Cannot import older Cineform AVIs in CC apps

[Graham_Kay]

I'm having trouble importing Cineform AVI files into Premiere, AME or After Effects.  I get a message saying "The source files may be corrupted. Please check that it is a valid file."  (Screenshot below.)

These files were created 8 years ago when I was using Cineform Aspect HD - ie before the codecs were bundled with Premiere.

No problem with files encoded with current CC apps, only these older ones.  I've checked and the relevant dll files are in the right folder.  Has something changed in the codec and is it possible to install an older version of the codec so that I can access these files?

[Ann Bens]

These files were created 8 years ago when I was using Cineform Aspect HD

that might be the issue.

Even if you had an older codec dont think it will work with Pr.

I remember a time ago I uninstalled CF codec (from Neoscene) because they did not work.

Try contacting GoPro.

[Averdahl · Accepted solution]

You can try to install GoProCineFormDecoders. I have and always install GoProCineFormDecoders-1.2.0.127 on my editing machine to being able to open older CineForm files. I uploaded it for you: Microsoft OneDrive - Access files anywhere. Create docs with free Office Online.

Close Premiere Pro before you install it.

But, it may not work for your issue since Premiere Pro reports that the file may be damaged. If the codec is missing it will say that, that the file cannot be opened since the codec is missing.

I downloaded GoProCineFormDecoders-1.2.0.127 many years ago and this is just for decoding CineForm files and it installs without issues on Windows 10.

[Graham_Kay]

Hey, that's brilliant.  I can now import the files, as normal.

It is odd that the error message mentioned corruption rather than missing codecs - misleading!

Thanks so much for this.

[Averdahl]

Hey, that's brilliant.  I can now import the files, as normal.

Great that it worked!

[Bluehydrant]

Thank You Very Much, I was working on a family Christmas Movie and had lots of archived Cineform AVI files of Film-scanned 8mm film files saved in Cineform AVI format from my fathers movie camera. They would not import on my new system. Old System long recycled. Thanks to your help I was able to convert the files to a usable format. It needs to be easer to find this CODEC. 

[Rafael31025158j6ti]

I'm having this issue in 2023 and the file is no longer available. Would you be so kind to share it again?

Thank you!

[Prrmjau]

TACK! THANK YOU! 
I have been after the CineForm decoders for YEARS, no joke! Nothing has worked, but your shared file did the job. So extremely thankful! I now have 40 GB of footage from my 2007 trip to the US I can finally edit! 🙂

[RjL190365]

What Averdahl suggested was a good one. However, that does not excuse the fact that the Cineform AVI form has now been all but abandoned by GoPro, which killed the one app that created those particular files. Only Cineform QuickTime (MOV) files are currently natively supported in Premiere Pro.

[Steven L Gotz]

Thank You so very much.
I was one of the very first to shoot with a Sony HDV camera. The FX-1. Before Adobe included the codec, Cineform could help me out. But it was expensive and being a hobbyist I could not justify the expense. So I offered the company a banner on my web site. They didn't have a banner, so I made one for them.

Well, 15 years later, I still have some files on external drives, and even a few on internal drives, that I really don't want to lose. So thank you for helping with this. It is greatly appreciated.

-- Steven Gotz (on my wife's PC)