After Effects CC stopped working with QuickTime files

Report · Jul 15, 2013

I can not reliably use QuickTime (Animation or ProRes codec) in my timeline. I also can't export to QuickTime. I believe accepting the latest update to CC or my system software initiated this problem. I did not have this problem last week. I have converted all of my source QTs to .PNG sequences and .AIFs as a work-around.

System Details:

Troubleshooting Info:

• I've read this article: http://blogs.adobe.com/aftereffects/2011/02/troubleshooting-quicktime-errors-with-after-effects.html

• I don't have Blackmagic or Aja, but I do have Nvidia Quadro 4000 Mac with the latest Nvidia and Cuda drivers. I'll try uninstalling... but I may want to raytrace in the coming days.

• I've trashed the 12.0 folder and rebooted many times

• repaired permissions

• Multi-threding on/off doesn't matter

update

• "QT32Server process" appears then disappears Activity Monitor when I try to render ProRes (output module fails...)

• No firewall

• Uninstaled Nvidia driver. Restarted. Same problems.

and then

• Created a fresh admin user. This seems to work for now: I can read and write QTs through AE again. I'll update if there are any changes.

update again

• Once again, I can not import ProRes QTs into AE CC. Making a new user only worked for 2 launches. The only software I used with this system/new user was Adobe AE CC, PS CC, and Safari.

Any suggestions?

Best,

Benjamin

Report · Jul 31, 2013

Big update here, guys. I have a proposed solution for this problem, relative to my last post:

Go to your Library/QuickTime folder.
Move the file named DVCPROHDVideoOutput.component to your desktop.
Start After Effects CC and test using QuickTime files again.

If this works, I would like to know if the Date Modified value for your copy of DVCPROHDVideoOutput.component is 2007 or 2009.

If it doesn't work, please proceed with the troubleshooting described in my last post, including the screenshot of your Library/QuickTime folder. It's very possible that other components could cause the issue. This is the only one we have confirmed.

Please post back with your results. Thanks.

Report · Jul 31, 2013

After a couple weeks without the problem, it cropped up again. Found this post, and I think the DVCPro thing fixed the problem for me!

DVCPROHDVideoOutput.component dated 2009

Report · Jul 31, 2013

Tim, while writing my post, we tried your fix. It did not work. We have the 2009 QT component.

Thanks.

Report · Jul 31, 2013

JayEmZee,

The crash logs you posted are for two different problems.

The QT32 Server crash is the issue we're talking about on this thread.

The After Effects crash is a different issue. The log shows Red Giant Colorista is causing the crash. Please start a new thread for this problem.

Can you confirm that the QT32 Server crash happens without the DVCPROHDVideoOutput component present? As opposed to the AE/Colorista crash. We need to be very specific here. If necessary, please uninstall Colorista to remove it from the equation.

-=Tim

Report · Jul 31, 2013

JayEmZee. I had trouble removing DVCPROHDVideoOutput.component at first. I dragged it to the desktop on the same volume, and, strangly, it made a copy. Must be something to do with permissions. In any case, I had to delete DVCPROHDVideoOutput.component after copying it. Can you confirm that you didn't run into the same thing as me?

Cheers,

B

Report · Jul 31, 2013

Hi Tim,

• removed DVCPROHDVideoOutput.component (Dated 2009)

• Launched AE

• Imported a bunch of random QuickTime movies of different codecs into a new project successfully.

• Put them all into the same time-line

• Successfully rendered a ProRes 422 Movie!

• Opened a deep and heavy project and rendered to ProRes 422!

Looks good so far. Thank you. Will keep testing and report back.

Strangly, in The Activity Monitor, Adove QT32 Server shot up to 99% CPU usage when the first render started, then tapered off to 3% and now sits at 0.2%. Is this normal?

Thanks again,

Benjamin

Report · Jul 31, 2013

Benjamin Goldman wrote:
Strangly, in The Activity Monitor, Adove QT32 Server shot up to 99% CPU usage when the first render started, then tapered off to 3% and now sits at 0.2%. Is this normal?

