[Fixed] HEVC Video 'Codec Missing or Unavailable' on Premiere Pro

How to fix HEVC 'Codec missing or unavailable' - Download and install HEVC codec for Adobe Premiere Pro

Step 1. Open Adobe Premiere Pro and enter your license.

Step 2. Import your HEVC-encoded video into Adobe Premiere Pro, and then you may receive a prompt as shown in the picture. (Some users might not get this message.)

Step 3. Click OK to perform HEVC codec installing.

Step 4. Restart your computer.

Once done, Adobe Premiere Pro should be able to import your HEVC footage without popping up codec missing error. However, not everyone can install HEVC codec successfully.

"Yeah I got that popup and pressed OK, but I got some error. It says 'The importer reported a generic error'."
"So I clicked OK and got a message saying the codec was missing."

And, the import error may still persist even if you have managed to install HEVC codec. What's more, installing new codec may cause new problems. It may lead to codec conflict and failure of reading some files.

How to fix HEVC 'Codec missing or unavailable' error - Upgrade your Adobe Premiere Pro

Adobe Premiere Pro extends the support for HEVC files with the release of Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015.1, but doesn't support QuickTime (MOV) wrapped HEVC files until the arrival of Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2018 (12.0.1). Therefore, if you need to import HEVC files in MOV format, may be from your iPhone, into Adobe Premiere Pro, make sure you're using version 12.0.1 or later. Below are the steps to upgrade Premiere Pro to the latest version.

Step 1. Save your work and close your Adobe apps, or you will receive a warning to close.

Step 2. Open Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app, click Apps tab, and then you will see those installed Adobe apps including Adobe Premiere Pro CC. When there're available update versions, you'll see Update buttons next to the apps.

Step 3. Click Update next to Adobe Premiere Pro CC. If you want to update all apps, you should click Update All.

Step 4. Set Advanced Options.
▪ Select or deselect Import previous settings and preferences. If this option is checked, settings and preferences of your previous version will be moved to the new version.
▪ Select or deselect Remove old versions. If this option is checked, your previous version will be removed.

Step 5. After finishing all settings, click Update to start upgrading Premiere Pro CC to the most recent version.

If you fail to update Adobe Premiere Pro CC, see if the solutions to troubleshoot Creative Cloud download and install issues can help you.

If you are still unable to import HEVC-encoded files into Adobe Premiere Pro CC after upgrading, it may be because your HEVC files use variable framerate (VFR). Although Premiere Pro had an update to support VFR, it still can't deal with most of VFR videos. You need to convert your videos from variable framerate to constant framerate using a converter, such as VideoProc. This probably solves your problem.

If you need the easist solution to import HEVC videos to Adobe Premiere Pro: Convert HEVC to an Adobe compatible format to fix 'Codec missing or unavailable' error.Easier & fast Solution

As mentioned above, HEVC was first added to the supported native video formats with the release of Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015.1 update. Nevertheless, importing HEVC files into Premiere Pro is still a headache problem. Then, transcoding HEVC files becomes a highly recommended method, especially if your files are in 4K and you don't have a high-end computer.

HEVC is a non-performant format that is difficult to edit with and requires much computing power to process. So, it isn't a bad idea to convert HEVC to a different format. To do this, you can turn to hardware-accelerated VideoProc for help. Apart from changing file format, VideoProc can also convert your VFR videos to constant frame rate. This converter works fast while keeping high quality. Free download and install VideoProc and you'll be able to convert HEVC to Adobe Premiere Pro accepted format with constant framerate in 3 simple steps.

Step 1. Open VideoProc, and then you should see four big buttons in the main UI. Click Video button and then drag and drop target HEVC files into the screen.

Step 2. Click the Video tab at the bottom bar and choose an Adobe Premiere Pro compatible preset, such as MP4 H.264. For more choices, you can click Target Format.

Step 3. Hit RUN in the lower right corner and the conversion will begin in no time. Once done, try importing the videos into Adobe Premiere Pro and see if codec missing error disappears or not.

Final Words:

HEVC is still not as popular as H.264, so it is inevitable to experience some errors such as codec missing on Premiere Pro because of incompatibility. This situation will be gradually improved. Currently, the most effective workaround is to transcode HEVC to another supported format with VideoProc or something else. VideoProc is worth a try. It is a piece of multifunctional video processing software integrated with video converting, video editing, DVD digitizing, video downloading, and video recording tools. Try it on your PC or Mac right now!