Ed,
Volume-wise, the timeline audio is always fine, but the music does offset itself by a fraction of a beat sometimes while I'm working on it, and also sometimes if I go back to the project after closing it out. The audio that goes with the video clips is actually fine; it's the mixed audio bites that are going off thier timing with each other.

This is the first time I've actually mixed audio samples using Premiere's timeline. I usually mix the audio songs and samples together in Cool Edit and just import it into Premiere as a final wav file, but I wanted to try using Premiere's timeline this time. Is it just not stable enough to do critical-timed mixes?

I have Sonic MyDVD bundled with the Pioneer A04 drive I have, but I haven't authored with it yet, I only previewed the wav file that Premiere made with Windows Media Player. The associated video file looked fine. There was an option to auto-start Pinnacle Impressions when I initially exported the project but I didn't enable it.

To tell you the truth, I'm pretty new at the whole authoring thing. Up until now I've just been exporting the timeline back to the DV camera for playback since our DV500 card was down for awhile when I couldn't even install the drivers containing the mpeg export feature without seriously screwing up Premiere. BTW, thanks for all the past help with that problem.

Just last week I was running Premiere 6.5 and After Effects 5.5 without problem. I upgraded to Premiere Pro and now when I boot AE it crashes after loading up. I then decided to uninstall After Effects 5.5 and installed the version 6.0 tryout and I get exactly the same problem, it crashes as soon as the shell has loaded up.

Anyone else experienced this? I haven't yet tried uninstalling Premiere Pro and I actually still have Premiere 6.5 installed, if that makes a difference.

Thanks.

I run Pro and AE 6 together all the time without any crashes.

Looks like it could be a conflict if you have both PPro and P6.5 installed at the same time. Uninstall them and reinstall PPro only.
Should work fine with AE 5.5 and AE 6.

Well I uninstalled everything but it turned out to be WindowBlinds, a programme that changes the GUI (skin) of the windows environment. When I unloaded it, After Effects worked fine.

Glad you got it figured out Richard.

I learned long ago that it seems to be a good idea to not have anything on my editor that doesn't need to be there.

Essential software only.

The cause of pulsating video was I-frame pulsation. Do a google search if this sounds like a problem you are experiencing. I fixed by it by using CBR instead of VBR.

When I open my project, Premiere asks for a file I no longer use in the project. I think it was accidentally deleted as I don't use it.

Anyway... no it's asking me for the file and I can't see a way to tell it to never ask again. Any thoughts?

There are a couple of ways to deal with this. Save as. Save the file under a new name without making copies of the preview files. If it still asks you to locate the mystery file upon reopening, click on "offline" and it should stop asking.

Second way is to go to your bin list and "delete unused". The downside to this is that you will have to reestablish any files that you wanted to use later.

Third way would be to use the "project trimmer". This condenses your work by cutting off all the source avi files in the anticipation that your cuts are perfect and you are going to soon delete the source files.

The first option is likely the best.

In the old days, (pre xp), we were regularly encouraged to delete the prem60 file from the adobe program files to restore sanity to the system. I am not so sure if this does anything to help, as I have not done this in over a year.

I have been meaning to post this for some time now...

When I edit stills together and export them into a new AVI file all of them are approx 20% over exposed. I'm not sure why, but when I go back into Premiere and turn the stills down to black (by 20%) it fixes the problem.

Visually it is only noticeable when scanned photos are fairly bright. One example is to import a photo of a snowy landscape, in my case the snow would blow out in Premiere to pure white and loose all its detail.

Has anyone noticed this too... and if so, is there a fix for this?

Regards,
Jack

When I look at the AVI captures from my GL2 they look great, "broadcast quality". But the DVDs I create from them, using Premiere Pro, are nowhere near as good :(

What "Export to DVD" settings should I use to maximize picture quality? Maximize Bitrate?

Thanks,
Ming

Hi Jack,

Thats an interesting problem... I've never come across that type of thing before.

Are there any effects applied to the still? does it just happen if you have the still on its own in its own project? is it OK when you export back to tape or view on a TV?

You don't by any chance have the gamma turned down? What AVI settings are you using? and what size, and type of stills did you use?

You might want to upgrade to version 6.5 or pro if your system will allow it?

