cant export in hardware encoding

Hi everyone,

I'm having a persistent issue where Hardware Encoding is grayed out (stuck on Software Encoding) during export, despite having a high-end system and compatible settings.

The Problem: No matter which format I choose (H.264 or HEVC), the "Performance" dropdown remains locked in "Software Encoding". I am working with 4K

10-bit D-Log footage from a DJI Osmo Pocket 3.

My Setup:

• CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-14900K (3.20 GHz)

• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti (Drivers: NVIDIA Studio Driver - Latest version).

• OS: Windows 11.

• Software: Adobe Premiere Pro 2026 (v26.x) or 2025.

Settings Checked:

• Project Settings: Mercury Playback Engine GPU Acceleration (CUDA) is Enabled.

• Preferences: "H.264/HEVC hardware accelerated encoding/decoding" are both Checked in the Media tab.

• Export Settings:

  • Tried HEVC (H.265) with Main 10 profile (for 10-bit D-Log).

  • Tried H.264 with Main profile (8-bit) to rule out bit-depth issues.

  • Toggled "Render at Maximum Depth" and "Use Maximum Render Quality" ON/OFF.

  • Changed Levels (from 5.1 to 5.0/5.2).

  • Changed Color Space (Rec. 709).

Additional Notes:

• I’ve already performed a clean install of the Studio Drivers.

• The issue persists even when creating a fresh sequence and copying the clips.

• The "Hardware Encoding" option is simply not available/selectable.

Is there a known compatibility issue between the 2026 version and the RTX 40-series NVENC for specific 10-bit containers? Any help would be appreciated.