Changes for the Presets of a new project, for AVCHD

[cecype]

I'm just starting to explore Adobe Premiere Elements 7.0.

When I start a project, I have to change the appropriate Presets.

I was wondering if anyone could tell me the difference for following:
HD 1080i 30
HD 1080i 30 5.1 channel
Full HD 1080i 30
Full HD 1080i 30 5.1 channel

My camcorder is a AVCHD, Canon HF20.

Thank you in advance for you reply. I'd really appreciate it.
http://www.elementsvillage.com/forums/images/misc/progress.gif

[ATR]

Do you actually have Premiere Elements 7 at the present time?

If you do, when you are in the New Project dialog/Change Settings of Premiere Elements 7, follow the NTSC/AVCHD tree:
NTSC
AVCHD
to each of the project presets that you cited
click on each one at a time
then look to the right where you will see a complete description of the preset

From what I have read about your Canon HF20, the camcorder is capturing in Full 1080i60 which means:
frame size = 1920 x 1080 16:9 (square pixels)
frame rate = 60 fields per second = 30 frames per second
The camcorder audio is supposed to be:
Dolby Digital 2 channels (AC-3 2ch)

Therefore if you were shooting in the 1080i60 mode with its 2 channel audio, you would be setting your Premiere Elements 7 project preset (New Project dialog) = NTSC/AVCHD/Full HD1080i30 and NOT NTSC/AVCHD/Full HD1080i30 5.1 channel.

In case you were confused about Full 1920 x 1080 16:9 square pixels vs Non Full 1440 x 1080 HD anamorphic, your end product is 1920 x 1080 in either case. In the latter, the 1440 x 1080 is stretched to 16:9 using the HD anamorphic.

Your camcorder also offers 24p and 30p which you may see referred to as 24F and 30F. The camcorder captures to an interlaced sensor be it "Canon's 24F", "Canon's 30F", or "Canon's 60i". In the case of the first two, the interlaced capture is converted into progressive footage 24p and 30p, in contrast to other manufactures with the "true" 24p and 30p, using a progressive sensor so that capture and recording are 24p and 30p. You may want to download project presets for these:
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=3408
You will end up with project presets for 24F, 25F, and 30F in the New Project dialog of Premiere Elements.

Please read the descriptions of the project presets in Premiere Elements 7 New Project dialog and then let me know if you have any further questions.

ATR

[cecype]

Hi ART,

Thank you so much for your prompt and detailed explaination.

Yes. I have Adobe Premiere Element 7.0, which I've been trying to learn to use. I now have a project, which is a slideshow for my friend's wedding. I have a lot of their pictures and few video clips. So... it's going to be an exciting project for me, since it seems so much to explore with the program.

Therefore, before I start the project, I wanted to make sure it's the right setting. As you suggested, I will set it as AVCHD Full HD 1080i 30.

I've seen many post of yours answering other uses' questions. Thank you so much for being so kind. As I'm new to the forum, and also to the video editing, it is very nice to learn that there are very generous and experienced people like yourself willing to help. :)

[ATR]

cecype

Much success with your projects.

Remember to build a firm foundation, starting with mini tests runs before the grand project. And, always keep watch regarding computer resources especially working with high definition footage.

Photo sizing will be important, keeping in mind pixel dimensions as well as frame aspect ratios.

Please update us on your progress. And, if any further questions, do not hesitate to ask.

ATR

[ucscottb4u]

would downloading those project presets also work in PE 8? im having trouble getting PE8 to playback video shot ona Canon HF20 and was wondering if it might have somethign to do with teh project settings

[ATR]

ucscottb4u

From what I have read and what I am guessing that you are shooting with your Canon flash memory camcorder, you are working with AVCHD Full 1920 x 1080i30.

Based on the source media and the flash memory camcorder, I would suggest that you try to bring that into Premiere Elements 8, first using the project preset (new project dialog ) = NTSC/"Hard Disk, Flash Memory Camcorder". You could also later explore NTSC/AVCHD Full HD 1080i30. (PAL counterparts, if you are in a PAL area.)

Double check your system resources with regard to Premiere Elements 8 performance issues. AVCHD is a very resource demanding format. Also, have you seen the AdobeTech Note "Troubleshoot digital video playback (Adobe Premiere Elements 8)
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/515/cpsid_51526.html
For starters, look at playback with and without "Enable GPU Playback" checked in Edit Menu/Preferences/General.

I responded to you question in the other thread first, so disregard by question about which version of Premiere Elements that you are using.

Please let me know if you have any further questions.

Please keep us updated on your progress.

