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Error retrieving frame **** at time **

Explorer ,
Apr 16, 2019 Apr 16, 2019

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I am trying to footage taken at a recent event that I shot with one camera, I imported it into premiere pro cc 2019 and then exported it only to get this error message every few seconds.

 

"Error retrieving frame **** at time **:**:**:** from the file"

 

 

The footage was shot on a C300 at 24 fps, in full HD, the sequence is 24 fps 1920x1080 which is a match./

it's only when I try to export it out that I start getting the error.

 

Please help.

 

 

Thanks

 

H&M

 

 

included is a screen capture (hope it helps)

 

 

Screen Shot 2019-04-16 at 08.12.07.png

 

 

 

 

 

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correct answers 2 Correct answers

LEGEND , Apr 16, 2019 Apr 16, 2019

Moderator Note: There are two potential answers to an "Error Retrieving Frame" error. 

  • Issue 1: Error Retrieving Frame **** at time **. (Usually occurs with .mxf files)
    • Answer: "Move the footage to a dedicated, internal Media drive."

 

  • Issue 2: Error Retrieving Frame (Usually occurs with underpowered computer systems and H.264 variable frame rate files).
    • Answer: Do one of the following
      • Choose Project Settings > General and select "Software Only."
      • Create a proxy for the file.
      • Transcode th
...

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Community Expert , Mar 14, 2023 Mar 14, 2023

Here's an updated article with some troubleshooting steps to try if you are experiencing the error: https://videowithjens.com/premiere-pro-error-retrieving-frame/

 

If you prefer watching a video, I've made that too: 

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correct answers 1 Pinned Reply

Adobe Employee , Jul 10, 2023 Jul 10, 2023

Hello Community,

Try deleting any video preview files (render files). That has also helped some editors.

 

Thanks,
Kevin

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Adobe Employee ,
Apr 13, 2022 Apr 13, 2022

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Hello hmdigiart, hey @bdscott74,

I added this post to a related bug. I hope it helps.

 

Thanks,

Kevin

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Explorer ,
Apr 20, 2022 Apr 20, 2022

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Transition in a multi-cam edit was my culprit: I was confused when this happened to me because the output didn't seem to be effected.  When I looked at the timing of the substitution, I saw that it was around the time when I put a transition between an .mts file and .mxf file.  I just exported a short video of 3 minutes, and everything seems fine.  So far, I'm considering this an annoyance.  However, if it starts to mess with visible frames, I will probably try the proxy process that @Jim_Simon recommended. I don't want to go there, but will if I have to.

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Community Beginner ,
May 01, 2022 May 01, 2022

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Macbook Pro M1 here, 16GB, updated OS (12.3.1), updated Premiere (22.3.1) and the issue is still here.
Here's my flow:
- I worked with proxies to cut, add effects etc. for a 5min video clip - external SSD drive connected
- once done, I connected external HD + SD (over 2TB of 4K), opened the file and replaced proxies with "proper" 4K files
Premiere started flooding me with error messages. I tried to move back - and re-create proxies, so they would be used only for export, but I can't even do proxies anymore as it keeps showing alerts. 
I'm stuck, can't find a workaround since M1 doesn't even give the option to change settings to "Software only", switching folder idea doesn't work either. Any help guys? 

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Explorer ,
Jun 07, 2022 Jun 07, 2022

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I'm having this issue. Literally nothing that worked for others has worked for me. And it's not an MXF file, it's an MOV, a 10bit 4k MOV from the GH5. I've tried different proxy codecs, moved the file around from external drive to internal back to external, I've tried with and without GPU rendering, restarted my computer, updated everything, deleted the cache files in Premiere. I'm not using any FX or filters, no other file types on the lineline, just the clip. Once media encoder hits the 1:46:08 mark, it fails. Every single time. The source file is fine, no corruption to the image at any point in the file. Nothing odd happens at that point in the file. It plays back fine. I have NO IDEA why it keeps failing to create a proxy. 

