Add back rendering support for H264 codec directly out of AE
Around 2012 you removed the option for rendering a .mp4 file directly out of AE. Please add it back. The work around is to either render in a different codec and compress that in media encoder, or to launch the render directly from media encoder from AE (which is extremely slow and cumbersome, especially when you have large/complex project files). Not sure why removing functionality seemed like a good idea at the time...?

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Anonymous commented
@David Simonton - Exporting h.264 from the media encoder results in colors that do not match what is shown in the composition. They look much more saturated. It's a color space issue and currently there is no way to manage colors in Media Encoder. I never experienced this problem with the old render que option. It's a problem when you've got clients demanding very specific color values. The work around is to de-saturate colors in the comp then guess what the results will be after rendering. No one should have to do this though, it's ridiculous.
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Media Encoder supports H264 in an mp4 container. Will your clients accept that as an alternative?
And you have two ways to store and eyedropper color swatches in AE: use the Adobe Color Themes panel (Window > Extensions > Adobe Color Themes) to create palettes, and you'll see them in the Libraries panel as well.
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robot commented
Why should I have to open a second application just to export a file, when it used to work perfectly from AE render queue. It's ridiculous... There used to be tons of formats to choose from in the render queue. Now it's a graveyard.
It's like writing a document in Word, and to print it, you have to open an additional printing application
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Antoine (Autokroma.com) commented
Also, if you need a quick preview render aescripts.com/aftercodecs/ will be even faster than the previous built-in H264 codec (use Speed=8 and Quality = 80 !)
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Annie commented
It'd be GREAT to be able to get our videos in these formats. Thanks.
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Michael Stephenson commented
I 2nd this ... I require the ability to export H264 straight from After Effects. I used to have it and it was a far superior workflow than adding an extra step to AME. Some people use AE in industries other than film and TV and the removal of H264 export form AE is a major pain **********.
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Franklin Nin commented
A better idea would be simply to add the export dialogue of AME to AE, as PPro has, so all (AE, Ame and PPro) are in harmony with the same export dialogue.
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Giridhar commented
same here, it was a quick alternative to get a small file rendered for preview purposes.
What is the need to remove it!! -
Anonymous commented
If I have a project that has Variable Frame Rate H.264 footage and interpret the footage to Smooth Video and then collect and transfer this project, I find that the Variable Frame Rate option has been reset back to Preserve Audio Sync!
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Mason commented
I use this codec multiple times a day as an editor/animator, absolutely devastated after updating AE and finding this codec missing...
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Matt Goodwin commented
Yeah this is a big bummer. I get you want us to transition to AME when opening it out of AE its soooo slow, and I have to wait minutes for Dynamic Link to sync up if it does at all.
Please bring back all the codecs you stripped out (including HAP!) or make AME more user friendly. Thanks!
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Matt Goodwin commented
Please add this back in! AME is slow much slower and less user friendly. I like to use AME for final delivery but for previews a quick h264 out of AE was so easy. I could be convinced to switch to always using AME if it wasn't so slow to use the UI, even though I have a very fast up to date computer.
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dustin commented
this, a million times this! Removing codecs people use for work and client projects is ridiculous. Then you contact support and they say use the media encoder. Thanks for making life harder and adding more steps. Also the media encoder sucks terribly.
This is a step backwards, so ******! Been using adobe products since 1998 and subscribed as long as I haven't been a student.
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Antoine (Autokroma.com) commented
Hello you can use AfterCodecs for that ! aescripts.com/aftercodecs/
H.264 quality / filesize is even better -
Anonymous commented
I cannot believe they removed this. Everyone I know (viz design people) use H264. It's as if the people who build the products are completely unaware of their users.
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Anonymous commented
Please re-add the h.264 codec in export settings. Thousands of editors and camera ops rely on this every day and it's daft to say that it's obsolete.
For instance - rendering out of AE takes HALF the time that it does in Media Encoder (sometimes longer if 3D and motion blur is involved). Even stranger - the codec still exists in Premiere! So the inconsistency is laughable.
Please fix this. It was an inept decision to remove it in the first place.
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Anonymous commented
Nothing is wrong with them. Export to Media Encoder and choose H.264 and done.
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Bela commented
yes the loading to encoder is very slow! every process in "from"-"to" encoder are incredible slow
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Avinash Lobo commented
With Media Encoder, you don't have to double-export. You can send your composition from AE directly to ME for encoding, and do a single export to H.264.
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Anonymous commented
Try to put in one feedback idea at a time because it makes it easier to upvote the ones you really want :)