Why does Photoshop Elements still not accept HEVC files (iPhone video)

[eaglebeach]

Why does Adobe still not accept HEVC files? Here it is 2025 and Adobe has not adapted to the primary format of the most popular cell phones which began use of the formats in 2017.

I was told that the 2020 version of the software would accept it but HEIC and HEVC but HEIC wasn't accepted until the 2022 version, and the HEVC is still not compatible. HEIC is barely compatible, if you want to do any editting you have to do the extra step to convert to jpg. I do have the HEIF Image Extension and the HEVC video extensions.

I can set up my personal iphone to not take HEIC images (and I have), but I have no control over photos that others share with me.

Using handbrake I can convert the files, but then I also have to edit the date and time for each video one by one.

• iPhones have 53% of the smartphone market in the US.
  
• iPhones began using HEIC (High-Efficiency Image Format) and HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding), also known as H.265, for videos as the default image format with the release of iOS 11 in 2017. HEIC became the standard image format for Apple devices. 
• HEIF and HEVC offer better compression than JPEG and H.264, so they use less storage space on your devices and iCloud photos, while preserving the same visual quality.

[Greg_S.]

I'm not sure I fully understand your point.  As you indicate,  Elements has accepted the import of .heic files in Windows for several versions.  Are you saying that you cannot save a file to the .heic format?  Yes, that is true, but why would you want to do that?  It is not accepted by most social media or web sharing and storage sites.  As far as I can tell the demise of jpeg has been greatly exagerated.

However, I agree that Elements has some problems with .heic files.  Personally, I shoot in .heic format simply to preserve storage space. I have no need to do that on my computer because hard drive storage space is so cheap these days.  I have seen no reliable evidence that .heic's admittedly better compression results in any noticeable better image quality.  Because .heic is not universally accepted as a format, I set my iPhone to transfer images to my computer in the most compatible mode (jpeg).  Unfortunately, the Adobe Photo Downloader does not recognize that setting and transfers the files to my catalog as .heic files.

Elements also has problems recognizing the orientation of .heic files.  I frequently end up with upside-down images in the Organzer, presumably because there is no setting to rotate the image using metadata (as there is with jpeg and tiff files).  I also have issues with rotating those upside down thumbnails 180 degrees in the Organizer. 

So, given the market share of iPhones that you describe, I don't know why Elements has not paid more attention to some of these issues.  Hopefully, they will do so in the future.

As for batch converting the files, you can do so in the Organizer's Instant Fix editor.  You can make the smallest of edits, e.g. clarity, and the files will all be automatically saved.  The metadata will be automatically preserved.  (But that reminds me that the APD sometimes changes the date of .heic files upon import.  The date digitized is preserved, so it is normally not a big deal to change the viewed date in the Organizer's grid.)

[eaglebeach]

Hi Greg,

So much to stay but where to start.  Here I will discuss the HEIC.  I was able to find a partial  solution provided by Ankit in tech support today. In a separate message I will address the sad state of the HEVC files.

To clarify the issue with HEIC I don't use HEIC on my iPhone because the majority of photos are for research purposes, vacation memories, etc...   rather than social media. The photos that I take are jpgs and they are not a problem for me with the software. In my situation, I have so many photos, they cannot remain on my phone and I choose not to use a cloud. I put the photos in files on my PC and then import them into Adobe Elements Organizer. The problem is that in situations where people share their photos with me I don't have a say in the format. If they have a format, they are most likely going to be HEIC and Live.

If there are only a handful, I can convert them one by one by rotating them.  This is a step that needs to be taken before I tag/catagorize the photo as in many cases the tags don't transfer.  Any Instant Fix will also convert the image to a jpg as you point out, but fixing and saving sometimes also makes the tags not stick. I think People Tags were the problem and Keywords work  but it might be the other way around. After you do this, then you are left with the HEIC file that needs to be deleted in an extra step.

Today my task was to tackle the HEIC's from a recent vacation. There were 452 of them. The thought of fixing them individually was unpleasant enough that I contacted tech support.

Happily there is a solution for converting large quantities of HEIC files that keeps the date and time stamps. I will share it with you. Thank you Ankit!

1. Separate all the HEIC files into a folder.

2. Make an empty folder for the images to be stored after they are converted from HEIC to jpg.

3. Open Photo Editor (Advanced).

4. In Photo Editor (Advanced), go to file with the HEICs and select process multiple files.

5. Here you need to select the location where you have the images and then were you want to save them and at bottom click on convert files to jpeg max quality. It will process them one by one for a few minutes and then put the convert files into your new folder.

6. Open Elements Organizer and import the files from the converted folder.

This method saved the date and time stamps. Once imported I was able to mark them as ready for me to catalog, edit, etc... Normally I wouldn't have needed to do that but since I had already processed my jpgs and the dates were a mix, I did.

I have comments regarding the orientation issue you describe but can't get to that today. Basically I found a bug that they say they are working on.

[eaglebeach]

Hi Greg,

This is Part 2. Part 2 is regarding HEVC files today. For videos, both those recorded on iPhones by myself or those shared are a problem with respect to Elements Organizer and Premiere.

I have 54 videos taken on my vacation. My only solution is to convert them to MP4's using handbrake one by one. The conversion will not keep the date and time stamp, location or any other data. That means I will need note the date and time stamp, convert them, import them into Elements Organizer, and then adjust the date and time stamp. 54 times!!! Yuck! 

Ankit  from Adobe support was helpful and had suggestions. They didn't work for me but I will share them in case they benefit someone else.

Once you have taken a video in a format, it may needed to be converted to a format that Adobe can use.

The HEVC videos that are shot in HDR or cinematic mode have some codec that is not compatible with the Elements app. Other HEVC videos may be able to be loaded directly into Premiere.

You can change the settings for videos in your iPhone so they can be loaded directly into Premiere. The settings that work are analog. A one minute video in HDR would be approximately 130MB. The same video in a format that will work with Adobe will be 350MB. I don't have that kind of capacity.

I did ask and was told that they are actively working on it.  Sadly, they have been working on it a long time.

[99jon]

I don’t have any problems with Elements 2025. I attach an external SSD to my iPhone 15 and save unmodified originals. I can connect the SSD to my Mac and edit HEIC photos in PSE and HEVC video (MOV) in the PRE video editor. These are like raw files and Adobe cannot write to them so edited files have to be saved in a different format.

[eaglebeach]

Thanks 99jon, but my issues seem to be different. I always regret not getting a Mac. Glad it it is working for you!

[Greg_S.]

Are you using Elements 2025?  It was my understanding that the latest version supports HDR video.  I haven't tested it myself.

[eaglebeach]

I am using 2024. I tried the 2025 version of the software at the request of Adobe support related some other ongoing issues. While doing so I tried HEIC and HEVC out and it does not work in the 2025 version. The 2025 version also did not correct any of the ongoing issues with 2024 that have been documented.  I don't know why they would roll out new software when they haven't corrected the old software other than they want the money from the upgrades. The other issue include problems with instant fix and orientation, but that would be a discussion for another thread. They say that they are working on those problems as well.

Further, the tech told me that HDR does not work because something with respect to the codec is not compatible.

Disappointing.