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Community Beginner ,
Jun 07, 2022 Jun 07, 2022

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You may be doing this already but have you tried just pulling the source
clip into media encoder directly and converting it to Prores? (Not using
the built in proxy rendering). This is what I've had to do when working
with problem mxf files.

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Explorer ,
Jun 08, 2022 Jun 08, 2022

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Hey Media,

 

I'd considered that, but thought there'd still be a high chance of failure since it would still be compressing it to prores and would have to go through the same error spot, even though it's not exactly the same codec.

 

I just fixed it in a different way. What I've done is opened it in quicktime, go to one frame before the 1:46:08 mark, split the clip and saved out the first part. I then moved to a few frames after the error, split there and saved the 2nd part. Now I've loaded both clips in Premiere, dropped them in the timeline exactly where they occurred in the original clip and created proxies for them. And that worked. Unfortunately I'll loose a few frames but since this is an hour long clip that will be in a documentary containing segments from hundreds of other long clips, I can get by without a few frames.

So yeah there must have been some real error at that point in the clip, but I didn't see it. Oh well. Good to know there's a way to split up a video file and be able to save it in its original format.

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New Here ,
Jun 19, 2022 Jun 19, 2022

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Same problem here with Macbook Pro M1, 8GB, OS 12.3.1, Premiere version 22.4.0.
Using MTS files and I've got around 100 videos that I need to put together.
All source videos are on an external SSD drive. 
Seems that there's issue with all of them, Premiere changes the first frame of every clip into a black frame. I've done the same process with previous versions of Premiere, but never had any problems. Any ideas?

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Explorer ,
Jul 27, 2022 Jul 27, 2022

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Similar issue with 4K iPhone footage. Was told it might be because of H265 codec and variable frame rate that Apple uses. Was able to convert the footage to H264 using Handbrake which solved my problems.

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New Here ,
Aug 29, 2022 Aug 29, 2022

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Nothing changed, sadly. This error keeps happening. I've recently updated to a shiny new MacBook Pro M1, 32GB Ram running with OS 12.5.1 and updated to PP 22.5 and this keeps happening with .mxf files. I always keep my footage on external SSD (LaCie Rugged, I have two of them) and nothing else on them. Btw, Silicon doesn't allow you to change to software-only playback render, so the only viable solution I found atm is transcoding or doing proxies, but it really eats your time away. It's ridiculous because most of my work is straight 1080p HD footage. It's often large files (mostly TV broadcast stuff), but on such a beast of a machine it should be such a hurdle. I am very frustrated.

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Community Expert ,
Mar 14, 2023 Mar 14, 2023

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Here's an updated article with some troubleshooting steps to try if you are experiencing the error: https://videowithjens.com/premiere-pro-error-retrieving-frame/

 

If you prefer watching a video, I've made that too: 

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Explorer ,
May 23, 2023 May 23, 2023

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I was so grateful to have had the files on my memory cards.  I tried several things suggested here, and avoided some of the options that I feared wouldn't work.  Given the time it would take to process, I didn't want to try them. Notably, turing off the GPU.  I tried relocating the files and using the Locate option.  I tried deleting my cache.  I restarted the computer.  The software was set to auto update, and so it was up to date.  Nothing was working.  I finally decided to try to reimport the footage from my SD card, and then replaced the old file with the new file, and it worked!!!  Now, I can sleep a good 4.5 hours and get up for the day job!  

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Adobe Employee ,
Jul 10, 2023 Jul 10, 2023

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Hello Community,

Try deleting any video preview files (render files). That has also helped some editors.

 

Thanks,
Kevin

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Community Beginner ,
Aug 28, 2023 Aug 28, 2023

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So this same thing was happening to me too and I tried everything...restarting everything, deleting my media cache, used software encoding instead of the gpu, render and replace the clips that seemed like were causing the issue, exporting the project from a new sequence and even new project, triple checking my timeline settings and experimenting with different variations according to the footage, changing my export settings, using different hard drives, testing all the footage individually in case it was a corrupted file(s), transcoding all the footage upon import, downloading older versions of premier, even did a factory wipe of my laptop. And sometimes something would work for that one time, but then back to the error retrieving frame message on the next project. No amount of YT videos could help me and I even did adobe support screenshare 5 or 6 times and they never found a solution for me either.

