CS6 not importing .mp4 files

[How_Funny]

Hi everyone.  I am switching from cs5.5 to cs6.  I still have cs5.5 on my computer and just now cs6.  The problem, I have run into is when I try to import a .mp4 video file AE cs6 tells me "After Effects error: file '132_2250_01.MP4' cannot be imported - this 'MooV' file is damaged or unsupported" 

Yet, the same .mp4 file opens up just fine inside Premiere Pro cs6 and AE cs5.5

So, I'm working on a project and it looks like I have to finish it in cs5.5 

Any reasonable explanation?  Thanks for your help. 

PS-All other .mov .avi files open up just fine in AE cs6

Only files that are giving me a problem with cs6 are the ones I recorded with my Sony EX Cam.  CS5.5 never has.

Again, thanks for any help

[BenjaminMarkus]

I'm not sure what the issue is there, but you could just batch render them all out of Adobe Media Encoder as lossless quicktimes using something like a prores422 codec and then bring them back into AE CS6.

[How_Funny]

Thanks for the tip.  Only thing is that it's inconvenient and I will always have to pre render my files, which means an extra step and time.  But, I'll do what I have to do  

I've even tried selecting my .mp4 video files within Premiere Pro cs6 in the timeline and using the "dynamic link" option to open it up in AE cs6 and the video files go to AE cs6, but the video is just "colored bars"

I'm gonna research some more and maybe reinstall AE cs6 and see what happens.  Thank you so much for your help and input. 

[BenjaminMarkus]

Well batch rendering clips before use is a fairly common practice.  For example, when I used FCP it always had trouble editing interleaved codecs like H.264 because they use poster frames, which had a tendency to get damaged during the trimming process in the edit.  Therefore, whenever editing Canon EOS footage like the H.264 clips from a 5D Mark II or 7D, you had to use an FCP plugin called Log and Transfer to change the H.264 EOS clips to something FCP could handle.  This plugin was essentially a very similar window to the log and capture window, designed to transfer your clips to whatever format you preferred to edit in, and in the case of Canon EOS footage, a Prores422 codec was usually ideal.  This process of logging and transferring all your clips to a new codec usually took hours and hours and was a very obnoxious extra step.  However, now that I'm switching to Premiere I don't have worry about that any longer.  Kevin Monahan just informed me that Premiere Pro CS 5 accepts nearly all codecs to go natively including H.264, and it has no problems with the poster frames. 

The point is, I know that batch rendering your clips before use is a painful extra step, but it used to be something I had to do every single time I wanted to edit something out of Canon EOS camera, which I used all the time.  I wish I new why CS6 was having trouble with your .mp4s, but that codec is usually used for lower res video and I have a feeling they should transfer much quicker than 5D footage. Besides, I think you'll feel much better about having your clips in a reliable format like prores.

[How_Funny]

Thank you Ben & Kevin.  It took me a few days to write back, because I was really trying to figure what was going on.  I apologize for using your time, but I really appreciate you guys trying to help.  I figured it out though.  It's my fault.  I was cleaning out my hard drive about a week ago and I had deleted some files that I guess messed up my QuickTime codecs.  I just did a manual mac update and I had a big update to install.

Once I did that, everything imported just fine.  Everything is A-okay   I wish sometimes, I was more computer smart, lol.  Have a great day guys!  And thanks again!

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi How Funny,

Transcoding is, indeed, a workaround. You should not have to do so with After Effects, provided the codec is on the list of supported import formats: http://help.adobe.com/en_US/aftereffects/cs/using/WS3878526689cb91655866c1103906c6dea-7f86a.html#WSB...

If you are having trouble importing your MP4 files, please file a bug report: http://www.adobe.com/go/wish

We would be interested in investigating this problem further.

[How_Funny]

Thank you Ben & Kevin.  It took me a few days to write back, because I was really trying to figure what was going on.  I apologize for using your time, but I really appreciate you guys trying to help.  I figured it out though.  It's my fault.  I was cleaning out my hard drive about a week ago and I had deleted some files that I guess messed up my QuickTime codecs.  I just did a manual mac update and I had a big update to install.

Once I did that, everything imported just fine.  Everything is A-okay   I wish sometimes, I was more computer smart, lol.  Have a great day guys!  And thanks again!

[Due_South]

Funny I just had the same problem where I couldn't import ANY file. At first I thought it was an Avid MXF thing but it was working fine in AE last night for 6 hours & this morning wouldn;t link to the files. Uninstalled, reinstalled & still no luck. It would not import any Mov file coming up with the same error message.

Did a software updat (I'm running 10.7.4 & all of a sudden it wants to install QT Codecs??? Interesting but a waste of an hour & a half figuring it out!

Good luck to the next unlucky person!

S