Encode video and audio with Adobe Media Encoder

You can select individual files and specify different settings based on the type of video format and quality required for each file, or you can select multiple files and specify the same settings for all of them.

1. Start Adobe Media Encoder by selecting Start > All Programs > Adobe Media Encoder (Windows), or open the folder that contains the Adobe Media Encoder application, and double click the application icon (Macintosh).

2. In Adobe Media Encoder , add source video or audio clips, Adobe Premiere Pro sequences, or Adobe After Effects compositions to the list of files to encode. You can drag a file into the list, or click the Add button and select a file on your computer.

   Note: To add Adobe Premiere Pro sequences or Adobe After Effects compositions to the list of files to encode, you must use the File > Add Adobe Premiere Pro sequences or File > Add Adobe After Effects Compositions menu commands. These file types cannot be dragged into the list of files to encode.

   • To add video or audio clips, drag a file into the list, or click the Add button and select a file on your computer.

     You can select multiple video files and drag them into the list of files to encode.

   • To add an Adobe Premiere Pro sequence, select File > Add Adobe Premiere Pro sequences. In the Select Premiere Pro Sequence dialog box, select a Premiere Pro project on your computer, and click OK.

   • To add Adobe After Effects compositions, select File > Add Adobe After Effects Compositions. In the Select After Effects Compositions dialog box, select After Effects compositions on your computer, and click OK.

3. Click the Format menu and select a format with which to encode the video or audio clip.

4. Click the Preset menu, and select an encoding preset suitable for your intended application.

   Choosing a format automatically makes available a list of associated presets designed for particular delivery scenarios (for example, the Apple iPod Video Small preset for the H.264 format). Choosing a preset activates the appropriate options in the various settings panels (Video, Audio, and so on).

5. Verify that the export profile you’ve selected is appropriate for your intended application.

6. Enter a filename for the encoded file. If you don’t specify a filename, Adobe Media Encoder uses the filename of the source video clip.

   You can specify a destination folder in which to save the encoded file relative to the folder containing the source video clip. When specifying a destination folder:

   • The destination folder you specify must already exist. If you specify a folder that does not exist, an error message informs you that the file cannot be encoded because the folder cannot be found.

   • When specifying a folder, separate the folder name and the filename using either a forward slash (/) or backward slash (\) (Windows), or a forward slash (/) (Macintosh).

     You can specify a folder in which to save encoded files using the Adobe Media Encoder Preferences.

7. Do one of the following:

   • Select Edit > Export Settings to further adjust the encoding settings, embed cue points, or to modify the size or playback length of the video clip using the crop and trim controls.

   • Click OK to close the Export Settings dialog box.

8. Click Start Queue to begin encoding your files.

   Adobe Media Encoder starts encoding the first file in the video encoding list. While a file is being encoded, the Status column of the video encoding list provides information on the status of each video:

   Encoding

   indicates that the file is currently being encoded. Adobe Media Encoder encodes only one file at a time.

   Waiting

   indicates that the file is in the encoding queue but has not been encoded. You can remove a file from the queue that has not been encoded or that is not being encoded.

   Encoding Complete icon 

   Indicates that the specified file has been successfully encoded.

   Error icon 

   Indicates that the user canceled the encoding process while the file was being encoded.

   Warning icon 

   Indicates that Adobe Media Encoder encountered an error when attempting to encode the specified file. Errors are recorded to a log file.

   Note: You can click the status icon to display the error log to troubleshoot any encoding errors you encounter.

   If you exit and restart Adobe Media Encoder , or stop and restart the queue, a dialog box appears that lets you select the file to encode.

9. The encoded files are saved to the same folder as the source video files with the filename extension of the export format appended to the filename to identify them. If you encode the same file more than once, an incremental number is appended to the filename for each additional encoding.