PE 2021 - .mov files only load if extension is changed

[carlosn13]

I just tried to bring in a movie from my iPhone Pro 16 into Premiere Elements and I got "generic error" when trying to add the media.  However, if I rename the file to have a .mp4 extension rather than a .mov extension, PE loads the movie and it plays just fine.  Clearly the right codecs are installed.  Is there something else that could be causing this error?

On iPhone, recorded as 1080p30 with most compatible setting.

Output from MediaInfo shown below:

Format                                   : MPEG-4
Format profile                           : QuickTime
Codec ID                                 : qt   0000.00 (qt  )
File size                                : 58.1 MiB
Duration                                 : 30 s 567 ms
Overall bit rate                         : 15.9 Mb/s
Frame rate                               : 30.000 FPS
Encoded date                             : 2025-02-21 01:41:32 UTC
Tagged date                              : 2025-02-21 01:42:03 UTC
Writing library                          : Apple QuickTime
com.apple.quicktime.location.accuracy.ho : 4.250482
com.apple.quicktime.full-frame-rate-play : 1
com.apple.quicktime.location.ISO6709     : +38.9773-077.3227+099.165/
com.apple.quicktime.make                 : Apple
com.apple.quicktime.model                : iPhone 16 Pro
com.apple.quicktime.software             : 18.3.1
com.apple.quicktime.creationdate         : 2025-02-20T20:41:32-0500

Video
ID                                       : 1
Format                                   : AVC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile                           : High@L4
Format settings                          : CABAC / 1 Ref Frames
Format settings, CABAC                   : Yes
Format settings, Reference frames        : 1 frame
Format settings, GOP                     : M=1, N=15
Codec ID                                 : avc1
Codec ID/Info                            : Advanced Video Coding
Duration                                 : 30 s 567 ms
Bit rate                                 : 15.3 Mb/s
Width                                    : 1 920 pixels
Height                                   : 1 080 pixels
Display aspect ratio                     : 16:9
Frame rate mode                          : Constant
Frame rate                               : 30.000 FPS
Color space                              : YUV
Chroma subsampling                       : 4:2:0
Bit depth                                : 8 bits
Scan type                                : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame)                       : 0.246
Stream size                              : 55.8 MiB (96%)
Title                                    : Core Media Video
Encoded date                             : 2025-02-21 01:41:32 UTC
Tagged date                              : 2025-02-21 01:42:03 UTC
Color range                              : Limited
Color primaries                          : BT.709
Transfer characteristics                 : BT.709
Matrix coefficients                      : BT.709
Metas                                    : 4,6,7
Codec configuration box                  : avcC

Audio #1
ID                                       : 2
Format                                   : AAC LC
Format/Info                              : Advanced Audio Codec Low Complexity
Codec ID                                 : mp4a-40-2
Duration                                 : 30 s 567 ms
Source duration                          : 30 s 613 ms
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Bit rate                                 : 128 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 2 channels
Channel layout                           : L R
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Frame rate                               : 46.875 FPS (1024 SPF)
Compression mode                         : Lossy
Stream size                              : 484 KiB (1%)
Source stream size                       : 485 KiB (1%)
Title                                    : Core Media Audio
Default                                  : Yes
Alternate group                          : 1
Encoded date                             : 2025-02-21 01:41:32 UTC
Tagged date                              : 2025-02-21 01:42:03 UTC
Fallback From                            : 3

Audio #2
ID                                       : 3
Format                                   : apac
Codec ID                                 : apac
Duration                                 : 30 s 567 ms
Source duration                          : 30 s 613 ms
Bit rate                                 : 394 kb/s
Channel(s)                               : 4 channels
Sampling rate                            : 48.0 kHz
Stream size                              : 1.44 MiB (2%)
Source stream size                       : 1.44 MiB (2%)
Title                                    : Core Media Audio
Default                                  : Inherited From: 2
Alternate group                          : 1
Encoded date                             : 2025-02-21 01:41:32 UTC
Tagged date                              : 2025-02-21 01:42:03 UTC
Fallback To                              : 2
Metas                                    : 5

