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Missing CODEC

PostPosted: Wed May 09, 2018 12:20 pm
by Bobby
I am trying to work on one of my old video projects, now that I am somewhat "back".

When I open an old project in PRE10 (my latest version) the Media files come in OK, but the timeline is blank, obviously losing all my work.

If I load up PRE7 which was probably used to create the project, it all looks OK but when I try to create a DVD I get an error popup that it needs to load a component (CODEC?) for MPEG2 and gives me a URL at Adobe to get a code. Of course, the URL is old and 404.

I am thinking I need one of the global CODEC packages installed, but don't remember which one we used to recommend. Can someone refresh my memory or provide any other insight to get PRE7 running?

Thanks much...

Re: Missing CODEC

PostPosted: Wed May 09, 2018 12:25 pm
by Bobby
Memories clicking in. K-Lite Codec Pack ???

Re: Missing CODEC

PostPosted: Wed May 09, 2018 8:25 pm
by Steve Grisetti
If the project was created in version 7, you definitely need to finish it in version 7. You can open older projects in newer versions of Premiere Elements.

That said, older versions of the program (like version 7) needed to activate components (like the MPEG component) which were provided by third-party sources (in this case Main Concept). This they did automatically the first time you used them by contacting Adobe or Main Concept over the internet.

Unfortunately those web links went away a very long time ago. So there may be no way to activate the component necessary to produce a DVD from version 7.

One possible solution is to install the free trial of version 2018. This will install the current MPEG component, and version 7 might well be able to use it.

The other solution is to just output your finished movie from version 7 as a DV-AVI. You can then load this finished movie into version 10 and use version 10 to author and output your DVD.

But installing codec packs won't fix things. In fact, some codec packs can actually damage your system by overwriting standard codecs with similar but not standard codecs. So, although the K Lite codec pack is pretty benign, as a general rule it's best not to go tinkering with the codecs that are installed by the programs you're editing with.

Re: Missing CODEC

PostPosted: Fri May 11, 2018 11:43 am
by Bobby
Thanks Steve.