Video file not opening in Photoshop 2020

[RiddleDigital]

So, since updating to Photoshop 2020, I can't open a video file 😕

Getting an error messsage: 

Could not open “filename.mp4” because the video file could not be opened.

Getting on my nerves a little bit, updated to the lastest version, I am on Catalina 🙂 I have tried a few different other video files, same errror and can't seem to find a fix 😕

[au - thomasr82165624]

I have had some luck by converting the videos in Quicktime - selecting HEVC

Quicktime

File > Export As 

Select size.

Make sure HEVC is ticked

Would rather this was just fixed though... These videos worked fine last time i edited with them...

[stiv41]

This one fixed it for me. Thanks!

[RiddleDigital]

Thank you all for your responses, I just got a gif making app instead of using PS, but since updating my operating system and upgrading to the new all the same colour icons Adobe, I got now the classic Dynamic link issue when it comes to PS and video files! 🤷‍:male_sign:maybe next year

[pmse]

that really really sucks adobe

[phairas]

Based on a suggestion in another forum, I converted video files to HVEC format files with Media Encoder and that worked. Photoshop opens and plays them just fine.

[Roger Lilly]

All you have to do to fix this issue at least for a Mac is go to the privacy settings and not only add access to files and folders and accessibility but there is also a full disk access icon - if you add photoshop and Lightroom to THAT list it should let you open them up fine without having to change codecs and all that. 

[bradleyg92122464]

none of these worked for me I've tried everything this sucks

[Stephen Barrante]

Just updated to PS2020/21 this past week and this was one of the first things I tried. Still have the same issue where no video files will load up. I've granted all the same disk access etc.

[Stephen Barrante]

Fwiw I went through every combination of fixes in this post. All the Privacy / Permissions fixes. Then completely uninstalled and trashed every preference folder / files, that I could locate for Photoshop. Restarted...etc. Nothing, same issue I've been getting since CC2019. 

I've posted a link to what it looks like on my machine when I try to open any number of video files. In this case it was a 30mb, short mp4. I could let this go for an hour and it would still be stuck at the same spot. https://vimeo.com/474464082/a93b19ec99

[Henzo1000K]

November 2020 and still no fix ?

[ThorgalCaesar]

Indeed, it's November 23 now and I've added all the privacy/permission things. But it still doesn't allow me to open videos in Photoshop. Anyone else?

[Gingerdeer]

This is the 3rd time in a month an adobe product has seriously malfunctioned for me and many others as I read these forums. To make me even more bitter I spent 2 weeks with Illustrator and InDesign not working; then manically searched and found a phone number for techincal support. 2 hours later it seemed to be fixed. But I mucked up. The call cost me £240 because it was an international number. 
I super pissed that Adobe feel the need to knock out 15 new apps a year rather than keep their existing ones stable. Anyone fancy organising a syncronised month boycott?

[Mustanazi]

Oh lord thi is a nightmare...... I've tried everything suggested and more and nothing is working...... I can not insert any mp4 files into my docs so I can no longer produce what I need. I am stressing out can anyone please offer any more suggestions. 

[Gingerdeer]

If you're based in the US call customer services. If not, get skype credit and call customer services in the US. (assuming you can't find a local number)

When I managed to get through the agent sign in to my computer and we worked through many steps (2hours worth). It was a different problem however, I jsut want to give you an idea of what to expect.

I feel your pain bro. 

[Gingerdeer]

This is the number I found...

0018008336687

[Mustanazi]

Thanks - I'll see if I get a positive result 

[Gingerdeer]

Great. Good luck. It would be amazing to record/note what they do for the others with this issue. 

[TVWxMan]

SOLUTION:

Hi everyone.  I am brand new to Photoshop and brand new to this forum.  I stumbled on this thread because I too desired to capture a still image from video using photoshop and encountered the same error message that started this thread. I am happy to report I have successfully opened video files and captured the images I seeked.  It might have actually helped I'm brand new to this because experienced users might have blown right past the step I discovered.

