HEVC Codec?

Hi,

I used Adobe Rush several times and had great success with it, but it has been a few months.

Now, I am attempting to create a video project, and am receiving messages and issues I never had before.

When going to share/export the file, I am first getting a notification that the HEVC Codec is required for this and that I now have to use an Adobe paid plan to get this. Nevertheless, after clicking okay, the export gets about halfway through, then the app freezes. No matter which preset I choose, this happens.

Upon opening and reloading my file, all preview playback has stopped working. I can hear the audio track, but none of the videos are playing back.

I do not think system is causing an issue; I have an 8-core Ryzen CPU and a Radeo 6750XT - not a workstation GPU, but still decent. I used to use rush without issue on a budget laptop.

A few questions.

1 - Has this "paid user" requirement changed? Did I miss this somehow? I was considering paying for an adobe software package after being happy with the program, but now...this is just nickling-and-diming. I hope I don't have to pay a subscription just for a codec to export a short video.

2 - How do I get the project, which I spent several hours on, to play again? 

Any help and clarification would be appreciated, as right now, I'm not very thrilled with Adobe products--and this is not a very good way to showcase why someone should upgrade to a paid subscription.