Other #1
ID                                       : 4
Type                                     : meta
Format                                   : mebx
Codec ID                                 : mebx
Duration                                 : 30 s 567 ms
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Title                                    : Core Media Metadata
Encoded date                             : 2025-02-21 01:41:32 UTC
Tagged date                              : 2025-02-21 01:42:03 UTC

Other #2
ID                                       : 5
Type                                     : meta
Format                                   : mebx
Codec ID                                 : mebx
Duration                                 : 30 s 567 ms
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Title                                    : Core Media Metadata
Encoded date                             : 2025-02-21 01:41:32 UTC
Tagged date                              : 2025-02-21 01:42:03 UTC

Other #3
ID                                       : 6
Type                                     : meta
Format                                   : mebx
Codec ID                                 : mebx
Duration                                 : 30 s 567 ms
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Title                                    : Core Media Metadata
Encoded date                             : 2025-02-21 01:41:32 UTC
Tagged date                              : 2025-02-21 01:42:03 UTC
Duration_FirstFrame                      : 1100
Duration_LastFrame                       : 33

Other #4
ID                                       : 7
Type                                     : meta
Format                                   : mebx
Codec ID                                 : mebx
Duration                                 : 30 s 567 ms
Bit rate mode                            : Variable
Title                                    : Core Media Metadata
Encoded date                             : 2025-02-21 01:41:32 UTC
Tagged date                              : 2025-02-21 01:42:03 UTC

Other #5
ID                                       : 8
Type                                     : meta
Format                                   : mebx
Codec ID                                 : mebx
Duration                                 : 30 s 567 ms
Bit rate mode                            : Constant
Title                                    : Core Media Metadata
Encoded date                             : 2025-02-21 01:41:32 UTC
Tagged date                              : 2025-02-21 01:42:03 UTC

[John T Smith]

I don't edit iphone video, but my canon camera makes mov - and I remember some 'old' discussions of needing apple quicktime to be able to load/edit mov video

Quicktime and Premiere Elements
https://community.adobe.com/t5/premiere-elements/windows-10-2021-upgrade-premier-elements-12-not-loa...
-I do not have any part of Quicktime installed on my Win11 computer, but I did install VLC which "seems" to have installed "something" which allows me to edit my Canon camera MOV files in Premiere
-could have been VLC Player http://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html

[carlosn13]

I have VLC installed as well.  I AM able to edit the files - but only after I change the extension.  I'm not reencoding or anything else, just change .mov to .mp4.  So clearly all the right codecs are present in the machine.  Just seems like PE gets confused by the .mov file name extension.

[Ann Bens · Accepted solution]

Just for the record: mp4, mov etc are containers which hold the codec such as AVC know as H.264.

It's not uncommon to change the extension to make Elements import correctly.

[shazoo_3616]

I had a similar issue with iPhone .MOV files in Premiere Elements. Renaming to .MP4 worked for me too, but I also noticed that some media players and streaming platforms handle these files better than Premiere does. It’s weird how the same file plays fine elsewhere but causes issues when importing.

Has anyone tried a different workaround besides renaming or converting?

[Ann Bens]

Elements is a Non-Linear Editor. Steaming platforms etc are players. There is a big difference between those.

[shazoo_3616]

Good point. I see what you mean..! I get that streaming platforms are just players, but it’s still odd that Premiere struggles with a format that plays fine elsewhere. I usually test my videos on different platforms before editing, I've noticed that files play smoothly on NetMirrors, a site I use for streaming high-quality content. Maybe Premiere has issues with certain encoding settings?
Have you found any workaround besides renaming?

[Ann Bens]

Your local media player is also very different from Elements. So are players or whatever on your phone.

H.264/5 are known for giving playback issue on a regular computer.

Those files are heavily compressed.

Its all about the codec; Your system has to decode before being able to play the file in your NLE.

You need a powerful machine to be able to edit without any issue.

[shazoo_3616]

That makes sense. Thanks for the explanation! I’ll keep that in mind moving forward.