Interesting to see if anybody else has this problem?

Thanks,

Ed

Hi Ming,

Can you tell us what settings you are using? How long is your production?

Generally speaking using 7Mbits on a constant bit rate should yeald broadcast results.

Increasing the bitrate will increase the quality, but will also increase the size and so depending on how long your production is will depend on how much you can increase the bitrate. However increasing the bitrate too much can decrease its compatibility in certain DVD settop players.

If you can list your settings then we can try and work from there.

Thanks,

Ed

If you don't want to upgrade you might try the free 6.02 patch. Before I went to 6.5 I found it solved a number of problems in 6.01

David Hurdon

Ed-
I have just done some tests, and it looks like it may be the Pinnacle codec. I did a test export using the Microsoft DV AVI codec and it didn't have the problem.

To answer your questions:
1, I use no effects/gamma adjustments on the stills and the problem is evident on both the PC monitor and TV monitor.

2, The stills I use are flat PSD (photoshop) files that are sized at PAL 720 x 576 pixels.

I use standard settings:
***************************************
Video Settings
Compressor: Pinnacle AVI DV
Frame Size: 720 x 576
Pixel Aspect Ratio: D1/DV PAL (1.067)
Frame Rate: 25.00
Depth: Millions, Quality: 100%

Audio Settings
Rate: 48000, Format: 16 - Stereo
Compressor: Uncompressed

Rendering Options
Field setting: Lower Field First
***************************************

But one weird thing occured during the tests... when I positioned the timeline cursor on the still, it was over-exposed (as per the problem), but when I gave focus to another application such as Windows Explorer and then came back to Premiere the still looked ok (not over-exposed) inside Premiere's Timeline (right hand side) Monitor. Also, if I try to export a TIFF from a still that's on the timeline, it exports perfect... the TIFF and PSD look identical, (so this also beats me?)

Anyway like I said at first, it looks like it may be the Pinnacle codec... is there a way to reinstall a codec?

David-
I will try it out... will keep you posted if I have any luck.

Cheers,
Jack

Ed,

They are short (<15min) "home movies" that I am archiving and sharing with friends. So, space has not been problem. I tried the settings below for my latest DVD. (what is the difference between 1pass and 2pass?)

Preset - NTSC DV High quality 7Mb CBR 1Pass
Fields - Lower
Maximize Bitrate selected

Thanks,
Ming

2 pass will give you better quality at a smaller size. Basically it reads the video on the first pass and figures out where it can get by with less quality and where it needs higher quality.

But this really is only necessary if you've got space issues. For small clips (like the 15 min one you're talking about) just crank up the bitrate and do a single pass.

Using the 7mb CBR 1 Pass preset should result in a DVD that's pretty identical to your source footage.

I edit with Premiere and create DVDs with it and Encore all the time.

Just to add to Bryans point, 2 passes can only be used with VBR.

Hi Jack,

What Pinnacle card are you using?

I think that they get installed when you installed the drivers for the pinnacle capture card, so re-installing should also re-install the codec. However I doubt that re-instaling the codec will help ths situation, it could just be the pinnacle codec?.

I have a DV500 setup with P6.5 so could try if you give me step by step instructions.

Being that you use a Pinnacle product you will not be able to upgrade to Premiere Pro, but 6.02 and 6.5 is still possible.

Thanks,

Ed

On what are you viewing your DVD's?

<<<-- Originally posted by Rob Lohman : On what are you viewing your DVD's? -->>>

Usually my Home Theater System (Rear Projection TV, Toshiba Progressive DVD player). But when comparing DVD to AVI, on my computer.

Recently using my digital camera I record video footage in PAL format and edited using Adobe permier 6.0 and burn it on DVD. I sent the DVD to USA to my brother but his player couldn't play the DVD. If it is the standard, can I change the standard from PAL to NTSC using my premier or I have to buy a standard converter to do the job.

thank you

You can change the footage to NTSC. Just load the PAL footage
in an NTSC project and render out to NTSC. Also make the DVD
NTSC. Almost no-one can play PAL discs in the US. A lot of people
here in Europe can play NTSC without a problem.

Keep in mind that usually such conversions can yield much worse
looking footage which stutters on movement. That's the nature
of the conversion. Not much you can do about that unless you
go to a professional company to do the transfer for you.

