Hardware encoding Issue on h.264 video export: Premiere Pro 2022 on 2021 Imac w/ m1 Chip

[defaultbxq7ffxr75jv]

I recently updated premiere pro 2022 on my 2021 imac (m1 chip processor).

I have never had this issue on the 2021 version of premiere, but now when I try export a h.264 video from timeline like I've always done, I get an error message about compiling the video.

I have tried all these suggestions already:

- restarted the computer

- made a new sequence 

- made a new project 

*none of these worked. 

Also for some reason after I updated premiere, I can no longer click on the drop-down box for the video renderer settings in my project settings. The box that reads "mercury playback engine ...." is grayed-out and unable to be selected or reconfigured. From what I've gathered, this means premiere is not able to read my mac's GPU maybe?

H.264 videos will export fine when I select "software encoding" on the export settings of my project. But I'd like to be able to use the Hardware encoding. Any help figuring out how to fix the issue of hardware from an M1 chip apple machine not being able to work with premiere pro (and the 2022 version of Pr specifically) would be IMMENSELY appreciated. I am losing my mind trying to figure this out.

Thanks.

[Sumeet Kumar Choubey]

Hi there,

We're sorry about the poor experience. We can get this checked. Are you getting the error for any specific H.264 export, or all of them? Also, if possible please share a screenshot of the complete error message that you are getting at the time of export. We're here to help, just need more info.

Thanks,

Sumeet

[defaultbxq7ffxr75jv]

Hi there,

Thank you for your response. I am getting the error message for all H.264 exports when I try to enable hardware encoding. If I check software encoding only, I am able to export fine. Given that I have a 2021 iMac, my hope is to be able to make use of the hardware encoding. The root question and issue I am wondering about is this: Is the integrated GPU on the M1 chip in the new apple computers able to interface with the latest version of Premiere software to allow for hardware encoding?

It has been difficult to find solid information on whether or not hardware encoding is compatible in Premiere with the integrated GPU configuration on the M1 chip. The sense I get from the scattered information I've come across in my digging is that it is perhaps not currently compatible. One indication that premiere and the M1 GPU are not currently compatible is that when I try to click on the "Video Rendering and Playback" drop-down menu in my project settings in Premiere, the drop-down menu is grayed-out, as in, I am unable to click on it to view any of the options for GPU acceralation/configuration with Premiere. I read somewhere that this means that Premiere is not in communication with my computer's GPU, but was unable to find an explanation or resolution for the issue.

So just to recap my specific issue:

1) is it even possible to enable hardware encoding between the 2021 iMac M1/GPU and the latest Premiere 2022 software ... and

2) if it is possible, what do I need to do to get premiere to recognize and make use of the M1 GPU on my Mac? 

I am attaching to screenshots to illustrate the issue. The first is the error message I receive whenever I try to export an H.264 with hardware encoding enabled. The second screenshot is of my project settings window which shows the video renderer and playback menu in its grayed-out, un-editable appearance, which is what I come across every time I click on my project settings.

Thank you for help and followup,

Cameron

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi,

Sorry for the frustration. Thanks for the screenshots. They reveal some things about your project and workflow. I hope we can help you. First, try deleting the media cache, resetting preferences, and repairing any disk problems. You can try an earlier version of Premiere Pro if that doesn't work. If that is still not working, you may need to change your workflow for this computer.

Hi there,

Thank you for your response. I am getting the error message for all H.264 exports when I try to enable hardware encoding. If I check software encoding only, I am able to export fine.

I understand. Let's think about this for a sec.

As I understand, when encoding H.264 footage using Hardware Encoding, the GPU function is called for processing GPU-accelerated effects. It is also used for encoding and decoding this specific footage. If the footage is larger in frame size, frame rate, bit depth, color sampling, etc., (such as popular Sony formats at 4K, 4:2:2, 10-bit), this job becomes more complex for Hardware Encoding and specific computers.

If your footage is ProRes, then the GPU function is only used for encoding and processing GPU-accelerated effects. Decoding H.264 footage is not called, so the overhead on your system is quite a bit lower. With Software Encoding, a similar thing happens, except your GPU is not used for any accelerated processes.

