Dolby Audio Decoder missing after Premiere CC 2018 (V12) update

[zeno303]

I just updated to the most recent version of Premiere: CC 2018 from Creative Cloud.

When I opened a project I had been working on earlier today that has some .ac3 tracks on some of the sequences, those tracks are redded out and I now get an error message "Missing Dolby Audio Encoder." I get the same message when I try to import .ac3 files into the updated Audition program.

I have been using Premiere CC for several years, have installed all the updates & never had this problem before.

I have an individual (not Enterprise) Subscription on Windows 7.  I ran CC Cleaner Registry check after the install.  It cleared up some paths, but didn't fix this issue.

Please help.  I am up against a deadline!

Wsquared

[deeeeeeeee]

I tested a bit more and converted an old project, around 300 GB of MTS files (which had the dolby audio codec, which i didn't realize at all) converted in about 2 hours on my 2012 laptop, running windows 7. Everything plays fine now in the latest premiere. So i guess this is a good solution to keep editing without any loss in image quality.

i hope this works for more people.

d

[truthseekers]

Theres a GREAT FREE piece of software for converting audio whilst leaving video intact and unchanged called WINreWRAP found here:  winrewrap and it can fly through files at great speed. Takes MTS and converts to MP4 or MOV... with audio converted to aac or pcm. Job done. Screw you adobe you nasty pieces of work. Thanks to your removal of important function like ac3 i now am back to not paying for CC and using pirate versions... your loss not mine. Thats where greed gets you adobe. Byeeeee.

Anyone feeling bad about this just google how much Adobe is worth - 60 Billion...   Feeling so bad about piracy now?

[adewaleyp20747310]

No cause for alarm my audio is lost on timeline i can't link or drop video on timeline it has no audio,

[emilyd805134]

Super jank way of fixing this problem, but drop your clips into a very early version of Premiere (I used CS6) and then export these clips as individual mpegs and use the mpegs rather than the original footage. Worked for me, but it's really only useful if you only have a couple clips you need to work with.

[maximem11082386]

I just discovered the Dolby trick ...

I payed, and pay a lot, to have everything embedded in that software.

I just discovered that my old, not finished video lost sound ...

I just discovered that my very good camera can NOT be used natively with premiere.

Very soon, Adobe, you will loose me.

Still can't believe this is true.

Can't believe I advertised for that product ...

[Video Odyssey]

Regarding the "DolbyProblem" with MTS files, a suggestion: convert your video files to .avi format before importing and editing and the problem will disappear. I forgot to do this on my most recent project, and I got the "Dolby Problem" of no audio with the H.264 original files.

[Kerry.Anderson]

Ran into the same MTS no Dolby and no AC3 conversion problem this week. Was glad when I moved from Production Suite 5.5 to the CC apps on my Win 7 PC. Now I am SUPER really glad I didn´t uninstall the 5.5 version - ran conversion on AC3 and MTS to AIFF through the old Media Encoder and back on track now - no problems.

[joshuat58625020]

Yet another problem that Adobe support refuses to address. They seriously have the worst customer support of any company. "You have a problem? Sucks to be you!"

I won't pay for and install Windows 10 just so I can use a program I've already paid for, and was already working. Adobe has a responsibility to fix this. Their software no longer works. If they can't fix it, I see no reason to keep paying them.

[excited_Genie16B8]

I won't pay for and install Windows 10 just so I can use a program

Editor's choice, but...that's more of an emotional argument than a practical one.  You only hurt yourself.

[jeffreyn99269659]

If you look at the requirements, Adobe says CC works on Windows 7. Sure,

Adobe Premiere Pro System Requirements

it will run the software - but it won't work with any camera that uses a Dolby audio codec. So, I'm unable to edit previous projects and new camera footage?

Adobe goes out of its way to continuously update apps to accommodate camera models... but has just made Premiere incompatible with a large segment video cams. Imagine if Photoshop or LightRoom wouldn't support Canon or Nikon RAW files??

Adobe should have NOTIFIED users that the new update was for Windows 8.1 or 10 ONLY... rather than breaking those on Win 7.

Adobe should also clearly state it DOES NOT work on Windows 7... especially since their Support's answer to the issue is telling you us to Upgrade OS.

I, like many who have posted, have a technical limitation that prohibits moving to Win10. Unfortunately, I have no way to roll-back to previous CC.

For what we're paying for the full CC Suite - Adobe should be making their product as fully compatible as possible - even if that means cutting their huge profits to pay Dolby a license fee.

[thatsmauri]

Adobe Creative Cloud apps use native OS support for Dolby

That page exists for months now and so does this thread. Before you update to a newer version, always check what changed.

[jeffreyn99269659]

There is absolutely NO reference to Dolby or AC3 support in the Release Notes.

Bug fixes in Premiere Pro versions 12.1 and 12.1.1

New features summary for the January 2018 and October 2017 releases of Adobe Premiere Pro CC.

Nor is there any reference to the file types impacted.

Nor is there any reference to the fact that significant functions would no longer be supported in Windows 7, or suggesting upgrade to 8.1/10.

[AnthonyValente]

I just got a bunch of .MTS files from a client and almost had a heart attack when CC couldn't read the audio files.

Fortunately I still have Premiere CS6, it running on a Windows 7 machine. After reading the nightmares on this thread, it looks like this is the only solution.

[winstons55931541]

I downgraded to an Early 2017 version of Premiere Pro and am doing OK. I

did not have to go back as far as CC 6

On Wed, Oct 17, 2018 at 2:02 PM miked61866401 <forums_noreply@adobe.com>

[solomonbassguy]

"More secure operating system like Windows 10".

But....that is NOT a secure operating system in any way shape or form...Micro soft and the NSA take and sell all of your data.

