No sound in PE 4 with Canon FS100

[mdubois]

Hello,

I'm encountering the following problem with Premiere Elements 4 ... I'm able to import the MPG file of my SD camcorder (Canon FS100), but there is no sound ...
If I play the file with WMP, the sound is ok ...
Any idea ?
Thanks for your help ...

Michel

[ATR]

I did some homework on your Canon FS100 which leads me to require further details on what you are doing.

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&tabact=SupportDetailTabAct&fcategoryid=2546&modelid=16185

1. This Canon's claim to fame is that it records to flash memory card. Canon web site Support says that it records in MPEG-2 format (using MPEG-2 compression). "MOD" files cause problems for Premiere Elements, and it was noted that the video is stored on the memory card as a file with a .MOD extension (example given: MOV001.MOD). Further it says, that, once the .MOD is transferred to computer using the supplied Pixela ImageMixer 3 SE software, the file is renamed with a .MPG extension (example given: MOV001.MPG)

So my question becomes, how did you transfer your video from the flash memory card to the computer and what was the file extension of the video that you brought into Premiere Elements, .mod or .mpg. If it was .mpg, who did the renaming, you or the Pixela ImageMixer 3 SE software?

Be that as it may, I suspect that your workaround will be converting the .mpg to DV AVI with a software such as MPEG Streamclip.
http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.3bc4800e

Also, you may have to address the issue of converting the "Fields:", from Upper Field First to Lower Field First. Did you use the Premiere Elements 4 Project Preset for this Flash Memory Camcorders (See Welcome Screen, Setup)?
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&tabact=SupportDetailTabAct&fcategoryid=2546&modelid=16185
Or, alternatively did you right click the video on the Timeline, select "Field Options", and then dot the "Reverse Field Dominance".
If and when you do the MPEG Streamclip .mpg to DV AVI conversion, there will be a step in there where you can do that (See link above for MPEG Streamclip details.)

Although the later versions of Premiere Elements are claimed to have addressed the issues related to the use of .mod and .mpg in Premiere Elements, some people continue to have problems and have to resort to the MPEG Streamclip workaround while some do not have problems and can manage just with the .mod to .mpg renaming.

Hope this helps. Please update us on your progress.

ATR

[ATR]

Add on....

It was noted from the Canon's specifications that the audio format for your camcorder recordings is:
"Dolby Digital 2 ch (AC-3 2 ch)"

So, I suspect that the core of the issue is not the type of audio format of your recordings.

ATR

[mdubois]

Thanks for your very precise answer ...
I've used SD Copy to transfert the MOD file to MPG ... I will keep you posted.
Regards,

Michel

[mdubois]

I've just installed Mpeg Streamclip, and it works like a charm !!!
Many thanks ...

I've got one question ... when I convert the file to DV format in Mpeg Streamclip, I can see the following : "Field dominance will be changed from upper to lower" . Do I still need to revert the dominance in PE ? (By the way could you please explain me this ? I've no idea of what it means !)

Mny thanks ... finally I can edit my video from Japan ! :-)

Michel

[ATR]

Michel

I am glad that worked for you.

One you have generated your DV AVI via MPEG Streamclip (in which you set the Field for Lower Field First), you just bring that DV AVI version into Premiere Elements 4 via Get Media. Do not do an additional "Reverse Field Dominance" via the Field Options route mentioned previously. And, do not use the "Hard Drive, Flash Memory Camcorders" Project Preset. Use the NTSC DV or PAL presets.

There is a good description of this Fields business in Premiere Elements 4 Help. Type in Reverse Field Dominance in the Search section of the Help section. Check that out and, if further questions, please let me know.

ATR

[ATR]

typing edit....

That should be "Once you have generated...........

ATR

[RenoJohn]

I've spent a lot of time with the weird .MOD files on the FS100 ----Uhh, the camera is not that great to begin with (IMO) and the chore of wrestling with these files, especially as it pertains to widescreen (16:9) ratio yada yada makes this camera and it's .MOD scheme a royal PIA.

I've put together a summary of what I do ...and this is NOT meant to be a "best practice" example ...instead it's more of a rant based on what I do and the weird work-arounds I've done to attempt to make a streamline process.

I'm VERY open to suggestions, ideas etc to make the process better
....but hurry up with those suggestions as this camera will be in the garbage soon :-)

Go here:
tinyurl.com/FS100-Test1 (http://tinyurl.com/FS100-Test1)

[ATR]

John

I have looked at your Premiere Elements 7 editing workflow for your Canon FS100 MPEG2 compressed video with .mod file extension (presumed recorded to an SD Card).

As we know, use of the .mod files in Premiere Elements is problematic. So first order of business is:

a. Change the file extension from .mod to .mpg.

The software that comes with the camcorder is said to do this .mod to .mpg in its processing of the video.

Also, this can be done direct by renaming the file from .mod to .mpg, via right clicking the video, selecting rename, and typing in .mpg in place of .mod. This may not work for several reasons, one being that the .mod file is typically accompanied by a .moi file which carries the 16:9 flag information. Often there are problems with the transfer of .moi file with its .mod file. If problems with regard to aspect ratio once in Premiere Elements, then you can see if the Premiere Elements 7 Interpret Footage feature would take care of that issue. If it did not, only then I would go to SD Copy.

Then there is the use of SD Copy to do the renaming .mod to .mpg but equally important is that it has an option for “set Widescreen Flag 16:9” which will stretch the display after encoding.


OR

b. File Conversion

DV AVI is the native format of the Premiere Elements 7 Timeline. Since that is the case, the conversion of .mod to DV AVI is my method of choice. It addresses many issues and gets the job done well and quickly.

Now onto Premiere Elements 7 considerations

Project Preset. You do not have to create a new project preset (new project dialog) to get the job done.
Typically video recorded to a camcorder’s hard drive or to an SD card is characterized by Field= Upper Field First. When you set your project preset to NTSC DV Widescreen, Fields = Lower Field First. In this case, you would select the appropriate Fields via the program Field Options OR, instead of NTSC DV Widescreen, use the pre-existing preset of NTSC Hard Disk Flash Memory Camcorders Widescreen which will take care of the Fields correction so that you do not need to be bothered by going into the Field Options from the Timeline. Apparently what you have done is to take the existing project preset “NTSC Hard Disk Flash Memory Camcorders Widescreen” and tack a Canon name on it, using the create new preset feature in the new project dialog. That is fine if it fits your workflow, but I would just use the existing project preset and move on.

Export. So far we are on course for a DVD-VIDEO Widescreen. But you show a Share/Personal Computer/QuickTime choice with Field Order = None and Pixel Aspect Ratio = 1.0 with no 16:9 flag. That brings up a whole other issue of TV rectangular pixels vs computer square pixels and what looks best and where. Note that TV 720 x 480 rectangular pixels = computer 640 x 480 square pixels. For now I will leave that for you to check on. However from the point of view of your struggles with aspect ratio in the final product, consider 720 x 480 with pixel aspect ratio = 1.0 has no 16:9 flag to stretch the video on playback after encoding. So, think through the pixel aspect ratio business from source video to the intended end product.

As for the matter of bitrate and as you have found, increasing the bitrate increases the file size. This is the classically dilemma of the trade off between quality and file size since increasing the bitrate increases the quality, but also increases the file and decreasing the bitrate decreases the quality, and decreases the file size. If file size is a consideration, then it might be appropriate to explore alternative compression type if possible and appropriate.

As I have often said, you should be guided by suggestions, but never ruled by them. Go with what works for you in your specific situation.

ATR