Team projects won't relink to footage

Both errors suggest that whichever computer is opening the project doesn’t support the audio codec used in your .MTS files.

AVCHD .MTS files usually carry AC-3 audio. Premiere Pro doesn’t include its own AC-3 decoder. It relies on the one built into Windows. If Windows can’t decode the audio, Premiere Pro either fails to import the file, or reads it as video only. That would explain the Cannot Link Media error. Premiere Pro sees the file as video only, so it won’t relink it to a clip that was originally audio and video.

Confirm the cause

First, confirm which computer is doing the relinking. Then run these tests on that computer:

1. Create a new, empty project.
2. Import one of the .MTS files.

If the file fails to import, or imports with video only, the audio codec is the likely cause.

To confirm the audio format, check the same .MTS file in MediaInfo. This is a free, separate app, not part of Premiere Pro. Open the file in MediaInfo and look at the audio track.

Possible solution

Starting with Windows 11 version 24H2, Microsoft no longer includes the AC-3 codec in clean installs of Windows. Computers upgraded from an earlier version usually keep it, but newer or freshly installed systems may not have it.

If MediaInfo shows the audio as AC-3, install the official codec from the Microsoft Store: Dolby Digital Plus Decoder for PC OEMs

Note: This fix only applies if the audio is AC-3. If MediaInfo shows a different audio format, the cause is something else.