This is absolutely ridiculous and I can't wait for a better NLE to overtake a company with such a deficit of intelligent decision making.

[R Neil Haugen]

Whatever.

They didn't say absolutely totally secure, but more so than the older OS, because the older OS is no longer being supported. From everything I've seen ... MS does absolutely nothing different than Apple as far as data is concerned. Both can take data from the users for various things, and do. Both internally for their own purposes and through requirements of national agencies.

Hmmm ... a deficit of intelligent decision making ...

Neil

[excited_Genie16B8]

that is NOT a secure operating system in any way shape or form

DaVinci Resolve runs on Linux.

[R Neil Haugen]

I know quite a number of colorists who've gone to PC's actually because they could get a dual-boot and use Resolve and some other apps in Linux.

With the Adobe apps did ... sigh.

Neil

[genal12394067]

I found the solution. After dealing with this problem as well so here goes.

Put your files in the Media Encoder and run them as H.264. This makes them mp4 videos and you will have your audio back. We just did this on a whim and it worked great. Best of luck everyone!

Also want to say I have Windows 7 and am using Premiere Pro 2018

[Lee James]

I simply cannot believe Adobe have done this! I'm appalled!

Adobe are abandoning Windows 7. Why!? Just because something is newer that doesn't logically mean it's better. Windows 7 is a perfectly good operating system and up until just a few months ago remained the world's most popular operating system. There's nothing wrong with it and it did not need replacing!

There is absolutely no way I would EVER touch Windows 10. It is absolutely vile. For a start, it's the ugliest OS I've ever seen. I'm a designer, who cares about the way things look. Windows 10 makes my skin crawl and having to use Windows 10 would make me feel sick. I would rather never use any computer again than have to use something that looks like Windows 10.

On top of that, Windows 10 represents a total abandonment of privacy - the OS connects to the Internet and gives Microsoft full access to every aspect of your machine, including logging everything you type and allowing Microsoft employees to watch your webcam. Who in their right mind would use a creepy OS like that!? I still don't understand why anyone would hand over their privacy like that.

Adobe ditching Windows 7 is just one of a long, ever-growing list of reasons why I absolutely HATE Premiere Pro. I was using the original Premiere 20+ years ago and it was GOOD software. Using it was effortless, and it looked attractive. But each year, the program just seems to get worse and worse, more buggy, and uglier. With every new release has come many more bugs and changes for the worse.

It seems likely now that I'm going to be permanently reverting to my old copies of Adobe software. I cannot continue to pay Adobe for such terrible service - especially now they don't even support my operating system - which is outrageous considering Windows 7 has been the world's most popular operating system until a few months ago, and is still in second place.

[excited_Genie16B8]

On top of that, Windows 10 represents a total abandonment of privacy

Spybot Anti-Beacon - Spybot Anti-Malware and Antivirus : Spybot Anti-Malware and Antivirus

[ProDesignTools]

As Jim just posted above, there are easy things you can do to enhance privacy – not just on Windows 10, but on any version of Windows...

Also, are you aware that even Microsoft is abandoning Windows 7 in just a few months from now?

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4057281/windows-7-support-will-end-on-january-14-2020

[Lee James]

Yes, I am well aware that MS will soon end official support for Windows 7. In truth, MS haven't "supported" the OS for years - they quickly lost interest in releasing improvements, and began doing everything they could to disparage Windows 7 and drive people towards Windows 10.

Nevertheless, the OS remains incredibly popular, and that popularity isn't about to disappear overnight. Many people love it and rely on it, and MS will actually still continue to offer Windows 7 support for a premium. (In the same vein, there are still about 3% of people happily using Windows XP - long after official support ended.)

All the scares about Win7 systems becoming immediately at risk to viruses kind of remind me of the Y2K scares. All the major  vulnerabilities were fixed years ago, and since MS won't be changing the software any more, new vulnerabilities won't be introduced. Obviously that doesn't mean Windows 7 won't be vulnerable - it will, but many of us will continue keep our systems safe with a combination of good AV software and common sense.

I also happen to know for a fact that Windows 7 can be safely run without Windows updates. How? Because I permanently disabled them back in 2016! This was after Microsoft began sending aggressive updates nagging me to upgrade to Windows 10, before actually installing Windows 10 without my permission! (I'm sure many of us remember that nightmare.) It was then that I started to see Microsoft "support" more as a form of malware than anything else.

In the end, Microsoft are really giving us no choice here. I loathe Windows 10 and could never even consider using it. I could spend hours talking about why I hate Windows 10 so much - there is so much to hate. In fact, I'd much rather use a Mac than Windows 10 - which is saying something, given how much I hate Apple products!

It does seem inevitable that the day will come when Windows 7 will be truly obsolete, used by hardly anyone. But right now that still seems far off, especially considering it was still the world's most popular operating system just a few months ago.

As for the problem with the missing Dolby decoder, I haven't read this full thread, but the way I fixed it was by simply installing this codec pack (carefully scanned for viruses, of course):

« unauthorized, black-market software link removed by moderator »

[R Neil Haugen]

There is so little difference ... actually nothing that I can think of ... in using Win10 versus Win7 ... that I look at such posts with a bit of humor.

We ended up putting it on a couple small old laptops that we re-purposed for sales work when outside the studio. Supposedly they were too old for 10. The reality is they run the same apps but a lot faster than when they were Win7 rigs initially.

We waited a long time before moving of course, but our small network in our business is running fine with all but one rig now on 10.

And again  ... I can't think of a single thing that is different to use.

Neil

[excited_Genie16B8]

I loathe Windows 10 and could never even consider using it.

DaVinci Resolve runs on Linux.