Have we found where to find the fixes yet? I'm still looking for them, too.

So Ming...

Does the quality still look poor on your home entertainment system? Or is it only when you look at the DVD through your computer?

What exactly is wrong with the DVD picture quality?

thanks,

Ed

Just started using Premiere 6, and when I went to choose my camera in the setting's under Sony, it only had a Vx1000 and 9000, no vx2000, I don't know if version 6 was released before the Vx2000, but I am sure the picture, when loading show's a vx2000. Don't know if this is a big deal, as it seems to recognise my camera fine.

There are no fixes yet. And there will not be any for free if my guess is correct. Adobe will roll the fixes into the next release along with a lot of new features and charge for the upgrade. We will all know more when NAB begins. If Adobe announces a new release, it will most likely be at NAB.

As long as it works it is no big deal.

Ed-

I'm using Pinnacle DV500PLUS. I just upgraded from Premiere 6.01to 6.02 with no luck...

I'm not sure if P6.5 is available but if so has it changed much? I like AB editing and heard it may have gone.

Anyway if you'd like to try reproduce what I'm doing well it's very simple...

1, import the PSD from the below link;

http://www.myisp.net.au/~jkl/Pinnacle_Premiere_Problem/Photoshop_White_Still_Test_FLAT.psd (128KB)

2, place the PSD on the timeline and put a fade to black on it, then watch the Premiere Monitor Window and see if the "90% white mark" looks like 100% white before the fade.

I have posted an mpeg of what happens to my stills using the Pinnacle AVI codec... here is the link;
http://www.myisp.net.au/~jkl/Pinnacle_Premiere_Problem/Over_Exposed_Test_PinnacleDVCodec.mpg (660KB)

And here is the same mpeg using the Microsoft DV AVI codec (as mentioned in me previous post, this codec doesn't have the problem!);
http://www.myisp.net.au/~jkl/Pinnacle_Premiere_Problem/Over_Exposed_Test_MSDVCodec.mpg (688KB)

NOTE:
Just found a post at Google groups from a guy who seems to have/had the exact problem as me... here is the link;

http://tinyurl.com/2k2na

Regards,
Jack

Hi Jack,

I tried it and get good results, i.e. the 90% white does not change.

I've got the DV500 using the latest 4.5 drivers with Premiere 6.5. I don't think your problem is Premiere as you have found out that using the microsoft codec gives you the result you need. So the only other thing that it could be is possibly your driver version?

What version are you using?

6.5 still uses AB editing its from version Pro (7) that they decided to change.

Thanks,

Ed

Hello,

I am a newbie in the editing field...
I use the Premiere 6.5 with the 1.3 beta MPEG decoder which i download from adobe website.

and the end-result of the export timeline using Adobe MPEG Encoder is not as good as i think.
First, the video is not smooth... i see a lot of artifacts or jagging from the text when it move quickly... and the color of the video seem to be wash-out compare with the original clips.
What is the best setting for the premiere to export the timeline, i found out that you can set the MPEG stream in Advanced mode and modify the setting...

At the basic setting - what is different between:-
DVD NTSC 4x3 High Bitrate and
DVD NTSC 4x3 Medium Bitrate

I understand the average bitrate is higher... highrate is set average in 6000kbps and max at 8000kbps... while the medium is set at 4200 kbps and max at 6000kbps... but does this solve my problem on the smooth picture and color accurate?

Also i see both highrate and mediumrate is set the video encoder quality to 21... should i increase it to max 50 in order to get better quality?

Under the Advanced MPEG Settings... i see a lot of other function such as video settings, advanced video settings, audio settings and multiplexer settings... What is the best setting to get the best out of adobe premiere???

Edmond

P.S. After i make the export, adobe create 2 files one M2V file and one Wave file. I try to use the WinDVD to see the end-result but the WinDVD did not reconize that 2 files are one video clips... so they can only show the video into 2 part... first only video and second part only sound... How can i correct the setting inside the WinDVD? Seem to have a lot of question, once again, thanks for all yours input...

Edmond,

Jagging and aritfacts are mainly caused when the field order is wrong or when the moving title has not been de-interlaced, or you are using VBR.

