Does final quality degrade with more tinkering?

[happydog]

I have some old videos I edited last year with PE4. I saved them as .wmv files. For some reason the original .prel files weren't saved over when I started using a new computer. Also, a few of these were done originally on windows movie maker before I upgraded to Premiere Elements.

If I drag those .wmv videos back into PE4 and edit them with more effects like sharpening and using levels, will it degrade the final quality even more? Some of these were not great quality from the beginning (taken with an old videocamera) and I'm trying to improve them. However, it looks like I'm making them worse and I don't know if it's just my imagination or not.

Thanks for any input.

[Chuck Engels]

Yes, the quality will suffer if you edit a WMV file. You may have to test it out on a small clip to see how much.

If you were to save the project to an AVI file (File/Export/Movie) you would not have any loss for at least 4 generations of editing and exporting.

[ATR]

Do I understand you correctly that you took videos into Premiere Elements 4 and exported them via a Windows Media route using the default setting for that export? And, the project files (.prel) are gone, but the saved exports (as .wmv) still exist? I take it that you did not archive any of the project files using the program's Project Archiver (Archive or Copy) option. That would have been a good idea, especially with a second computer in the mix.

But that is the past....in order to separate reality from illusion, I think that you major tool for doing that is going to be:
1. taking your .wmv on to the Premier Elements 4 Timeline
2. making your edits, if necessary (sharpening and levels adjusts are great, but can kill a decent video if overdone).
3. THEN, Rendering the Timeline by pressing the Enter key of your main keyboard. This Rendering is not going to improve the quality of your final product, but it will give you the best possible preview of what the end product will look like. It can be very time consuming, but very essential for some quality judgment calls. This Rendering plus your Export time can be very, very time consuming.

But, you did not say what you are aiming for with regard to export this time. Are you just trying to improve this .wmv and replace it with another of its kind with a "face lift"? Or, are you intending to generate a DVD-VIDEO from this .wmv? If you are aiming for the DVD-VIDEO, your best place to make quality judgments is at the level of the final DVD playback, not the DVD Preview before the burn.

To be continued........

ATR

[ATR]

I do not believe that there is a universal generalization that editing .wmv on the Premiere Elements Timeline spells degradation of the .wmv. So, I think that you are just going to have to run comparison tests in your situation as has been suggested, BUT, as mini runs (copy of .wmv, few clips from copy of .wmv) before you go grand scale.

Let me explain what I mean. Before Photoshop Elements 5/Premiere Elements 3, the only way to export the Photoshop Elements slideshow to Premiere Elements was as a .wmv. Then, when Photoshop Elements 5/Premiere Element 3 arrived on the scene, it offered two routes to Premiere Elements, one "as is" non wmv and the other as .wmv. Many cheered the "as is" option claiming that it gave better quality end product. Yet, I can get excellent and comparable quality either way. Now here I am talking about the route to DVD-VIDEO, not an exported .wmv saved to the hard drive.

I do agree that the native format of Premiere Elements is DV AVI, and it use has many perks.

Another generalization that does not always hold with the newer technology being generated is that downsizing is OK, while upsizing can create quality problems.

I will be watching for more of your details and your progress.

[happydog]

Thanks guys. Lesson learned: never give up your old project files. EVER! I'm also saving every video in wmv AND avi format on both drives. Maybe I'll even save it to a disc and store it off premises just for extra insurance.

"Do I understand you correctly that you took videos into Premiere Elements 4 and exported them via a Windows Media route using the default setting for that export? And, the project files (.prel) are gone, but the saved exports (as .wmv) still exist? I take it that you did not archive any of the project files using the program's Project Archiver (Archive or Copy) option."

Yep, exactly.

"Are you just trying to improve this .wmv and replace it with another of its kind with a "face lift"? Or, are you intending to generate a DVD-VIDEO from this .wmv? If you are aiming for the DVD-VIDEO, your best place to make quality judgments is at the level of the final DVD playback, not the DVD Preview before the burn."

Yes, I'm generating DVDs. The way it's working out is I make it as good as I can, then I burn to DVD and watch that to see where I've either overdone something or need to further edit. Hate to waste the DVD's but the final product is as good as I can make it. (this year anyhow :))

There is a bit of degradation but it's worth it for the improvements I'm making with another go round in editing.

[ATR]

Thanks for the update.

But, do take a look at using the Premiere Elements' Project Archiver for archiving your projects.

ATR