Normal? Probably. Chatted about it with one of the developers here, and our assumption is that it's normal for any process to consume a few extra cycles on startup and then cool back down. In this case, it's very likely that QT32 Server is simply a conduit between AE and whatever thread QuickTime has spun up to handle the compression, thus it doesn't consume much processing power by itself.

Also, good suggestion for JayEmZee about making sure the component file actually gets removed. The Library/QuickTime folder is a protected location, so you can copy out freely but writing and removing files requires an admin password. I've been typing my password a lot today...

Report · Aug 01, 2013

Yes it was removed.

Report · Aug 01, 2013

And Red Giant was never installed on the machine that we removed the QT component from. That report was from a second machine. Image was too big before, sorry.

Report · Aug 01, 2013

After fully troubleshooting the codecs and moving the the DVCPROHDVideoOutput.component to an external folder then moving the original .component to the trash from the QT Lib folder and emptying the trash we haven't been able to replicate the error.

Thank you!

Report · Aug 01, 2013

Thanks for the followup, JayEmZee. Good to know this worked for you.

Report · Aug 01, 2013

I'm having the same problem, but I do have an AJA card. Should I start a new thread or should I post my details in this one?

Report · Aug 01, 2013

tmpst01 wrote:
I'm having the same problem, but I do have an AJA card. Should I start a new thread or should I post my details in this one?

Does removing the DVCPROHDVideoOut component solve the problem for you?

If not, please start a new thread. We had early suspicions that older AJA drivers (pre-10.4.5) could cause the same problem, but there was no evidence to support this theory. If you have elimiated the DVCPROHDVideoOut component, please start a new thread with the following information:

The version of AJA drivers that you have installed, and whether you have updated to 10.4.5.
A screenshot of your Library/QuickTime folder.
The most recent crash report for QT32 Server from /Users/<username>/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports.

*The user Library folder is hidden by default on 10.8: http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/global/access-hidden-user-library-f iles.html

Report · Jul 31, 2013

Hello,

My team and I have been following this thread - we've been having very similar issues. Namely the 86::2 error and "MooV file is damaged or unsupported."

We had these issues on two machines from the first time we ran Ae CC and Pr CC early last week and were on OS 10.7.5. So we did a clean install and upgraged to Mountain Lion.

The second machine is the same as above, but with 20 GB of ram.

(Red Giant plugins were installed after the crashes on the clean install)

We are networked with an XSAN.

On my machine, the first listed above, I seem to have stemmed the issue in Ae by uninstalling Premiere. Without Premiere none of the problems in AE occur.

On my clean install the timeline of app installation went: first FCP, then Ae, then Pr. When I installed Premiere the problems arose again, 86::2 error and MooV error and the issue still arrises on the 20 GB machine when switching between Ae and Pr.

I hope that makes sense.

We will troubleshoot the Quicktime files tomorrow. I hope this can be helpful!

Thanks.

Adobe Crash Report Links:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8857265/Adobe%20Troubleshooting%20-%20Reports/Adobe%20QT32%20Ser...

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/8857265/Adobe%20Troubleshooting%20-%20Reports/After%20Effects_20...

Report · Aug 02, 2013

I've had this same error off and on. It all had to do with ProResLT media. Today it didn't "fix itself" so I tried reinstalling the quicktime proapps codecs: http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1396 This FIXED IT! Hopefully it stays working.

Report · Aug 03, 2013

Yes reinstalling the quicktime proapps codecs seemed to help me. Just make sure you verify that it actually installed the new codecs. I ran the installer but it wouldn't actually overwrite the codecs i had( from 2011). Once i deleted them from the library folder and then ran the codecs installer again, then i had fresh new 2013 codecs and CC was happy. fingers crossed at this point.

Report · Aug 05, 2013

I'm adding my name to the list of victims of this heinous shortcoming in Ae CC.

I can open some projects with ProRes footage, and see and hear it for about five minutes before I start getting that error message for each footage item in the project. Other projects won't even let me get that far. I get the errors as soon as Ae starts scanning the footage.

I can Save As CS6, and work with the same footage with abandon there.