Disclaimer:  This is only working on video files encoded with the H.264 codec, not the H.265 HEVC codec. Of course warnings abound with the H.265 codec cautioning folks that it may not be compatible with all applications and playback devices, especially older ones.  I suppose I can't blame photoshop too much for the incompatibilty here since it hasn't been built from the ground up to be a video player.  But if you still want to blame them, that's fine too, LOL!  Ok enough blather, here we go:

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These notes are taken from this youtube video produced by Adobe Product Manager Bryan O’Neil Hughes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZup--tpyzk&list=PL097JQj2RAe8hFjYQDmMsOzUmLD97yBsr&index=4

1. Ignore his opening  statement, as you all know, you can’t just open a video file in PS due to a supposed bug in PS 2021.  
2. To open a video file, when starting PS, you should be presented with an opening dialogue box asking you what you wish to do.  If not, check your settings, this is critical.  Click on “Create New” then “Film and Video”.  Then click “View All Presets” and choose your format.  Typically mine is 3840x2160.
3. At this point you have two options to extract a still image from the video.

METHOD ONE:

1. Make sure your timeline is visible.  Click “Window” then click “Timeline”.
2. File… Open…  (I have only been able to open videos using the H.264 codec, not H.265 HEVC.)
3. Click on the ‘Render Video’ arrow in the lower left of the PS window.
4. In the dialogue box choose a name for your images (frames), select a destination folder.
5. Change “Adobe Media Encoder” to “Photoshop Image Sequence”.
6. Choose your format.  JPEG? Uncompressed Photoshop?
7. I recommend leaving the image (Document) size alone, more on that below.
8. Finally, set your range.  You might want to grab several frames for the reasons mentioned in Method 2.
9. Click render and enjoy your captured images.

METHOD 2:

1. File… Import… Import Video To Layers
2. When the dialogue window appears, use the bookends to set your range.  It’s a little coarse this way.
3. When you click ‘OK’ it will populate your Layers area with all the frames you captured.
4. For me, capturing one frame is enough, but for doing more with multiple layers, see the video.
5. Here is the point where Bryan chose to resize the image, and I was impressed.  See video at 3:50.

That's it!  I hope this helps.

[epic5D25]

I too was struggling to try to find a solution on these forums. I tried both the PC and mac and neither worked, however, somehow I figured out that if the video is encoded in HEVC/H.265, then it won't open. After you convert it to H.264 then it should work, at least it did for me.

[stepherz8]

December 18th and this issue has obliterated any remaining fragment of hope that I had left in this god awful application. I spent 7+ hours on the phone with Adobe support yesterday and we got absolutely nowhere. Tried just about everything imaginable, including everything suggested in this forum post. Redownloaded, restarted, changed privacy and accessibility settings, downloaded older versions, tried uploading videos from external/internal drives, tried just about every video codec imaginable, changed preference and graphics settings, edited Trace Database.txt. Nothing worked. To say it was frustrating is a massive understatement. 

Today my ticket is being advanced to even more higher-ups with high-tech equipment. They made a bug report. I will update this post with any solutions they find. If worse comes to worst I might end up doing a factory reset. I'm willing to do anything at this point. This is an absolute nightmare. 

(here's a link to a Reddit post that goes into more detail about my issue 

https://www.reddit.com/r/photoshop/comments/kfh8ma/video_file_cannot_be_openedunrecognized_format/)

[cecilbug]

Feb 2021 and I have this issue, I've tried all of the fixes in this forum and nothing works. It doesn't help that half of the fixes are for Mac and not Windows. I'm considering just cancelling my subscription because whats the point in paying for something that doesn't even work?

[wojciecht78753118]

I am also experiences the issue as described by other PS Users. Please, it needs to be be fixed!

[Stephen Barrante]

Quick tip:

While we wait fir this to be resolved, I have one workaround that has been getting me by for now. My main reason for wanting to open up the videos in Photoshop has been to pull hi-res thumbs. If this is the only reason you need to do this, consider this alternative method.

1. Open up your video in QuickTime Player
2. Scrub to the frame you want to use as a thumb
3. Hit CMD+C to copy
4. Go into Photoshop and create a new document from clipboard
5. Hit CMD+V to paste

Hope that helps!

[Stick Em Up Films]

drag the video file to your Mac desktop then "open" file in PS... Im uing PS 2021 Hope that helps

[Stephen Barrante]

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@Stick Em Up Films wrote:

drag the video file to your Mac desktop then "open" file in PS... Im uing PS 2021 Hope that helps

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Would love it that actually worked, but unforutnately this is not working for most of us. Currently still a bug in the 22.2.0 release.