 

But I started outsourcing to the few friends I have that have been editing longer than me and one of them finally figured it out - it was a bad connection from my laptop to my external hard drive (a lacie) that was causing the issue because of the cord. I was using a usb-usbc cable with the adaptor, and that would work for mellow stuff like imports and editing, but when something more heavy-duty came around like rendering and especially exporting, the connection wouldn't be strong enough and the hard drive would either eject itself or do some weird halfway eject and the result was the "error retrieving frame" in my workflow. Now I just use the direct usbc-to-usbc cable and got rid of the adaptor and everything works great - got the error once, switched the cable to the other port, and it worked. This explains why I was getting mixed, unpredictable results during all my tests which was the most frustrating thing. My friend told me that this issue is pretty finicky and she even has one hard drive that only works with the adaptor cable (but usually you have to use the usbc-usbc one). Kind of like a phone charger that only works in certain ways. This issue was kicking my ass and sabatoging my ability to export videos for almost 3 painful months before this was discovered and now I have zero issues. Hope this helps!

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Explorer ,
Aug 28, 2023 Aug 28, 2023

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All of this is nonsense.  I have a simple mpeg file that is a capture from an old HD video camera tape.  At random times, I get the "error retrieving frame".  It's not an "mxf" or anytthing weird.  Clearing the error list doesn't work because that just ... clears the error list. There's no proxies.  The file is on the SSD on my desktop.  Not an external drive.  I drag it to the timeline, scrub, and boom, red errors.  Now, I can try to cut the file apart around the error frames, but why do I have to?  Why, five years later, can Premier not recover?

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Enthusiast ,
Dec 18, 2023 Dec 18, 2023

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The simple solution is never to use MPEG. It's outdated and problematic. Just transcode it before you start to a format that NLE's prefer. I'm on Mac so I use ProRes 422 HQ 10 bit (most MPEG formats are only 8 bit so you could get away with that) in a mov container. If you're on a PC use DnxHD.  I've had problems on multiple NLE's with some older DV formats - the people who created the codecs were often very "liberal" with the way they deployed them. MXF formats should work - I'm not sure what the issue is with that but once again, transcoding works.

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Explorer ,
Dec 18, 2023 Dec 18, 2023

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There is absolutely no reason to waste hard drive space with Pro Res in most situations. I have been using H264 for years in professional TV work and never had a problem with it as far as quality and overall look, as long as the footage is already color corrected or doesn't need much adjusting. I have started transcoding my final footage into H264 and using that for the masters on my work. As far as After effects working with these formats, then randomly not working, then working again, that's an obvious after effects problem, not necisarily a footage problem.  That being said, I would never use mpg for editing or a final output. After effects also chokes on MP3 files... sometimes.

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Enthusiast ,
Dec 19, 2023 Dec 19, 2023

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Really? Well if it's OK with you I'll continue to recommend intraframe codecs when people are having issues with something that is specifically and interframe codec issue. ie - it's in the title - error retrieving frame... because it can't decode the GOP fast enough to retrieve a specific frame. Also it's fine that H264 works for you as edit codec, personally I'd never use it as it would be a very rare event that I didn't have to colour correct etc. I do use H264 as a delivery format but obviously not for the major networks as they won't accept it.

quote

As far as After effects working with these formats, then randomly not working, then working again, that's an obvious after effects problem, not necisarily a footage problem.  That being said, I would never use mpg for editing or a final output. After effects also chokes on MP3 files... sometimes.


By @Sam016235468

I've never had an issue with After Effects like this and this is a specifically a Premiere Pro / Media Encoder issue, so I'm unsure why you brought that up? If you are having issues in AE perhaps it's your workflow?