To get good results, the bit rate needs to be about 7mbps (7000Kbps), on a constant bit rate (CBR). You might need to choose custom settings. However using the DVD NTSC 4x3 High Bitrate should give good results.

The reason why you are only able to preview the video stream or the audio stream in WinDVD is because they are seperate. The reason for them being separate is because most DVD authoring programs need them to be like that. If you wish to view them both in WinDVD then they need to be multiplexed (use the setting in the multiplex tab to do this).

Hope this helps,

Ed

Ed, I'm using DV500 driver v4.5 as well.

I actually reinstalled Premiere and the DV500 driver which took a while to do... but there was no change!

I have since done more research and found out that graphic levels and video levels have to be considered when using graphics/stills in video.

You see, the PSD file (or any scanned photo in fact) may give a digital level of anywhere between 0 and 255, whereas PAL video will only accept 16 to 235. 16 being 0 IRE and 235 being 100 IRE, anything above or below that may be a problem as happened with me.

And so as soon as I altered the "white" output level of the PSD file or any of my photos from 255 to 235 (actually I found 225 to be the optimal level for pure white), it looked great when using the Pinnacle codec... so this may mean a couple of things...

1, The MS DV codec must alter the levels itself on export (as it didn't have this problem).
2, My version of Premiere (v6.01/02) and the Pinnacle codec (v4.5a) must leave the levels alone (which can be good or bad... depending on how you look at it).
3, Premiere v6.5 may alter the levels so they do not peak at 255, as it looked fine on your system.

So I'm glad I found out what the cause was...

I guess it now adds a step for me when integrating photos/stills into my videos, but at least it is done the right way.

Cheers,
Jack

I was looking online at Adobe site when I say that Premiere Pro is now version 1.5. Shocked to see that they added some nice new features that I think now place them in the same league as FCP and have the same HD and 24p that are featured in Vegas

You can find the list here:

http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/pdfs/premiere_nfhs.pdf

If anyone has this product and care to comment on the new features please do so. I think a lot of us would be curious about some of the 24p and HD functionality. Of course as well as its performance and stability.

Great link Anthony!!! Well spotted.

We'll have to wait till the end of May for its release. This could be good.

Cheers,

Ed

Thanks Ed,

I try both the DVD NTSC Highbit setting and even change the quality to 50 and bitrate to 8 avg and 9 max. but in my computer... the actual result is the same as the medium NTSC bitrate set at 4.2 avg and 6 max. Today i will burn both clips into a DVD-R using Sonic My DVD 5.0 and see it in my HT room... i hope with 110-inch projector... i can see the different...

Yesterday i found out the timeline can export as movie. and the file will be save as "avi". How is the quality different between the "avi" and the "mv2" files? Which one is better?

Beside Premiere MPEG encoder... is there any other software can do the job...

Edmond

Dear all,

I am wondering how good is the footage when i shoot in DVCAM compare with the DV format when both import into Adobe Premiere 6.5 for editing... and MPEG encoding to DVD-R.

By looking at the tape result from both formats through a 29 inches TV... the DVCAM have better color saturation... and hue... and i am not sure will the premiere capture the differents? Cos... i been talking with one guy who is working for the distributor of pinnacle in Vietnam... and he told me that the different is so subtle that you don't even see it... That's why he don't recommend to shoot in DVCAM over DV format...

Any input is welcome... cos i need to purchase a camcorder really soon... and i will choose the PD-170 mainly because of the DVCAM function...

Edmond

We seem to have a wave of folks asking about DVCAM this week. Adam Wilt's site (http://www.adamwilt.com/DV-FAQ-tech.html#DVformats) features a good summary.

Bottom line: any differences you see in the footage between DVCAM and DV are going to be due to differences in the cameras used and/or differences in exposure.

Glad you found a work around Jack.

Its still extremely strange why it does that?

Thanks,

Ed

Does anyone know if the project trimmer returns to Premiere in the 1.5 release?

The materials at Adobe don't make this clear and I haven't seen anything in the various forums about it.

Does this describe what you're after?

Project Manager—Use this powerful tool to quickly remove unused material from your project and to consolidate
your project’s media into one location for easy archiving. To save time and storage space, perform all
editing offline in low-resolution video, and use the Project Manager to save a new project containing only the
content you actually use. Then recapture only that more compact final project in high resolution.

