cc 2018 won't render .mov H.264

[donbarrum]

CC 2018 and Media Encoder both refuse to render .mov H.264 files, even if quicktime is installed and can be selected. THe render just crash every single time. I hope this will be fixed Quickly!

[Rick Gerard]

It is still important to know and work around the insolvable problem that can be created with you try and widely distribute MOV files encoded with H.264 compression. This is not supported by Apple, not being worked on, no plans exist to improve anything and to reason to expect that any solution is anything but a 3rd party hack to fix the problem.

The fact is that nobody should be delivering h.264 encoded MOV files to anyone. If you want to use h.264 compression, the most universally accepted MPEG compression for anything, it needs to be in an MP4 container. Anyone with a machine that was made in the last decade can playback the file on any device that will playback video. Broadcasters and streaming services rely on H.264.mp4's for their delivery and until a new standard is adopted it is the gold standard for public consumption. Unless you are trying to match a specific specification, you should stick with mp4.

If you have a client that has issued you a spec calling for an H.264 Quicktime then it is your job to talk to them about it and educate them. Without specific language in a contract for services that absolves you of responsibility for incompatibility due to known and disclosed problems with the format, you may be liable for damages that could run into very big money.  I do not know exactly how many jobs I have turned down over the years because clients wanted me to deliver product to them that would not meet my delivery standards but it has been about one a year since 1969 and some years it was a lot more.

[donbarrum]

Yes, I agree we should all avoid using .mov as much as possible. the fact that Applewill never update quicktime for windows and has never supported even encoding of ProRes for Windows should not force the users to buy Macs, but make .mov obsolete. That would be the best scenario.

Though, some of my clients still wants .mov. Particularly some that uses Qlab and Catalyst on Mac (old and bad programs I know) for show/entertainment screen AV. I have tried giving them .mp4 with H.264, but they claim it stutters and perform worse.
For almost any other client, I deliver mp4.

Currently I have shut down my CPU to 12 cores every time I render H.264 through a .mov container. Its not an ideal situation, and I know it will never be fixed from Apples side and its annoying having to reboot to render the videoes and than revert the CPU back to 16 cores.
I will try the plugin called AfterCodecs for After Effects, they apparently seem to be able to export Prores, .mov of any kind and even mp4 with faster and better encoding than the native ones. So, maybe their plugin can export .mov on 16 cores as well.

But in an ideal world, as you say, any Apple codec should be replaced with something that is supported properly.

On a side note, I find it ironic how Apple a few years back under Steve Jobs, wrote a full page on how he hated Adobe Flash and was going to do everything in his power to kill it by never let it run on iOS. Simply because the lack of dedication and support from Adobe -and something that so many people use shouldn't be developed under one ownership. While at the same time Apple do the exact same thing with ProRes and Quicktime.

[dutchy_on_a_bike]

.mp4 might be universal but in Australia at least, if I want to send a TVC to station (to ADSTREAM) it has to be either h264.mov or ProRes. Which means delivery from my spanking new 16 core PC machine is a pain in the ... They will accept Avid DNX but that is too complicated for me to work out the exact format as there are so many flavours. 😞 My only work-around is to drop the machine to 8 cores and restart. Mark

[donbarrum]

No, you don't. Just buy the plugin AfterCodecs over at aescripts. And you can render H.264 and even Prores. And you can render H.264 .mov with all your 16 cores being on. I can assure you it works flawlessly on a 16 core.

[SimonOfDoom]

This plug-in is trash. Bloated file size and extremely slow render times.....I'm asking for a refund. Highly not recommended.

[randic6653864]

Most features and big shows require using the software PIX for viewing for security reasons. PIX uses .mov wrapped in H264. AME does not make those.

I simply can not use adobe media encoder on the biggest shows I work on.

[briant80972747]

It is not true that Apple does not support .mov files with H.264 codec. Both Final Cut Pro X and Compressor can export .mov files with H.264. In Final Cut Pro X, you select Share-->Export File and then select the Web Hosting format. In Compressor, you select the Publish to YouTube-->Up to 4K preset.

[elianac57697270]

Hola buen día! Tenía el mismo problema para exportar en H264 en after effects, lo que hice fue lo siguiente:

- Exportar el video en formato Quicktime

- Abrir el archivo en Adobe Premiere

- Exportarlo en formato H264.

Quizás no sea lo mejor, pero me sirvió, ya que adobe Premiere CC 2018 si permite exportar en ese formato. Saludos!

[CHIAGAMER REVIEWS]

HOLA,

Yo estoy intentando exportar un vídeo con H264 por temas de aceleración por hardware para aprovechar la GPU del procesador y así poder hacer otras cosas mientras hago el render pero solo exporta el audio solo el vídeo, sabrías por qué????

[briant80972747]

I realize this thread is two years old, but for the sake of others who stumble across this same problem: If you have access to a Mac, use Final Cut Pro X or the Compressor app to export a .mov file with H.264 codec. In the Compressor app, use the "Up to 4K" preset in the "Publish to YouTube" folder. Not only can you export a mov. file with an H.264 codec, you can also choose PCM audio.