Bug Report – H.264 Output Gamma Hard-Coded to 2.4 ( and also other codes )
- February 17, 2025
- 6 replies
- 397 views
When exporting projects from After Effects using Adobe Media Encoder (AME) to H.264 (MP4), the rendered output is tagged as Rec. 709 with a gamma of 2.4 (the TV broadcast standard) even when the project is set up and previewed with a 2.2 gamma (computer display) setting. Although the Preferences → Color setting in AME allows me to adjust the preview from 2.4 to 2.2, this change is not reflected in the final exported file.
Steps to Reproduce:
- Set up an After Effects project in Rec. 709 with a desired gamma of 2.2 (for computer display).
- Export the project directly from After Effects to MP4 – the output appears correct.
- Export the same project via Adobe Media Encoder (AME) to H.264 MP4.
- In AME, adjust Preferences → Color (switching from “broadcast” 2.4 to “computer” 2.2) – note that the preview reflects the change.
- However, the rendered output remains tagged with a 2.4 gamma, resulting in a noticeable shift (e.g., darker shadows or a “white halo” in some areas).
Workaround:
Re-encoding the file with FFmpeg (using, for example, the eq filter with a gamma value adjustment such as eq=gamma=0.8) corrects the appearance close to after effect correct export—but this extra conversion step is not ideal.
Impact:
This bug forces users to perform an additional step outside of AME to achieve the desired 2.2 gamma output. For workflows that require accurate color management—especially when delivering content for computer displays—the lack of an option to manually set the output gamma is a significant inconvenience.
Input data to after effect was just png sequence. Try also different codecs already (example DnxHD) - not helped. Please it was tested with different setting in encoder what I can found. Render max depth and so on...
Probably is knows issue, but why this issue persist also in 2025 encoder.