Check this document out:

http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/pdfs/premiere_nfhs.pdf

Thanks,

Ed

Thanks Ed. The Highlights document was not enough, but armed with the notion that the Project "Manager" was the tool, I dug deeper and found that project trimming is part of Project Manager.

The color correction opportunities in 6.5 appear to be rather limited. I can't find a hue / saturation tool for example. I suppose I could upgrade to Premiere Pro, but I'm annoyed at having to use XP ( I use Win2K). I could switch to an entirely new editor, and I've been reading the various discussions about them (so I don't need any suggestions on that regard, thanks).

A google search of plug ins for 6.5 doesn't yield anything obvious. Any ideas?

Roger,

On your Premiere 6.5 disk in extras there should be a trial version of Vixen under "extras". I liked it so much for what you discribed and tweaking white balance that I had to buy a license for it. Right now it is $50.00 off at http://www.xentrik.co.uk/ for $149.00. Although the upgrade to Premiere PRO is $199.00 for 6.5 owners I tried the trail and did not like it. 6.5 with Vixen does everything I need except quality "slow mo".

Good luck...

Mark

I tried that, but the demo mode won't work for some reason or other. It tries to contact "in sync" for a registration code but it never goes through. blah.

Roger,

You can also download the 15-day trial at xentrik and it should work. Its only a 5mb download.

Mark

<<<-- Originally posted by Roger Golub : I can't find a hue / saturation tool for example. -->>>

Don't worry, it's there.

In Premiere 6.5, Hue-Lightness-Saturation is listed in Video effects under "Image Control" as "Color Balance (HLS)." Drop it into your video on the timeline and you'll get Hue, Lightness, and Saturation controls.

This is *not* the same effect as the "Color Balance" listed under the "Adjust" folder.

While not having the most powerful color correction tools, Premiere 6.5 does have quite a few to choose from -- Levels, Channel Mixer, Color Balance, Color Balance (HLS), and a couple more I believe.

Before Premiere Pro, I think that Adobe simply assumed that people who needed more powerful correction tools would just get After Effects. I've done OK with color correction in both Premiere 6.5 and After Effects.

OK, here is how I used to color correct (I use AE now). Put your clip in the timeline. Apply the following filters and settings. You may have to tweak the settings to get color grading you want.

Video->Adjust->Color Balance
R=120
G=115
b=105

Video->Image Control->Color Balance (HLS)
Saturation=5

Video->Adjust->Levels
Set input level to 10/1.00/255

Video->Image Control->Gamma Correction
set to 12

Video->Adjust->Brightness & Contrast
set Contrast between 10-15

Video->Sharpen->Sharpen
set to 5

Next, copy your clip and place it directly above. Change the transparency setting to "Screen" and change the opacity to 15%

Here is a URL to a Before & After:

http://www.slakrboy.com/test.jpg

Like I said before, you may have to play with the settings to get things to look the way you want.. Good luck!

Another plug-in is Video Finesse by Synthetic Aperature. It provides a waveform and huge amount of adjustments. You can download a demo that puts red lines on the rendered output. In the past I have used the demo just for the waveform.

Hi everyone--I am attempting to capture into Premiere Pro and have been receiving the following two error messages: "Can't find timecode during capture" and "dropped frames during capture." I have attempted capture using a Panasonic DVX100 and Panasonic DV952D. Neither camera has worked. Prior to starting this project, I was able to capture 4 hours of video into Premiere Pro on a previous project with no problems, using the exact same setup as I am now using. I am capturing to an external Western Digital Hard Drive, attempting captures with it connected to both the Firewire and USB 2.0 ports. The USB 2.0 seems slightly more stable, but I still receive this error message.

I have captured into Avid Xpress Pro on a Powerbook with the same cameras, tapes, and external Hard Drive and it has worked perfectly. Does anyone have a guess as to why Premiere Pro is suddenly giving me these error messages? Additionally, I have uninstalled Premiere Pro and reinstalled, and the errors continue. Thanks!

Peter

P.S. The machine I'm using is a dual processor AMD with 1GB RAM. The WD hard drive is 7200rpm with a 2mb buffer. THanks!