Given that I have a 2021 iMac, my hope is to be able to make use of the hardware encoding.

Sorry. The GPU power of these new Macs is not limitless. There is a point where it can fail. The error dialog box shows such a failure. You may not be able to do so in some instances where the GPU is overloaded with too many processes, as it stands currently with your situation. You need to create a situation where the GPU is not overloaded with processes. You must adhere to new workflows to make the experience consistent.

Given this situation, you may alter your workflow to use Hardware Encoding more successfully. Transcoding to a non-H.264 codec, using fewer GPU-accelerated effects (by "baking in" specific effects heavy sections via render and replace), and avoiding other GPU-based processes, in general, can get you back into the Hardware Encoding realm.

I remember being in a similar predicament when I tried to edit 4K on a 2013 MacBook Pro, which only had a 2 GB VRAM GPU. I couldn't export as my GPU couldn't handle the 4K, the Lumetri effects, etc. I got a similar warning dialog box. Your situation is similar: a GPU environment underpowered with Premiere Pro and a workflow that is not optimized for this situation. 

Is the integrated GPU on the M1 chip in the new apple computers able to interface with the latest version of Premiere software to allow for hardware encoding?

Yes, I think it can work. You can't overload the GPU with other GPU-accelerated processes. You must set a new workflow to get you to the promised land. Again, there are limits to how much you can draw from the GPU.

I try to click on the "Video Rendering and Playback" drop-down menu in my project settings in Premiere, the drop-down menu is grayed-out, as in, I am unable to click on it to view any of the options for GPU acceralation/configuration with Premiere.

That is normal for this computer and the Mercury Playback Engine. FYI, the Mercury Playback Engine has little to do with Hardware Encoding; that's a different beast and came much later in Premiere Pro's history. 

If you tell me more about the footage you use, the effects you apply, and details about your workflow, I'm sure we could figure out the best way to use your new hardware.

Thanks,
Kevin

[defaultbxq7ffxr75jv]

Hello, is there anybody there from Adobe? Please see this thread and how the problem seems to be affecting many people with the M1 chip. Please respond.

[Panuvat21953823cs8h]

It has been almost 3 month but nothing fixed

[defaultbxq7ffxr75jv]

ADOBE. PLEASE RESPOND. THIS IS YOUR JOB. WHAT ARE YOU ACTUALLY DOING. 

[R Neil Haugen]

This forum is primarily user-to-user (like me) ... with oversight by Product Support staff, who by Adobe structure, are not part of the development team. So posting that sort of comment here doesn't get it where you want and need it to go.

Post about this in detail over on their Premiere Pro UserVoice site, where every post is logged into their system by at least one engineer, and more importantly, all posts are collated and sent up to the all-important Royal Mugwumps of the Marketing & Experience offices, who are the ones who actually make the top-level decisions on what we users truely, really need ... via the Magic of Metrics.

As opposed to what we users merely think we need ...

Neil 

[defaultbxq7ffxr75jv]

Thank you for this, will do. 

[DigiCreateJG]

I am having the exact same problem since the update! Commenting so they know your not alone in this issue. I have also done my best to resolve on my own to no avail.

[Carlos2185333184o4]

I am having the exact same problem since the update! Commenting so they know your not alone in this issue. I have also done my best to resolve on my own to no avail. What should we do?

[Panuvat21953823cs8h]

Hi,

I'm also experience the same problem

[610SRS]

Similar problem here with both h264 and h265 export in premiere pro 2022 on imac with M1 chip. Hardware encoding not being supported for cbr and vbr 2 pass encodes. Option only avaiable for vbr 1 pass.

[TobiasAM]

Suddenly encountered the same problem. I had to uncheck hardware encoding to be able to export H.264 again...

It is the first time this has happened to my M1 Macbook Pro, which I have used for almost 3 months now.

[chfilm]

Suddenly we have the same issue on a 16" 2021 M1 Max... only software export works with h264 across the entire adobe suite. Please look into this!

