Premiere 6.5 problems and HD,

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Michael Slowe
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Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 4:24 pm

Re: Premiere 6.5 problems and HD,

Post by Michael Slowe »

Interesting comments from you both on the question of archiving. Tom's absolutely right, archiving to tape isn't archiving. I have a professional Sony deck (DSR 20 for those that know it) and it's built like a tank, but I wouldn't like to guarantee that it will play my DVCAM cassettes for ever. Any production that I really want to preserve I have taken back into a timeline of my current edit set up and exported them as a QT ProRes 422 HQ file. Those files are stored on (more than one) drives. There is the likelihood though, that ProRes or Quick Time might not be around for all that long so we have to be prepared to transfer files and convert them if necessary at some point.
Peter Copestake
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Location: Colne, Lancashire

Re: Premiere 6.5 problems and HD,

Post by Peter Copestake »

Point taken, Michael, but the Hi8 tapes exist and I was wondering if there was a better way of getting them onto digital. I've got to persevere with my way.
But as people are still following this can I put up a new problem similar to the original?

on a WS project if I 'export timeline>movie' when edit is finished to make a single .avi file it is taking ages to do it and IS CHANGING IT ALL TO 4:3. A setting gone wrong somewhere but where? It may have started going wrong after I connected a Sony Z5 or Canon HV30 to see what happened if I tried to capture HD from them as the tapes wouldn't play from my Sony DSR20. It didn't work as Prem 6.5 cannot handle HD as Tom has already told me, but could it have messed up Premiere settings and how to I reset them, please?
Peter Copestake
tom hardwick
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Re: Premiere 6.5 problems and HD,

Post by tom hardwick »

Just to check Peter. In P6.5 go to your project settings. The frame size should be 720x576.
The pixel aspect ratio should be DV PAL WIDESCREEN 16:9 (1.422).
The frame rate should be 25.00

The image in the little monitor window should look perfectly natural, IE no compression or distortion.

Go to file / export timeline /movie.
Give the exported file a name and click settings. Make sure all those video settings match your timeline settings.

Choose what file type you want. There are options: Microsoft avi, Microsoft DV avi, Canopus DV avi (in my case), QuickTime, MPEG encoder etc etc.

Tom.
Peter Copestake
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Location: Colne, Lancashire

Re: Premiere 6.5 problems and HD,

Post by Peter Copestake »

Thank you once again, Tom. Sorry for delay in responding - I was up very early for me and sent that off before going for hospital appt. (OK so far)
I have done as you say and settings are as you said at all stages on a 45 second project done late last year but results the same = OK up to the export timeline movie stage which took 7 minutes or so and came out 16:9 on the automatic clip .avi window but when I close that and premiere and go to file on D (video) drive and click to open in Windows Media player it opens as a 4:3.

By the way the problem I started with - the widescreen picture in the source window being compressed - had cured itself on a new project though it's still compressed on the project I was working on when I first posted, a mixed format project in which 4:3 footage is normal in source window. The settings on this are as you specified, too.

Do you think it would be a good idea to re-install the 6.5?

Regards,

Peter.
Peter Copestake
tom hardwick
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Joined: Mon Jan 29, 2007 9:59 am

Re: Premiere 6.5 problems and HD,

Post by tom hardwick »

I wouldn't have thought reinstalling P6.5 would be necessary but if you're a confident reinstaller then there's probably no harm in it.
I wouldn't trust Windows media player to play clips in their correct aspect ratio, I find it notoriously quirky in this respect.
I do think though that what you're highlighting has always been a nasty sharp thorn in the side of filmmakers. The transition from 4:3 SD to 16:9 SD using the same pixel count was bound to cause problems. On top of that NTSC used a different pixel count, just to confuse matters. Thank goodness all 1920 x 1080 HD footage uses the same pixels, though frame rates differ all over the place.
Tom.
Peter Copestake
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Location: Colne, Lancashire

Re: Premiere 6.5 problems and HD,

Post by Peter Copestake »

SOLVED! But some mystery remains.
More checking of settings revealed that the compressor on the export settings had changed themselves (I never touch things like this) from Microsoft avi Pal to Cinepak something and the Microsoft PAL wasn't listed as an option though several others were. Uninstalled Premiere and re-installed. No difference, though expected this would put things back to original.
Checked on another computer with same Premiere version used to work OK - I only use this one for duplicating DVDs now - and my boffin neighbour saw that the pixel setting was the 4:3 one 1.067 or whatever and said we'll change export setting to that on faulty computer which, unsurprisingly didn't help!
Set it back to ?1.442 (WS) and all is normal!
Only Compressor settings are now the Microsoft Pal or NTSC, no sign of Cinepak.
Conclusion is that connecting a camera instead of DV deck to computer by firewire while playing with HD and Serif had jinxed export settings.
But why, or why switching to 4:3 and back to 16:9 has corrected it when reinstalling Premiere didn't I have no idea.
Anyway - thanks for all advice.
Happy ending!
Peter Copestake
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Dave Watterson
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Re: Premiere 6.5 problems and HD,

Post by Dave Watterson »

As you say - be thankful for a happy ending.
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