Why drop support for .mkv and disrupt business?

[table30]

Why in the name of all that's good and holy would Adobe suddenly decide to drop native support for a widely used codec in release (v13.1.3), without notice, causing major business disruption for clients who rely on it for their core business?

[basil1891]

I have no answer to your (rhetorical?) question, but I can suggest a workaround for anyone interested:

Re: problem with mkv format

[FelixARN]

basil1891​ thanks for the suggestion, I used to Remux to mp4 using OBS, which I found super quick and easy. It's a shame I have to go back to using that extra step in my workflow because .mkv was a very convenient format to work in on my end. I would also like to know why it was removed and if there is intention to support it again down the line. I know I infrequently, but regularly, had crashes when importing .mkv files, so I can only hope that it is a temporary change while that is stabilised, but I'm not sure.

[table30]

We use .mkv in OBS because the .mp4's that OBS generates have audio sync issues in Premiere. Now Premiere has dropped support for our workaround, with no explanation or warning.

Nice.

[FelixARN]

Same here. Fortunately I'm in a position where the de-sync doesn't matter for the content I work on, but I feel your pain. Let me know if you find something that works without de-syncing.

[basil1891]

Are your mkv's of variable framerate?

[table30]

No, just straight 29.97 fps capture.

[basil1891]

table30  wrote

No, just straight 29.97 fps capture.

In that case I don't see why there should be any sync issues. Have you tried direct (not in OBS) re-muxing via ffmpeg as I suggested?

Are there audio sync issues still?

[table30]

The sync issue in Premiere is with OBS's .mp4's (not it's .mkv's)

[basil1891]

table30  wrote

The sync issue in Premiere is with OBS's .mp4's (not it's .mkv's)

Ok, but as a workaround for disabled .mkv support, have you tried to remux/repack your mkv's into mp4/mov via ffmpeg, as I suggested in my 1st reply? Does a repacked clip have the same audio sync issues in Premiere as the mp4 generated by OBS or not?

[table30]

basil1891, the ffmpeg remux on the command line worked excellent, thank you.

Our dilemma is that we do live editing in the .mkv format, and then need a second pass of revisions. Full season of content. Too late for remuxing.

So, the current work-around is rolling back the Premiere version to edit the .mkv sequences, and then converting the .prproj's for our other editing work at Premiere Project Downgrader - Free prproj Version Convert to avoid the version conflicts.

[FelixARN]

table30​ I found this when looking further into it; looks like we missed this memo, and won't be in luck any time soon. MKV support has only been around since early version 12, so it's a shame to lose it so soon, but at least remuxing is quick. I hope basil1891​'s solution works for you!

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hi table30,

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Why in the name of all that's good and holy would Adobe suddenly decide to drop native support for a widely used codec in release (v13.1.3), without notice, causing major business disruption for clients who rely on it for their core business?

.MKV format was never "officially supported" in any release, and is still not included in the supported formats documentation, but has "worked" for import over the past couple of versions—unofficially.

With the current implementation, that support needed to be removed, so we did mention it in the release notes for those that relied on that support.

Please add your upvote for the following feature request: Restore MKV Format Support – Adobe video & audio apps

Thanks,
Kevin

[table30]

Thanks Kevin,

But neither your response nor Mr. Philpott's blog post explains WHY Adobe needed to drop playback support for this codec. When you include a functionality in your software (even unofficially), it has the tendency to generate confidence and expectation that you will continue to support it (otherwise, why include it in the first place)?

Is .mkv playback such a burden on Premiere's code base that it just NEEDED to go? As basically a footnote in a minor version release? Is it worth pissing clients off and causing possibly catastrophic business consequences for them, when they are suddenly unable to edit or process any of their video footage in a proven useful codec?

I guess you have no clue what this 'inconvenience' as you termed it entails. We are now faced with an entire season's worth of content that will require a software rollback to edit, along with all the .pprog version conflict nightmares that is already presenting. My apologies but I've been up for the last 18 hours dealing with this 'inconvenience' that will just keep on giving into the future.

Thanks for that.

P.S. the only reason we have to use .mkv is because Premiere cannot edit .mp4 files recorded in OBS without audio sync issues. So what you've done is basically created a technological impasse for clients who are using a workaround necessitated by the deficiencies of your own software. Well worth the subscription price.

[Bruce Bullis]

As Eric mentioned in the blog post, .mkv support was dropped because usage was very low.

The PPro team is focused on improving stability and performance; removing support for formats we've never officially supported simplifies our code base, and diminishes our testing load.

I've emailed you directly about getting access to previous versions.

Have you tried the OBS-generated .mp4 files in a current release of PPro? I believe we've made improvements to .mp4 audio sync, in 13.0 and 13.1. It may still go out-of-sync, but it seems worth confirming, before attempting to roll back to previous PPro versions.

[table30]

I still don't understand why this was done in a minor version release, rather than in a major annual release (when clients are more apt to monitor big changes and the removal of functionality their businesses rely on). I just don't think it's very wise to ship software that is going to break things (read: disrupt business) in a minor version release, no matter how low the usage is deemed to be.

It doesn't seem to be a customer-centric approach. We are really suffering needlessly because of this. We are one of the top online education platforms in the world, and process hundreds of hours of video content every year. 

[Kevin-Monahan]

Moving over to Video Lounge since this is not a troubleshooting issue.

Thanks,
Kevin

[Kevin-Monahan]

Hello again table30,

• Neither your response nor Mr. Philpott's blog post explains WHY Adobe needed to drop playback support for this codec.
• Is .mkv playback such a burden on Premiere's code base that it just NEEDED to go?
• Is it worth pissing clients off
• I guess you have no clue

Sorry, I am in support and have no control, nor am I privy to, these kinds of decisions (or the reasons behind them being made), to be honest. We in support who monitor the forums are here solely to triage existing technical problems.

If you want to let your feelings known about such moves by the product team, feel free to voice your complaint from the link I gave you in an earlier post. That is where they monitor customer comments.

I did not mean to diminish your pain in absorbing this feature removal. I'm sure it is no picnic, so I apologize. Again, we are in the support realm and have no control over the decisions of the product team.

we have to use .mkv is because Premiere cannot edit .mp4 files recorded in OBS without audio sync issues.

• Have you considered alternatives to OBS software that can do the job of recording streams that provide files in an editable intermediate codec more reliably?
  • Wirecast offers direct connection to BlackMagic devices for good solid recording of live streams that drop right into Premiere Pro. Check that out.

Thanks,
Kevin

[Bruce Bullis]

Here is why.

https://theblog.adobe.com/changes-to-mkv-format-support-in-premiere-pro-and-adobe-media-encoder/

[CatRin]

Damn … Same Problem here. In the middle of a huge Project and now everything is "offline".