Message text:

After Effects error: Not enough memory to create sound buffer. (882016k requested, 848376k available)

Message interpretation:

For previewing audio, not enough memory could be allocated.

Possible causes:

Most likely this is caused by specific compression methods that require decoding before being able to play the audio. It is thinkable, that this will exhaust your audio device resources, especially when using the immediate playback mode introduced in After Effects CS3. Another possible cause is, that there are simply too many audio layers or they are too long and they cannot be mixed and stored in memory.

Resolution or workaround:

If you use compressed sources, convert the audio to PCM files (AIFF/ WAV). For RAM previews, manually set the workspace duration to only the areas your really need.

Message text:

After Effects error: Zero denominator comparing ratios.

Message interpretation:

After Effects was unable to calculate a proper sub-sampling pattern for its own transforms or an effect failed in calculating a pixel value.

Possible causes:

See 17 :: 16

Resolution or workaround:

See 17 :: 16

Message text:

After Effects error: Unable to allocate space for A x B image buffer.

You may be experiencing memory fragmentation. In the Memory & Cache Preferences dialog box, try decreasing the Maximum RAM Cache Size value and selecting the Enable Disk Cache option, increasing Maximum Memory Usage, or both.

Message interpretation:

There is not enough memory on your system to render all pixels of a layer.

Possible causes:

See other "A x B image buffer." errors.

Resolution or workaround:

See other "A x B image buffer." errors.

Message text

After Effects error: Audio output problem. Undefined external error.

Message interpretation:

Audio could not be sent to your audio device due to an unknown error.

Possible causes:

As the message states, the exact source of the problem could not be determined. sometimes the error crops up when you have video capture cards that also handle the sound component and they were not properly initialized.

Resolution or workaround:

Not applicable.

Message text:

After Effects error: Audio output problem. The specified format is not supported or cannot be translated. Use the Capabilities function to determine the support formats.

Message interpretation:

The system was unable to generate audible output from the data provided. The format of the audio is unknown and cannot be played back.

Possible causes:

The file might use advanced audio features such as very high sampling rates beyond 48 kHz or multiple channels. Therefore the audio hardware on your system has a hard time converting it and routing it to the output device you specified. There are two classical scenarios that trigger this message.

If your hardware is a bit older, it may collide with some functions of the newer software. For instance if you install newer DirectSound components on Windows systems, they may lay dorment because your hardware doesn’t support them, yet they may receive function calls from programs and thus cause errors.

The second, far more frequently occuring scenario is that your hardware is too sophisticated for what little is required of it by After Effects. It supports all the latest trends and has all the bells and whistles enabled.

Resolution or workaround:

Turn off any fancies that your audio hardware may provide. Set the output to normal Stereo at 48 kHz. If you’re using the audio components of dedicated video capture hardware, make sure it does not interfere with onboard audio chipsets. Configure your system in such a way, that the most generic audio device is the default device with the highest priority and usually that means the built-in hardware, not the extra one.

Message text:

After Effects error: Error opening file " "%s’.sound channel — cant’ open QuickTime handler (-2004).

Message interpretation:

The audio compression routine used in the Quicktime file is not available on your system.

Possible causes:

The file uses an audio CoDec that is not available on all platforms or is not part of the core install for Quicktime.

Resolution or workaround:

Initiate a Apple Software Update to get the latest version of the software. Find out which compression is used by opening the clip in Quicktime player and choosing Window – Show Movie Information. If the CoDec is provided commercially, you may need to buy it and install it manually.

Message text:

After Effects error: Unimplemented function.

Message interpretation:

After Effects does not support an extended feature of a media format.

Possible causes:

The format you are trying to use contains additional data streams unknown to the program. This can be metadata, multiple audio and video streams, subtitles or text comments.

Resolution or workaround:

Remove the additional data from the file or convert it to a simpler format.

Message text:

After Effects error: Opening sound component (-2166)

Message interpretation:

A sound file or a video file containing audio does not comply with the specifications expected by After Effects.

Possible causes:

The sound component is in a format After Effects does not understand. It is either compressed using
an exotic algorithm, has more than 2 channels or uses a sample rate that cannot be processed.

Resolution or workaround:

Convert the file to a PCM file (WAV, AIFF).

Message text:

After Effects error: Retrieving movie from file "*.swf" — invalid QuickTime media (-2008).

Message interpretation:

Content in the Flash movie could not be rendered. Therefore the movie appears empty and is treated as invalid media.

Possible causes:

In older versions, After Effects relied on Quicktime to load protected Flash player files (SWF). Frames were rendered dynamically on the fly. Because of the nature of this format, this process was often not successful if the file contained scripts, lots of vector elements and other trickery. Apple has stopped to support this format in its Quicktime tools
and it is handled natively. However, it is still far from perfect and only future versions may support all features of the format.

Resolution or workaround:

Not applicable.

Message text:

After Effects error: Retrieving movie from " " — no Quicktime movie found (-2048).

Message interpretation:

The Quicktime movie you are trying to open is either no Quicktime movie at all or its data stream is damaged.

Possible causes:

The file is stored on a defective disc or was damaged otherwise. On systems that use Quicktime as a container for external references such as Avid editing systems you may also have moved or deleted he original media files referenced in the clip.

Resolution or workaround:

Try to restore the files from an undamaged backup system. If it’s possible, re-export your reference movies.