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Cannot import some mp4 videos into After Effects
Hi all,
since yesterday I’ve been having some trouble with importing some mp4 video files on After Effects. Some videos that I was able to import with no issues now cannot be imported into After Effects. (I have only experienced this issue with some mp4 files, while quicktime files seem to work properly).
I get the following error message (in Spanish)
Which roughly translates to: After Effects warning: there was an issue with the file “C:\Users\…”. Data file: Parsing error:”dataOutline”, invalid JSON.
I have never worked with JSON and I don’t understand where the issue might be coming from, because, as I’ve said, up until yesterday I was able to import the videos with no problem. Is there something that I am missing or doing wrong? Or has something changed recently on After Effects? The videos that I am able to import also seem different. The video layer of the mp4 files that I am able to import does not have the transform properties, so I can’t animate its position or opacity, for instance, however with the quicktime files this is not an issue, as the transform properties of the video layer do appear.
I have tried updating After Effects with no luck. I am currently on version 15.1.2 (Build 69), on a Windows 7 machine.
Thank you for your help.
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6 Replies
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It sounds like Ae is trying to interpret MP4 files as a data source for data-driven animation [link], which it obviously should not be doing!
I’d suggest you try resetting your Ae preferences. Close Ae, then hold Ctrl+Alt+Shift while starting After Effects.
Walter Soyka
Designer & Mad Scientist at Keen Live [link]
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
@keenlive | RenderBreak [blog] | Profile [LinkedIn] -
Hi Walter, thank you for your response. I tried what you suggested, but the problem seems to persist.
Also, when I open After Effects, I get this error message:
Which translates to: After Effects warning: error when loading the following plugins. Reinstall the following plugins: C:/Program Files\Adobe…
This also never happened until the same day the problem with mp4 files started happening, and AE won’t open unless I click Ok on the error message. I tried looking for this plugin online but I can’t find a source. Maybe the two issues are related?
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Very likely so!
This looks like a codec pack from MainConcept. Have you installed any new software recently?
You might be able to manually remove the MainConcept folder from C:\Program Files\Adobe\Common\Plug-ins\7.0\MediaCore.
Make sure all your Adobe apps are closed, then drag that MainConcept folder of our MediaCore and onto your desktop. Relaunch Ae and see if it works better.
Walter Soyka
Designer & Mad Scientist at Keen Live [link]
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
@keenlive | RenderBreak [blog] | Profile [LinkedIn] -
I have not installed any new software recently, so I can’t understand what happened, but your suggestion has indeed worked and now everything seems to work just fine!
Is there anyway to mark the answer as correct, in case someone else has the same issue?
Thank you so much Walter! -
Glad to hear it, Héctor!
You might want to keep those plugins around, just in case you need to move them back in to play some other kind of media. They are not part of the standard install, though, so you should only need them for something custom.
Other than pressing the Like button on a post, I don’t think there’s a way to mark an issue as solved.
Walter Soyka
Designer & Mad Scientist at Keen Live [link]
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
@keenlive | RenderBreak [blog] | Profile [LinkedIn] -
Hi there,
I just became a member of the Creative Cow comunity, for one reason only; to say thank you.
I had the same problem and couldnt find an answer anywhere, i did what you sugested and the problem is solved.
Thank you,
Marcus -
Hello, +1 on marcus’s thankfull message. I also joined the community just to say thank you, as this is the only thread that led to a solution amongst a slew of unfruitful suggestions on similar threads. Fixing this ancient error was looking hopeless until I found this one, thank you !
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