[ScottyEdits13]

Anyone figure this out yet? Been having the same issue just purchased this 2021 m1 macbook pro 16gb of Ram for a huge editing project and it's performing worse than my 2014 macbook pro. Export errors due to running out of application memory, no way to enable gpu acceleration. Glitchy timeline like I've never experienced and dont even know how to explain. Terrible playback, super long render times. I'm running mac osx 12.5 and updated to premiere 22.5 and was crashing like crazy I read somewhere that premiere 22.1.2 was better so I Installed that and I can atleast see where I'm positioning graphics now but it's still not great. On 22.5 I would have to guess where I was aligning the graphic because it would not show me in real time on a paused sequence then re render to see where it went and guess again. How can you say that's optimized for m1 if you can't even enable gpu acceleration?

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi, ScottyEdits,

I am so sorry about your performance issues. I also have an M1 MacBook Pro with average specs. I'll do additional testing today to see if I have similar issues. I'll certainly report those. In the meantime, you can upvote a bug report on User Voice. Here is one that could use some traction here: https://adobe-video.uservoice.com/forums/911233-premiere-pro/suggestions/45352495-m1-playback-delay-...

I have some concerns, though. What kind of footage are you working with? Is it 4K? Have you scaled it to HD? Do you have a lot of GPU-accelerated effects in the Timeline? What about other hardware? For example, are you using a second or third monitor? That can impact performance. 

These M1 Macs are great, but when it comes to GPU acceleration, they seem to have their limits (like regular video cards do). I advise you to install Premiere Pro Beta and test your workflow before updating to the next version. I hope Beta will perform better, and you can upgrade and solve some of these problems. I will also give Beta a shot with my 4K footage.

Though I can't verify this, I have also heard that the current version is less performant than the previous version. You can also reinstall that application if the Beta has not solved your issues.

Let me know if you have any questions or feedback I can bring back to the team.

Thanks,
Kevin

[ScottyEdits13]

Its 4k H264 video, I have been working on a scaled down 1080p sequence since the start of the project. Video plays back fine until you add any effects or mogrts to the sequence. Mainly just simple bullet points and pictures PNG JPG ect with basic animations. The render time is insanely slow find myself waiting 3 minutes to render a 10 second section have to guess and check by re-rendering everytime I move a graphic because It does not move when I adjust postion until its rendered again. 

Just downloaded the latest Beta version 23 and its even worse performance wise. Now when I got to make adjustments to the graphics the viewer window turns green and pixlated or just goes black. In  one instace created the same Mogrt in 2 different places on the screen when there is only one graphic. 

I have tried everything I've found to help Premiere run better from deleteing media cache allocating all the ram possible 13gb in my case. 

Opening in rosseta which usually crashes the program, if it does open and I set it to mercury play back enigne and open activity monitor when I got to render it says premiere is using more than 32gb of ram and will crash.  in software mode its 4x slower than running the universal version. For me so far version 22.1.2 has been the best but its still terrible. 22.5 crashes frequently and view screen goes black when I try to make adjustments to graphics. 

Can I ask what version of premiere your running and what osx your runnning since you have the same computer and are not expericing these issues?

[ScottyEdits13]

Does not matter if I'm connected to to the exteranl monitor or not still have the same problems.

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi ScottyEdits13,

I'm running 12.3 and Premiere Pro 22.5. I'll do more testing once I get into my home office.

Thanks,
Kevin

[ScottyEdits13]

I double dog dare you to update to 12.5 and see what happens lol 

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hey Scotty,

I don't have much trouble with scaled 4K clips in a 1080 sequence with effects and titles. No dropped frames at half res. Do you have a sample project I can pass along to engineers?

Thanks,
Kevin

[ScottyEdits13]

Well thanks for checking. I'm still unresolved here have an appoinment with Apple this week but will probably have to switch to intel based computer to finish this project. Premiere is totally unusable for me right now. Wondering if Monterey 12.5.1 would be any better?

[Kevin-Monahan]

Sounds pretty bad, Scotty. Let me know what they find out. I wish you the best.

Thanks,

Kevin

[ScottyEdits13]

Apple said it has to be something with Adobes software. Recomended Running parallels so I spent all night trying to install pemiere pro for windows 11 even gave Adobe virtual acess to my computer and they could not do it, and eneded up advising against it. Looks like I'll be selling this computer or getting very familiar with FCPX again.