Media Offline and Linking Media Not Working

Report · Apr 20, 2025

Hello. I could really use your thoughts on how to fix this problem.

In the timeline, there are clips that are marked "media offline" with a red bar on the bottom. I haven't chanced the location, name, anything on these clips.

My project file was acting squirrely during playback, and one fix I saw was to delete the media cache. I've been working on this project for awhile, so it made sense. I closed the project, reopened Premiere, and deleted the all the media cache.

I have tried right clicking the clip in the timeline, opening the Link Media box to locate and relink the clips (the clips never moved) - and I get the "The importer reported a generic error" message.

I've been working really hard on this project for a very long time. I hope all is not lost.

I am using a PC windows 11, if this is useful.

Thank you.

Chris

Report · Apr 21, 2025

Hi Chris,

We're sorry to hear about this. What is the format & codec of the media that you are trying to link? Also, are you able to import them into a new project?

Thanks,

Sumeet

Report · Apr 22, 2025

Hello Sumeet,
I appreciate your help.

Some of these files are mp4. Some are MOV. Some are taken from my iPhone. Some are taken from a GoPro. Some are sourced from pixabay, etc. I tried right clicking on some of the files to see if I can find codec properties, but don't see anything listed (I may just not be seeing them). I am fairly confident they are h264. I have no problem other files from the same cameras, and no problems of working with these specific files in the project before now.
I have tried importing them into a new project and unfortunately, they do not import. I receive the following error:

"The file has an unsupported compression type."

These files have worked before - for many months - in this project. The video sources (iPhone, GoPro, etc.) have worked for years. A bit of a mystery here.

Thank you,
Chris

Report · Apr 23, 2025

Thanks for the details, Chris. If possible, would you mind sharing a download link for one of the sample media with which you are experiencing import issues? It will help us diagnose the issue properly at our end.

Thanks,

Sumeet

Report · Apr 24, 2025

Hi Sumeet,

I appreciate your help. Here is a download link to a sample of three problem files:

Adobe Premiere Pro Problem Files

There is something close to 100 video clips affected in the Premiere file.

Best,

Chris

Report · Apr 24, 2025

Thanks for the sample media. The files are importing properly at our end. For testing purposes, please navigate to Edit > Preferences > Media & disable hardware accelerated decoding. Restart Premiere Pro & then try to import the files in a new project to see if it's importing.

-Sumeet

Report · Apr 24, 2025

Hi Sumeet,

Thanks. I am trying your suggestions.

I have disabled hardware accelerated decoding and restarted the program. Importing the files still gives me the same error: "The file has an unsupported compression type."

Best,

Chris

Report · Apr 24, 2025

Thanks for trying that. Are the media files saved on an external/network drive? If so, have you tried copying them to an internal drive (like on your Desktop) & importing them from there to see if it's working?

-Sumeet

Report · Apr 24, 2025

Hi Sumeet,

Yes, they are all saved on an external drive.

I have just now tried copying a test media file to both my desktop and another location on my external drive. I then tried to import the test media files into a New Project and then into the Project File which is having the problem. In all cases they have imported successfully.

Feeling somewhat optimistic, I tried importing the original media file from its original source folder and got the "The file has an unsupported compression type" message. I feel like we might be getting closer to a solution.

Best,

Chris

Report · Apr 25, 2025

Is that external drive an SSD or a mechanical drive? Also, are these media files located inside a camera folder structure? If so, try importing them from Media Browser to see if it's making any difference. If it still doesn't import, try copying the media on the same drive to a new folder outside of the root folder & see if it imports from there.

Thanks,

Sumeet

Report · Apr 25, 2025

Hello Sumeet,

Files were not in camera folder structure, so I tried copying the problematic media to a new folder on the same drive and then re-linking each file - and it worked. It seems that renaming the folders also worked. Well, disaster averted! I truly appreciate your help! Thank you.

Best,

Chris

Report · Apr 26, 2025

Hi Sumeet -

Well, almost fixed! I tried exporting a sample of the project... I now get this error message:

"offline material is present in this export and has online proxies attached."

Incidently, playback moniter will show proxy is activated (gray icon lower left) even if I toggle the control off.

Also: before this current issue, I could render selection from the sequence menu. When I try to do this now, it only triggers playback.

Thank you for patience with me.

Best,

Chris

(probably unrelated - might be imagining things - but I thought I was able to "render selection" before now. This only triggers playback now). ...

Report · Apr 21, 2025

Hello Sumeet,
I appreciate your help.

Some of these files are mp4. Some are MOV. Some are taken from my iPhone. Some are taken from a GoPro. Some are sourced from pixabay, etc. I tried right clicking on some of the files to see if I can find codex properties, but don't see anything listed (I may just not be seeing them).
I have tried importing them into a new project and unfortunately, they do not import. I receive the following error:

"The file has an unsupported compression type."

These files have worked before - for many months - in this project. The video sources (iPhone, GoPro, etc.) have worked for years. A bit of a mystery here.

Thank you,
Chris

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