Explorer 1.0.1 · Available now

See it before
you import it.

Explorer previews your footage, stills, PSDs and audio right inside After Effects, decoded by its own media server. Find the shot, watch it play in the panel, then double-click to drop it into your comp. You never leave the app.

Get Explorer How the engine works
HostsAE 17.0+ / PR 13+
DeliverySigned .zxp
Licence2 devices, permanent

What’s new in 1.0.1

AMV Tools Pro — Explorer Licensed
Decoded previews Editorial assets
Refresh ↻
4KMP4
SeqEXR
PSDLayered
RAWCR2
WavAudio
MovProRes
Double-click to import Straight into the open comp
MP4 MOV MXF MKV EXR DPX PSD C4D CR2 NEF WAV FLAC Image sequences
The preview engine

Anyone can show a thumbnail.
Doing it fast, and correctly, is the work.

Explorer does not ask the browser to guess or the host application to wait. It ships its own media server: a separate compiled process built on FFmpeg. The panel talks to it over a local socket and gets back raw decoded frames, which it paints straight into the grid. No video elements, no re-encoding a thumbnail to PNG first, no blocking After Effects while you browse.

Panel request Decode path Frame delivered amv-media-server.exe · FFmpeg · ws://localhost:9012
100+File types read
2Cache layers
1Decoder process
0Other apps to open
Why it stays quick

Six decisions that keep it fast and honest.

01

Frames, not files

The server decodes with FFmpeg, scales the frame natively and hands the panel raw RGBA that goes straight onto a canvas. Nothing is re-encoded to PNG or JPEG in between.

02

Two cache layers

An LRU frame cache in memory, then a preview cache on disk. Reopen the folder or restart After Effects and the preview is a file read instead of a decode.

03

The cache cannot lie

Every cached frame is keyed by the file’s size and modified time. Re-render a clip and it misses on purpose and decodes again, so you are never looking at a stale frame.

04

One request at a time

The loader is strictly serial with a per-item watchdog, so a huge clip or a broken file cannot stall the grid or spike your CPU while you scroll.

05

Idle means idle

Only the visible tab holds a connection to the decoder, and playback pauses the moment the panel is hidden. visibilitychange

06

Never upscaled

A preview is clamped to the width it was decoded at and only re-decodes when the cell genuinely changes size. Bigger thumbnails stay sharp; small ones stay cheap.

In the panel

Preview first. Import second.

Everything below happens without opening another window.

Native

Real decoded frames

FFmpeg opens the file and returns an actual frame, not an OS icon.

Playback

Play it in place

Hover to play, click the bar to scrub, with a running timecode.

Warm

Second visit is instant

A cached frame is read from disk, so no decode happens at all.

Audio

Hear it, see the shape

Audio previews play with a waveform drawn from the decoded samples.

Accurate

True source size

The details drawer probes the real resolution, not the thumbnail’s.

Sequences

240 frames, one item

Frame sequences collapse into a single entry and import as one piece.

Import

Double-click, done

Lands in the open comp through After Effects’ own importer.

Coverage

Video, audio, RAW, PSD

Over a hundred extensions recognised in one browsing grid.

The difference

Against a plain file browser.

Task A file browser Explorer
Check what a 4K clip actually contains A generic icon, or open another app A decoded frame that plays on hover
Come back to the same folder tomorrow Rebuilds from scratch Reads the cached frames back
Confirm a file’s real resolution A properties dialog, if you are lucky Probed and shown beside the file
Get 12 clips into the open comp Alt-tab, select, drag, hope Multi-select, one import
Handle a 240-frame render sequence 240 rows to scroll past One item, imported at your frame rate
Stay inside After Effects No It is a panel in your workspace
Coverage

Over a hundred file types, in one grid.

Video, audio, stills, camera RAW, layered PSDs, Cinema 4D files and image sequences all get a real decoded preview. Project and preset files are recognised too.

Video

26 types
mp4movmkvwebmavi mxfm4vmtsm2tsmpg wmvflvvobdvts

Decoded frame, hover playback and scrubbing.

Audio

15 types
wavmp3flacaacm4a aifaiffoggogaac3 wmamp2

Plays in the panel with a waveform from the decoded samples.

Stills & camera RAW

35 types
exrdpxtiftiffcr2 nefarworfrafdng pefx3fhdrtgabmp pdf

Including high dynamic range and cinema formats.

Web images

7 types
jpgjpegpnggifwebp svgavif

GIFs import with a cycle loop already applied.

Design & 3D

6 types
psdc4daiepsttfotf

Layered PSDs and Cinema 4D files preview natively; fonts show sample text.

