflow in HitFilm.
HitFilm 2017 only reads audio in H.265 MP4
“So I just received several MP4 files encoded with H.265 codec from my client. Now, when I import the MP4 files into HitFilm 2017, it only recognizes the audio file with no video. I can use GoPro MP4 files without any trouble. Anyone know that issue? Is there anything I can do to fix it? Thanks for any help.”
HitFilm 2017 can’t handle H.265 HEVC, that why you have this issue. The licensing fee for H.265 is apparently quite expensive, and the file type isn’t used by very many cameras…so not supported by HitFilm. To make it work, you just need to transcode the files to DNxHD or ProRes. Use something like HD Video Converter to convert the clips before pulling them into HitFilm.
How to transcode HEVC MP4 for HitFilm?
Here’s what you need
HD Video Converter
Step 1: Start up HD Video Converter as an HEVC H.265 video to HitFilm Converter.
Step 2: Click ‘Add File’ to import your source media to the program.
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, more than DNxHD, you can also choose ‘Apple ProRes 422 (*.mov)’ as target under ‘Final Cut Pro’ catalogue.
*** Note that this converter program can only output Apple ProRes and DNxHD video up to 1080p, if your source video is 4K and 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.
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 HEVC MP4 files to Hitfilm 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 HitFilm for further editing smoothly.
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