Runner / Guides

Convert any video
for Premiere Pro.

One page with the commands that turn a file Premiere refuses into one it accepts. Check first, then pick the command for the job you are doing.

Step one: find out what you actually have

Do not convert blindly. One command tells you both streams:

ffprobe -v error -show_entries stream=codec_type,codec_name,width,height \
        -of csv=p=0 "yourfile.mp4"

What the answers mean for Premiere:

Codec	Premiere	Do
h264 / avc1	Fine	Nothing
hevc / h265	Usually fine	Convert if playback stutters
av1 / av01	Fails	Convert the video
vp9 / vp09	Fails	Convert the video
aac	Fine	Nothing
opus	Silent	Convert the audio

For normal editing: H.264

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx264 -crf 18 -preset slow \
       -pix_fmt yuv420p -c:a aac -b:a 192k output.mp4

• -crf 18 is visually near lossless. Lower means better and bigger. 18 to 20 is the sensible band for editing.
• -preset slow trades time for a smaller file. Use veryfast if you are in a hurry.
• -pix_fmt yuv420p is not optional. Without it you can produce a file Premiere still rejects.

For grading: DNxHR or ProRes

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v dnxhd -profile:v dnxhr_hq \
       -pix_fmt yuv422p -c:a pcm_s16le output.mov

Holds up far better through a grade. Files are several times larger, so check your disk before batching a folder.

Audio only, when the video is fine

If the picture is fine and only the sound is missing, do not re-encode the video. Copy it through and convert only the audio. Seconds instead of minutes.

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v copy -c:a aac -b:a 192k output.mp4

Faster conversions using your GPU

If you have a recent NVIDIA card, hardware encoding turns a 4K conversion from slow into near real time. Quality is slightly below libx264 at the same file size, which rarely matters for an intermediate file.

ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v h264_nvenc -preset p5 -rc vbr -cq 21 \
       -pix_fmt yuv420p -c:a aac -b:a 192k output.mp4

Intel Quick Sync is h264_qsv, AMD is h264_amf. If the command errors, your ffmpeg build or driver does not support that encoder, and libx264 always works.

Converting a whole folder

for %f in (*.webm) do ffmpeg -i "%f" -c:v libx264 -crf 18 ^
    -pix_fmt yuv420p -c:a aac "converted_%~nf.mp4"

Getting ffmpeg

On Windows the usual source is the gyan.dev builds. Download the essentials build, unzip it, and add the bin folder to your PATH so ffmpeg works from any directory. Confirm with ffmpeg -version.