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Explorer ,
Dec 19, 2023 Dec 19, 2023

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You are free to do whatever you want. I do my color correcting and then export them as H.264 CBR for further use. This works great and saves me an absolute fortune on storage, especially when upgrading my storage requires removing 16 4TB drives and replacing them with 8TB drives or larger. This is not only a Premiere.Media encoder issue, which is hoiw I ended up here. I hade the same issue on After effects. I haven't used Premiere because they seem morinterested in ruining the program instead of making it more user friendly. I have moved to that other one that you actually own and don't have to maekw forever payments on.

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Enthusiast ,
Dec 19, 2023 Dec 19, 2023

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Sam - if you're having this issue on AE perhaps it's the fact that you're using H264 as your editing format? Could there be a connection? I've never had this issue in AE. Like I said - it's fine if it works for you but it is NOT advice I would be giving to most editors. For a start, I individually colour correct shots and like most editors I do it on the edited material as to do it on the source would be crazy and involve hours of unnecessary work. I also make a living at this so if i have to spend money on storage that's a cost of doing business. Some of the projects I do the client has spent $AUD30K+ just on the shoots. I don't think they'd be too happy if I failed to archive the source material in what is already a compressed codec from the camera. 

BTW - I'm not advocating you transcode all your shots into ProRes or DNxHD (although I know some editors who do and swear by it) just the problematic ones that PP and ME are having issues with. You don't even have to archive them with the project. This problem popped up for me and I could not transcode this source material to H264 because all the material is shot in log. And even if I did it might not work because you're swapping Sony or Canon MXF for H264 which still involves decoding GOPs. Both ProRes and DNxHD are intraframe formats - ie they compress individual frames - they don't rely on previous or following frames for information. It's an important distinction.

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Explorer ,
Dec 19, 2023 Dec 19, 2023

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The problem I have had has only popped up a few times and it has always happened on footage I have had and used for many, many years, so it is not a codec issue.  This footage is footage that works, then after quitting and opening after effects again, it stops working and throws the error. These files also have worked fine in the other editor (that I'm not allowed to mention here.) that I do all my editing work in now.

 

On a side note, I wonder if they ever fix that problem with the double spaced file names not loading in After Effects for well over a decade.... I just checked and nope still there.

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Enthusiast ,
Dec 20, 2023 Dec 20, 2023

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LATEST

I've been using AE since the early 2000's and have never seen this issue on AE. Error retrieving frame is normally a timing issue although it can be corrupt files. Anything that is encoded in DV/HDV mts or mpg is automatically suspect. I had an HDV recorder that encoded files that weren't recognised in any NLE and I was on Avid back then. The only solution was to transcode them in a program that didn't spit the dummy. 

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Community Beginner ,
Oct 09, 2023 Oct 09, 2023

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When you say the cable was the issue/there was a bad connection, do you mean the cable speed was the problem?

 

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Community Beginner ,
Oct 11, 2023 Oct 11, 2023

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I've been having this same issue too. After trying deleting cache, relinking, and basically everything else that people have suggested, what finally worked for me (per Video with Jens - https://videowithjens.com/premiere-pro-error-retrieving-frame/) is transcoding the MXF into another file format. So, to put it another way, this is entirely an issue with Premiere and there is no fix until Adobe decides to actually fix it. Having it still be an issue after four years is ridiculous, and it's especially frustrating given that so far, the transcoding I've tried of the MXFs significantly changes the look.

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New Here ,
Oct 31, 2023 Oct 31, 2023

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Same issue as well. Seemed to arise in the last two weeks or so. I was wodnering if it was my DXNR files. Cause when I pull in H.264 I get no errors. But really that shouldn't be happening regardless. 

 

Then tried installing an old update and that did not fix it either. Seems like we need a new update Adobe. 

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Community Beginner ,
Nov 01, 2023 Nov 01, 2023

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It blows me away that people are still having problems despite this issue
being logged for almost half a decade.

--
Thomas Crotty

Creative Director

Sentinel AV

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