Projects & presets

15 types
aepaepxaetffxprproj mogrtjsxjsoncsvprst

Recognised with their own icons. Keep a same-named preview file beside an .aep or .ffx and Explorer shows that preview instead.

Import

Double-click. It is in your comp.

Explorer imports through After Effects’ own importer, inside a single undo group, and parks the footage in its own project folder so your project stays tidy.

  • Add to the open comp, precompose on import, or replace the selected layers.
  • No comp open? It builds one that matches the footage.
  • Shift or Alt click a batch, then import the whole selection at once.
  • Frame sequences arrive as one footage item, conformed to your frame rate.
  • Drag a file out of the panel and it imports the same way.
Nice touches

The small things you would otherwise do by hand.

  • GIFs come in already looping
  • PDFs convert to shape layers
  • Presets apply to what you have selected
  • It targets the comp you are actually looking at
  • Send to opens a file in Photoshop, Premiere, Illustrator or Topaz
Smart library

Your output, where it really landed.

Four views built on real paths rather than a guess about where files might be. If a source needs setting up, Explorer asks instead of showing you a misleading list.

Recent renders

After Effects

The output paths reported by the render queue, including remembered completed outputs.

Finished encodes

Media Encoder

Full output paths read from Media Encoder’s finished-job records.

Topaz outputs

Your folder

The output folder you choose, because Topaz writes wherever you tell it to.

Recent downloads

Your system

Your real Downloads location, even when it has been moved off its default drive.

Also in the panel

The rest of the day-to-day.

Profile folder

Pick the folder that holds your working assets and browse it, and its subfolders, in the panel.

Search and sort

Results ordered by how well they match what you typed, in both Grid and List.

Grid and list

Switch layout without losing your place. List rows keep the live preview and the right type icons.

Send to

Open a file in Photoshop, Premiere, Illustrator or Topaz. The option only appears when it fits.

Collections

Drag files into your own collections to gather shots from different folders without moving anything on disk.

Resource readout

Live CPU, memory and preview-cache figures in the toolbar, plus a low-load mode for weaker machines.

Specification

Built to fit the edit you already have.

Host applications
Adobe After Effects 17.0+
Adobe Premiere Pro 13+
Preview engine
Native media server
FFmpeg decode, RAM + disk cache
Package
Signed .zxp
Explorer extension
Licence model
2 permanent devices
one-time purchase
Offline window
Up to 30 days
between licence checks
Support
amvtoolspro.com/support
support@amvtoolspro.com
Product line

Two extensions. Clear status.

Product 01 Available now
AMV Tools Pro

Explorer

The finished extension available today. Native preview engine, Smart Library views, one-click import and compatible-app handoff.

Get Explorer
Product 02 Coming soon
AMV Tools

Pro

A separate AMV Tools extension is in development. Its feature set, price, and release date will be shared here when it is ready.

In development · no purchase link
Pricing

Simple pricing.

One-time purchase

AMV Tools Pro Explorer

One-time no subscription
  • Signed .zxp for After Effects 17.0+ and Premiere Pro 13+
  • Two permanent devices on one key
  • The native preview engine and its disk cache
  • Keeps working offline for up to 30 days between checks
  • New release notices delivered straight to the panel
  • Email support at support@amvtoolspro.com
Get Explorer

Current price and payment options are shown at the Payhip checkout.

Questions

Frequently asked.

Two. Your key activates two permanent devices, for example a desktop and a laptop. It is a one-time purchase, not a subscription.

The two device slots are permanent, so there is no self-service transfer. Email support@amvtoolspro.com for a genuine hardware change and we will reset your devices.

Because it does not rely on the operating system or the browser to make a thumbnail. A separate media server process decodes the real frame with FFmpeg, keeps it in a memory cache and writes it to a disk cache, so the second time you open that folder there is no decode at all. Requests are handled one at a time, so browsing never floods your CPU.

Decoding happens in a separate process, not inside After Effects, and only one preview is decoded at a time. Only the visible tab stays connected to the decoder, and playback pauses as soon as the panel is hidden. There is also a low-load mode and a live CPU, memory and cache readout in the panel if you want to keep an eye on it.

Video, audio, stills, camera RAW, layered PSDs, Cinema 4D files and image sequences are decoded and shown as real frames, with playback for video and audio. Project, preset, script and data files are recognised with their own icons; if you keep a same-named preview file next to an .aep or .ffx, Explorer shows that preview instead.

Only for the first activation. After that Explorer keeps working offline for up to 30 days before it asks you to reconnect and refresh the licence.

No. AMV Tools Pro Explorer is the released extension. AMV Tools Pro is a separate extension still in development, with no purchase link yet.

Ready to install

Stop guessing which file it was.

Preview it, play it, import it, all inside After Effects. Two devices, one payment.

Get Explorer Open support