Lightroom Classic fails to import HEVC (hvc1) video from DJI cameras — hev1 tag works

Forum|Forum|2 months ago
May 3, 2026
4 replies
60 views

Summary: Lightroom Classic throws a generic "unknown error" when importing HEVC video files tagged as hvc1, which is the default output format for DJI cameras (tested with DJI Osmo Action 6). The same file remuxed to use the hev1 codec tag imports without issues. No re-encoding is performed — the video bitstream is identical.

Steps to reproduce:

Record video on a DJI Osmo Action 6 (or likely any DJI camera outputting HEVC). Or use attached input file.
Attempt to import the resulting .MP4 file into Lightroom Classic via File → Import
LrC throws "unknown error" and fails to import

Workaround: Remux the file using ffmpeg with no quality loss:

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c copy -tag:v hev1 -map 0:v:0 -map 0:a:0 output.mp4

The resulting file (attached) imports correctly.

File properties (ffprobe):

Codec: HEVC / H.265
Profile: Main 10
Resolution: 3840×2160
Codec tag (original, failing): hvc1
Codec tag (remuxed, working): hev1
Color: yuv420p10le, bt709

Expected behavior: Both hvc1 and hev1 are valid, spec-compliant HEVC container formats per ISO 14496-15. Lightroom Classic should import either without error, as macOS itself (QuickTime, Finder preview) handles both correctly.

Impact: Any footage recorded in HEVC on DJI hardware is unimportable without manual intervention. This affects the Osmo Action series and likely the full DJI drone lineup.

DJI_20260503173740_0004_D.MP4

output.mp4

O

osilber

Participant

Same issue when importing an HEVC video (from a DJI Osmo Action 4) with LR Classic 15.4.1 (and Win 11 Home 25H2). I used FFmpeg to replace the “hvc1” Codec ID tag with “hev1”, and it works now. Obviously a LR bug.

Below, some info on the file that didn’t import because of “an unknown error”:
Video
ID : 1
Format : HEVC
Format/Info : High Efficiency Video Coding
Format profile : Main 10@L5@High
Codec ID : hvc1
Codec ID/Info : High Efficiency Video Coding
Duration : 10 s 811 ms
Bit rate : 30.0 Mb/s
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 29.970 (30000/1001) FPS
Original frame rate : 29.970 (29970/1000) FPS
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 10 bits
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.483
Stream size : 38.7 MiB (89%)
Encoded date : 2026-04-08 09:05:33 UTC
Tagged date : 2026-04-08 09:05:33 UTC
Color range : Limited
Color primaries : BT.709
Transfer characteristics : BT.709
Matrix coefficients : BT.709
Codec configuration box : hvcC

johnrellis

Legend

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Another curiosity: The Mac Quicktime app chokes opening output.mp4 (created by “ffmpeg”):

Clicking Continue will open and play just the audio tracks.

This is now beyond my limited understanding of video formats -- I refuse to pay hundreds of dollars to the ISO for the privilege of helping apps conform to their standard.

johnrellis

Legend

Moderators, @Rikk Flohr_Photography, please consider moving to Bugs -- I see the same misbehavior importing the DJI .mp4 on LR 15.3 / Mac OS 26.4.1 but not on Windows 11. (This suggests the problem is with a Mac OS library.)

johnrellis

Legend

Note that this problem is likely more involved than simply not recognizing the Compressor ID “hvc1”. All videos produced by Apple devices and software use “hvc1”, and LR handles those. So there must be something more specific about the DJI encoding that LR chokes on.

zalanmeggyesiAuthor

Participant

AFAICT, that was the one thing the ffmpeg command changed, and the file imported correctly afterwards.

Of course, there might be other things happening under the hood in response to that, but in this case, that one change could have been isolated as the critical cause.

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