There was an error decompressing audio or video premiere pro

A lot of Premiere Pro users reported that they are encountering an error when trying to decompress audio or video files. More often than not, it has been noted that the error is caused because of unsupported file format, but there are instances reported by users when the format that was previously working fine, started having some weird issues. Following is the exact error message users see.

Adobe Premiere Pro Error Message: There was an error decompressing audio or video

In this post, we will talk about this issue in detail and see what you can do to resolve it.

If Premiere Pro says There Was an error decompressing Audio or Video, follow the solutions to resolve the issue.

1. Make sure that the file format is supported
2. Change the format from .MP3 to .WAV
3. Clear Premiere Pro Cache
4. Rename or Remove Media Cache Folder
5. Compress files with a different tool
6. Reinstall the app

Let us talk about them in detail.

1] Make sure that the file format is supported

The very first thing you should do is check if the file format that you are using is supported. Adobe supports most file formats, you can go to helpx.adobe.com and check all the supported file formats for yourself. In case the file that you were using has a format that’s not on the list, it won’t work. If you want to make it work, use programs such as Adobe Media Encoder or Adobe Audition. They will change the format of the file, and hopefully, this issue will be resolved.

2] Change the format from .MP3 to .WAV

Some users were able to resolve the issue just by changing the extension of the file from .MP3 to .WAV. The process to do the same is pretty simple; we don’t even need a third-party app; follow these steps to do the same.

1. Open File Explorer by Win + E.
2. Go to the location where your MP3 file is stored.
3. Click on View > Show > File name extension.
4. Right-click on the file and select Rename.
5. Remove .mp3 and add .wav.
6. You will be asked to confirm your action; click Yes when prompted.

Finally, add the file to Premiere Pro and see if the issue is resolved.

3] Clear Premiere Pro Cache

You can also encounter the said error if the cache of Premiere Pro is corrupted. There are various factors that are responsible for corrupting your cache. However, since it is a cache and not data of the app that’s corrupted, we can easily clear it without any repercussions. To clear the cache of Premiere Pro, follow the prescribed steps.

1. Open Adobe Premiere Pro on your computer.
2. Now, click on the Edit option.
3. Select Preferences > Media Cache.
4. Click on the Delete associated with Remove Media Cache Files.
5. Now, select Delete all media cache files or Delete unused media cache files and click Ok to confirm.

Finally, restart your app and see if the issue is resolved.

4] Rename or Remove Media Cache Folder

Removing the cache of the Adobe app is one thing, but sometimes, this issue can be caused due to corruption in the Media Cache folder. We are not going to remove the folder; instead, we will be renaming the folder, making it impossible to find the folder; hence, it will be forced to create a new one. To do the same, first of all, close all the processes related to Adobe Premiere. For that, open Task Manager, right-click on the process, and select End Task.

Open File Explorer and go to the following location.

C:UsersUser-NameAppDataRoamingAdobeCommon

Change the User-Name to your actual username.

Go to Cache and rename the folders to Media Cache Files_OLD and Media Cache_OLD respectively.

If this doesn’t work, try removing the Media Cache. In case the issue is caused due to corruption in the Media cache, removing the same will do the trick. To make alterations, follow the prescribed steps.

1. Launch Premiere Pro app.
2. Navigate to File > Preferences > Media Cache
3. Click on the Delete button associated with Delete Media Cache Files.
4. Delete all caches.

Finally, open the app and check if the issue is resolved.

5] Compress files with a different tool

If Adobe Premiere Pro doesn’t work, you should decompress the file with a different tool. If you are unable to import or make any adjustments to that file, we can say that the file is corrupted. If you can alter the file using an alternate tool, move to the next solution, as we will try to repair the Adobe Premiere Pro.

6] Reinstall the app

If nothing works, your last resort is to reinstall the Premiere Pro. This might look like a bit of a hassle, but if, after making all the alterations, you are still not able to decompress a file, we can say that there is something wrong with your app. So, go ahead and uninstall Premiere Pro. Then install a fresh copy of the same to resolve the issue.

Hopefully, you can resolve the issue using the solutions mentioned in this post.

Read: How to save or export Premiere Pro projects to MP4

How do I fix audio error in Premiere Pro?

It depends on what error you are seeing in Premiere Pro while using an audio file. However, if you get an error while decompressing it, you need to go through the above-mentioned solutions. That said, you need to ensure the file format first. Then, you can clear the cache, remove the Media Cache folder, and compress the file with a different tool.

How do you fix an importing error in Premiere Pro?

If you are unable to import a file, first of all, check if the file format is supported. We have mentioned a link to the official Adobe website, go to that and see if the file you are trying to import is supported or not. If you still cannot import files, check the solution mentioned in this post.

Read: Premiere Pro crashes or stops working on Windows.

