Export a HEVC H265 fails, special format 12032 px x 96 px at 60 fps, 20 secs

[Georg312657969jw0]

Hi everyone,

I'm facing an issue with exporting a sequence from After Effects. The requirement is to export it as an mp4 file without audio, using the H.265/HEVC codec. Additionally, the target size is 12032px x 96px, with a frame rate of 60 fps and a duration of 20 seconds, as it's intended for display on an LED strip. The predicted file size is around 20 MB, which is good.

However, every time I try to export the sequence, I encounter an error message:

Error during export Error compiling the film.

Here are the export details:

• Error during export
• Error compiling the film.

• Error during export

• Encoder could not be created.

• Writing with exporter: HEVC (H.265)
• Write to file: ....Final.mp4
• File type is written: HEVC
• To timecode: 00:00:00:00
• Component: HEVC (H.265) of type Exporter
• Selector: 9
• Error code: 3

Could the error be related to the size? Exporting at 12032px x 200px works fine, so I'm wondering if there's a minimum height requirement for HEVC encoding. 

I'm exporting using these specifications.

(Apologies for this being in German, but hopefully still understandable - I've blacked out some details, like the preview.)  

Any insights or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[Georg312657969jw0]

Apologies, I forgot to provide the system specifications. I'm not sure if they're important to you:
OS: Windows 11 23H2
Build: 22631.3296

After Effects: V24.2.1 (Build 2)
Media Encoder: V24.2.1 (Build 2)

[Peru Bob]

Try turning off Hardware encoding in the Video tab of the export settings.

[Georg312657969jw0]

Hey Peru Bob,

I've already tried that, but I'm still encountering errors. It seems to be a software issue. When I export it in another format and then use the same settings in Handbrake, it works fine. It appears that Media Encoder specifically struggles with H.265/HEVC at a small height and large width. This is the only explanation that sounds logical to me.

[EckiAME]

Did you also try direct export in After Effects? Asking our Formats friends about minumum frame sizes.

[Georg312657969jw0]

Hi,

Unfortunately, exporting an H.265 file directly from After Effects isn't possible. After Effects doesn't support H.265, so you'll need to use Media Encoder instead. Please refer to the attached screenshot showing all the supported formats. (Apologies again for this being in German, but I believe the designations are very similar to the English ones.)

[EckiAME]

The max frame size for H265 is 8K. Minimum width/height which can be set is 16X16. So width/height should not be issue. Even this width does not looks correct, but we tried exporting 12032X96 and were able to export successfully.

Can you try software rendering? Does this also happen in Beta?

[Georg312657969jw0]

Hi,

Thank you very much for your support. I changed to software encoding in the normal version it changes nothing. The export still doesn't work.

Changing to Beta mode helps, but I'm not sure why.

Even when exporting with the default H.265 settings, I still encounter the same error message as I posted above.

The only thing I've noticed is that changing the Coding Settings to Level 6.0 or higher allows it to work. In Beta.

Do you know why the default value is set to Level 4.1 when I simply set the preset to "Match Source - High Bitrate"? (Or why does the program allow these settings when it's not possible?)

Could you successfully export a white rectangle with the size "12032 x 96px" in H.265 with the coding setting at Level 4.1 in your case? And does it work in the normal version or only in Beta?

Since it's a simple animation, I assume the bitrate isn't crucial for the video (whether it's CBR or VBR at ~10Mbit/s). It still plays smoothly.

But now it seems to work in Beta. Thank you again for your support. 

[EckiAME]

Looping in our friends over at the Formats Team.

[Khyati Gupta]

@Georg312657969jw0 Yes, on Windows at level 4.1 software encode is throwing error. With level 6.0 or higher it is working fine. Thanks for reporting this issue. We will look into it and try to resolve it as soon as possible.

CC : @Mayjain @khaneja 

[Georg312657969jw0]

@Khyati Gupta  Does the export work for you in the regular version of After Effects and Encoder, or do you also need to use the Beta version?

[Khyati Gupta]

@Georg312657969jw0 It worked for me on regular(stable) version. I tried on Media Encoder.