Important: Adobe Warns QuickTime 7 Codecs No Longer Supported

Posted on April 7, 2018 by Larry

We have known for a while that Apple is moving its operating system to support only 64-bit applications. But, a little-known aspect to this that affects filmmakers are that 32-bit media codecs will also stop working.

Not today, but “soon.” Which means that if you have media stored in one of these legacy codecs, you need to think about converting it into something more current.

Earlier this week, Adobe formally announced that it “will no longer support legacy QuickTime 7 era formats and codecs starting from the following product versions:

April 2018 release of Premiere Pro CC (version 12.1)
April 2018 release of After Effects CC (version 15.1)
April 2018 release of Adobe Media Encoder (version 12.1)
April 2018 release of Adobe Audition (version 11.1.0)”

Affected codecs include:

Cinepak
Graphics
Sorenson Video

Read the complete statement from Adobe here.

In my conversations with the Premiere team at Adobe, I learned that converting older files into Apple ProRes 422 (on the Mac) and/or GoPro Cineform (on Windows) would be excellent codecs that protect your assets into the future. While no codec lasts forever, ProRes and Cineform are already 64-bit and actively supported by Apple, GoPro and other developers.

Adobe continues: “Professional codecs typically found in QuickTime movie files, such as ProRes, DNxHD, and Animation, are not affected by this change.”

Keep in mind, it is MUCH easier to convert older codecs now – while the operating system and applications support them, than to wait.

I have contacted Apple to see if other codecs are affected or if their current software will continue to support QuickTime 7 codecs. If I learn more, I’ll update this article.

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15 Responses to Important: Adobe Warns QuickTime 7 Codecs No Longer Supported

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Robert Withers says:

April 23, 2018 at 8:13 am

Thanks for reporting this, Larry. The Adobe announcement reads as highly technical to me — your report is a little simpler — but I am still struggling with the real-world meaning of these pronouncements. I have PR CC timelines in CC “2013” (the first CC) and CC 2014. I _think_ the timelines exist in ProRes 422. I _think_ this means they will not be “obsoleted” by Apple. I was also working in FCP7. Can you mention any real-world types or descriptions of files that may be made inaccessible by Apple? Many thanks.
Larry says:

April 23, 2018 at 10:00 am

Robert:

Premiere and FCP X projects/libraries are safe. (FCP 7, however, will not work at all. Anything you need to save needs to be exported as an XML file using FCP 7.

ProRes files are safe.

This warning means early codecs – such as those listed in the article – will not work. I’ve asked Apple for a more complete list of QuickTime codecs that are in jeopardy, but have not had a response yet.

Larry
Gosset says:

November 17, 2018 at 1:46 pm

Hi Larry,
You says “Cineform are already 64-bit and actively supported by Apple” but on this page (https://support.apple.com/en-md/HT209000), Apple says cineform is a “legacy CODEC”… i thought legacy are only 32 bit codec ??? Have you an explanation ?
Larry says:

November 17, 2018 at 1:54 pm

Gosset:

VERY interesting. When I wrote this article, Apple had not published their KnowledgeBase article. I’ve been asking Apple for this list for the last year. This is the first time they labeled GoPro Cineform and the DNx family from Avid as “legacy.”

When I chatted with the GoPro Cineform folks a while back, they told me it was 64-bit. I’ll do more homework to see what I can learn.

Thanks,

Larry
Michele Kinrade says:

November 27, 2018 at 10:21 am

Hi Larry,
I look forward to seeing which codec you suggest we use on PCs moving ahead. At your suggestion we have been using Cineform for a while now. Should we switch and if so what should we use?

I certainly prefer an option which will let us go cross platform when needed. Is this just forcing a bigger divide between Apple and Windows?

Thanks!
Larry says:

November 27, 2018 at 10:31 am

Michele:

All good questions – I’m trying to find out more definitive answers. Hopefully, by the end of the week.

Larry
Christopher Forsyth says:

December 19, 2018 at 3:04 pm

Any updates on this?
Is ProRes 4444XQ the best to use for cross platform and support of Alpha channels?
Larry says:

December 19, 2018 at 5:10 pm

Christopher:

My first choice is ProRes 4444, which support 12-bit depth files and alpha channels. I’d only use ProRes 4444 XQ if you were working with HDR media.

Larry
Dave Morgan says:

May 11, 2019 at 7:51 pm

still confused.
I used FC 7 to edit and export Quicktime files in the following formats:
DV 25
HDV
XDCAM EX

Are my exports going to be un-readable by the next Mac OS and FC 10?
Larry says:

May 12, 2019 at 7:34 am

Dave:

Maybe. FCP 7 doesn’t run in Mojave and definitely won’t run in whatever comes next.

QuickTime Player 7 runs in Mojave, but won’t run in what comes next. QuickTime Player (X) runs now and in the future.

DV 25 runs now and in the future.

XDCAM EX runs now and in the future.

The question is HDV. Some versions yes, some versions no. The safest thing to do is start exporting to ProRes 422 from FCP 7, then convert any HDV masters to ProRes 422 using Compressor. Or, you can bring one of your HDV files to a system running the latest version of Mojave and Compressor and open it in Compressor. If you see an error message, you’ll need to convert your media OR don’t upgrade to the next version of macOS.

Larry