Rinsky	#1 Posted : Tuesday, June 7, 2016 10:57:22 AM(UTC)
Rank: Advanced Member Groups: Registered Joined: 8/2/2013(UTC) Posts: 454 Thanks: 38 times Was thanked: 37 time(s) in 33 post(s)	Just curious what programs you’re using to edit the recorded instant replay files in post production. I was never able to add the exported files to Adobe Premiere CS6. There was always some kind of decode error pop up window. I thought, that the problem was that I used and old Premiere Pro version, but recently I installed the Adobe Premiere CC and have the same problem. I converted the files to mp4s with the Freemake Video Converter to edit them, but now I somehow only get black video files when converting them. What is your workflow? Can you add those files to Premiere? Do you convert them beforehand? What converting software do you use?

stigaard	#2 Posted : Wednesday, June 8, 2016 9:29:22 AM(UTC)
Rank: Advanced Member Groups: Registered Joined: 5/20/2015(UTC) Posts: 493 Location: Copenhagen, Denmark Thanks: 370 times Was thanked: 100 time(s) in 79 post(s)	Hi Rinsky. I’ve had a bug where exported replay files from vMix is not able to be imported into Adobe Premiere Pro the first time I tried, but when I tried to import the files for the second time in the same project, the files were loaded correctly.
	WWW BLOG

Rinsky	#3 Posted : Wednesday, June 8, 2016 4:37:05 PM(UTC)
Rank: Advanced Member Groups: Registered Joined: 8/2/2013(UTC) Posts: 454 Thanks: 38 times Was thanked: 37 time(s) in 33 post(s)	Hi stigaard and thanks for your reply. I just tried it again and I don’t have the luck to make them load correctly. It still says «There was an error decompressing audio or video»

Rinsky	#4 Posted : Wednesday, July 6, 2016 7:22:59 PM(UTC)
Rank: Advanced Member Groups: Registered Joined: 8/2/2013(UTC) Posts: 454 Thanks: 38 times Was thanked: 37 time(s) in 33 post(s)	Thanks for your reply. I just installed a testversion of Edius just for that. Never worked with it before and you’re right. I started the Edius, drag and dropped the video into the program and everything worked just find. Does anybody know why it works with Edius, but it won’t work with Premiere?

Rinsky	#5 Posted : Sunday, August 7, 2016 10:39:11 PM(UTC)
Rank: Advanced Member Groups: Registered Joined: 8/2/2013(UTC) Posts: 454 Thanks: 38 times Was thanked: 37 time(s) in 33 post(s)	I have another question: Do you know if it’s possible to get a 4:2:2 sampling with the instant replay recording?

Rinsky	#6 Posted : Thursday, January 5, 2017 3:01:25 PM(UTC)
Rank: Advanced Member Groups: Registered Joined: 8/2/2013(UTC) Posts: 454 Thanks: 38 times Was thanked: 37 time(s) in 33 post(s)	Ok, I want to try this one more time, because there must be someone who knows how to import instant replay files into Adobe Premiere CS6 or CC

IceStream	#7 Posted : Thursday, January 5, 2017 10:34:24 PM(UTC)
Rank: Advanced Member Groups: Registered Joined: 3/7/2012(UTC) Posts: 2,511 Location: Canada Thanks: 32 times Was thanked: 481 time(s) in 452 post(s)	@ Rinsky Are you exporting and saving individual clips? How well do they play in other applications? I’ve always struggled with getting PP to recognize anything other than AVI files, so if I know I’ll be editing, I usually don’t try any other format to avoid the frustration. Ice
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JimJacobs	#8 Posted : Thursday, January 5, 2017 11:08:57 PM(UTC)
Rank: Advanced Member Groups: Registered Joined: 3/8/2016(UTC) Posts: 123 Location: Anniston, Alabama Was thanked: 18 time(s) in 16 post(s)	We bring them into Premiere CC all the time. Sometimes you have to click on the imported file TWICE before Premiere recognizes it and shows a thumbnail…but it works for us.
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Rinsky	#9 Posted : Friday, January 6, 2017 12:01:18 PM(UTC)
Rank: Advanced Member Groups: Registered Joined: 8/2/2013(UTC) Posts: 454 Thanks: 38 times Was thanked: 37 time(s) in 33 post(s)	@IceStream: Both, I export individual clips and also want to use the entire multicamera recording for post production purposes. I think that it doesn’t matter because it’s always a mpeg-ps file, but unfortunatley I always get the «There was an error decompressing audio or video» error in CS6 and when I import them into CC it only shows the media als «offline media» is that the same problem you are talking about, JimJacobs? Update: Just found out that Premiere CC let’s me import older exported clips from instant replay. Those clips were made in September and the only real difference between them and the new ones is the bitrate. Back then I used 50mbit/s, now I’m using 75mbit/s. And those clips were made with different Vmix versions maybe even Vmix 17, don’t remember when I updated to Vmix 18.

Rinsky	#10 Posted : Friday, January 6, 2017 1:14:19 PM(UTC)
Rank: Advanced Member Groups: Registered Joined: 8/2/2013(UTC) Posts: 454 Thanks: 38 times Was thanked: 37 time(s) in 33 post(s)	Ok another update: I imported the file into Premiere Pro CC once more and had the «media offline» message again after the file was pending for a while…BUT…when I right clicked and relinked the files everything worked just fine a is visible in Premiere. The online probleme is that it takes a while for all the files to load and to relink them, but it works now, at least.

Digitalson	#11 Posted : Monday, January 9, 2017 3:03:20 AM(UTC)
Rank: Advanced Member Groups: Joined: 1/17/2016(UTC) Posts: 142 Location: Nj Was thanked: 7 time(s) in 7 post(s)	I have just done this this weekend using the Adobe ndi plugin and it worked great …I just use a network share drive and play right from the timeline into vmix from premiere,and video looked great and no prerendering was needed when using same settings ,well except for effects and transitions.but it was quick

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