MacPro3,1 - 10.8.4 (10.7.5 before I upgraded, too) - 32G RAM - Quadro 4000 for Mac with fresh drivers reinstall - Ae 12.0

Here's what I've tried:

Remove AJA Adobe driver

Reinstall ProAppsQTCodecs1.0.2

Deleted DVCProHD component

ran a suite of disk utilities, rebooted, etc.

toggled audio hardware states: system default, and MOTU Traveler

I just ran the Drive Genius 3 Repair Tool > Verify Preferences. It found 4 corrupt prefs, that I deleted without making note of them. Ae CC is working again, but I've now been trained not to signal an all clear. I expect it will stop working again, as soon as I click the Post button here. If it's still working tomorrow, I'll post back.

Report · Aug 05, 2013

Jim, please:

Confirm that you've fully deleted the DVCPROHDVideoOut.component file from Library/QuickTime. As others have mentioned, simply moving to the desktop doesn't remove the file.
Post (or send me) a screenshot of your Library/QuickTime folder.
Post (or send me) the most recent crash log for QT32 Server.
Tell us what version of the AJA drivers you are using.

> I'm adding my name to the list of victims of this heinous shortcoming in Ae CC.

When I publish my article on the AE blog, I will provide more technical details as to why this is happening. The short version is that we are using an ancient QuickTime API that Apple no longer supports, and we don't have a technical reason (IOW, there's no obvious bug on our side) as to why the same code that works in AE CS6 is not working in AE CC. We're going to fix it by not using that API any more.

Report · Aug 05, 2013

Jim, thanks for sending me the data.

The key here may be needing to empty the trash after removing the DVCPROHDVideoOut.component file. I haven't had to do that on my machine (the problem goes away once the files are in the trash), but you aren't the only person who has found that necessary to make the problem go away. I'll make sure to note that in the blog. (Yes, I know I promised this a week ago, but we keep coming up with new details like this so I keep rewriting it...)

Glad it's working for you know. Let us know if the situation changes.

Report · Aug 05, 2013

Tim, you're welcome. I think you are correct about me neglecting to empty the trash on the list I made above. I've been working with Ae CC for about four hours now since I last posted, and it's smooth sailing so far.

And thank you again for your vigilance in getting this sussed for us.

Jim

Report · Oct 03, 2013

Hello,

I just took the time to read that post to get rid of that issue. Each time I switched between After CC and the finder or any other app, my video preview dropped. Problem resolved trashing the DVCPROHDVideoOut.component file.

Thanks.

PS:

OSX 10.8.5

After effects CC

Blackmagic Deckling HD extreme 3D

Report · Aug 07, 2013

Amazing, reinstalling the quicktime proapps codecs and deleting the DVCPROHDVideoOut component fixed the problem, and FYI I have a blackmagic Decklink card installed and After Effects CC. I had both the prores "Moov" importing problem and the After Effects error: Rendering error while writing to file "xxxxxxx". unable to open file. (-1610153459) problem.

Report · Aug 07, 2013

I seem to have managed to solve this problem too by completely cleaning out the quicktime codecs folder and reinstalling the proapps codecs, blackmagic etc. No more Moov importing/reading from file errors. Hooray!

Report · Aug 07, 2013

Here is a new artice from us about solutions for problems with QuickTime files in After Effects CC (12.0), which includes the solutions that Tim Kurkoski has been recommending on this thread: http://bit.ly/QT_AE_CC_12

Report · Aug 09, 2013

I would like to add my situation to the list.

I have a Mac Pro running Mac OS X 10.7.5 and Adobe AE CC, I have an AJA Kona 3 card and a Quadro FX 4800

I have updated all AJA Drivers to the latest available. And removed the AJA Adobe Plugin from After Effects (I didnt like that it didnt upscale lower res previews to fit the screen)

I deleted the DVCProHDVideoOut component and that didn't fix the problem. I then removed all AJA components and reinstalled the Pro Codecs, and one of those actions seems to have fixed the issue, I haven't had time to put components back in to the Quicktime folder yet to pinpoint exactly which component might be the culprit but based on the blog post I suppose its the AJA Output component. I was also getting a slightly different error message when I was crashing in addition to the "moov" error, which I have attached below.