ATR
(I found it best to disable "Enable Background Rendering" under Edit Menu/Preferences/General. I also work with "AutoAnalyzer" disabled (See Elements Organizer.) I use these features when and if necessary on demand basis.)

[ATR]

Add on...

You do not have to download project presets. They are there for you in Premiere Elements 8 new project dialog (under Change Settings).

ATR

[ucscottb4u]

Ok, so you know im using PE 8, my comp is a HP with a 3ghz Pentium 4, and 2gb ram, and over 30gig of harddrive space. the problem i am having is no matter what i seem to do, i can notget my file to play at all in PE8. the file im working with is a .mts file. I attached a image that summarizes the details of my file. i feel like i am missing a simple step. or maybe its somethign more complex i dont know. any suggestions? please let me know if i am explaining this poorly, i wont be insulted.:)
thanks for your help
Scott

[ATR]

Scott,

My initial thoughts are that your computer does not have enough resources to process HDV and especially AVCHD. And, Premiere Elements 8 is a far more resource demanding version (in my opinion) than earlier ones. (BTW, turn off the Background Rendering under Edit Menu/Preferences/General.)

What is the source and format of the file (camcorder brand and model)? From your file properties that you posted, it looks like the file is HDV, not AVCHD, 1440 x 1080 with HD anamorphic, ending up 16:9 as 1920 x 1080, H.264 compression, and .mts file extension. There is a remote possibility that the file is AVCHD, instead of HDV, if that H.264 is really MPEG-4AVC/H.264. And, I think that I recall that some Canon's shoot AVCHD whose file extension ends up .mts instead of .m2ts. So, worst case with regard to demands on system resources would be AVCHD, to as lesser degree HDV.

Now for your computer resources. You say that your computer has 2 GB RAM. Is that installed or available? If it installed, you probably have far less than 2 GB available RAM. A good virtual memory setup will help, but.... Then for the free hard drive space, you say that you have over 30 GB of hard drive space. Is that total capacity or free? So, how much over 30 GB (if free). The typical need is for 4 GB RAM installed and about 100 GB free hard drive space. The values for these parameters that you see in System Requirements are minimum values.

And, very important...am I miss reading the file properties as to duration...the duration is 4 minutes, not 4 seconds?? File size about 200 MB.

What do you mean that it does not play at all? No video, no audio, Timeline Indicator does not move when you press the playback button of the Edit Mode Monitor, etc? Does the file play on any of your computer players?

Have you optimized your computer? Especially, defragmented the system. I think that it was Dan who recently told of how defragmentation turned around a bad Timeline issue for him.

If you try the Koyote Soft, maybe look at converting your 1440 x 1080 .mts to MPEG2 1280 x 720 30 and bring that into Premiere Elements 8 with the HDV HDV 720p30 project preset (new project dialog).

Please review the comments, read that AdobeTech Note link that I posted earlier, and see if it comes together for you. If not, we will discuss the matter further.

I will be looking forward to your progress.

ATR
(As long as you explain in your own words, that is great. We can always clarify things on both sides in the discussions that follow in the thread. The more details the better. Thanks for the properties data.)

[ucscottb4u]

I am using a Canon HF20
Ok, step by step here, I open a new project, adjust the settings to what i suspect is the correct setting, click on "Get Media" and add the appropriate files. drag one of them on the timeline. on the preview screen a image from the file shows up. but when i press play, NOTHING happens. the ONLY thing that happens is the Play Arrow turns into the Pause || thats it, the video doesnt play, sound doesnt play the timeline doesnt move along. nothing happens. as you can imagine that makes it hard to edit the video :p
the image i attached to the previous post is a screen shot of Canons software, doing a summary of the video file.

thanks for all your help, its much appreciated!
Scott

Scott,

My initial thoughts are that your computer does not have enough resources to process HDV and especially AVCHD. And, Premiere Elements 8 is a far more resource demanding version (in my opinion) than earlier ones. (BTW, turn off the Background Rendering under Edit Menu/Preferences/General.)

What is the source and format of the file (camcorder brand and model)? From your file properties that you posted, it looks like the file is HDV, not AVCHD, 1440 x 1080 with HD anamorphic, ending up 16:9 as 1920 x 1080, H.264 compression, and .mts file extension. There is a remote possibility that the file is AVCHD, instead of HDV, if that H.264 is really MPEG-4AVC/H.264. And, I think that I recall that some Canon's shoot AVCHD whose file extension ends up .mts instead of .m2ts. So, worst case with regard to demands on system resources would be AVCHD, to as lesser degree HDV.

Now for your computer resources. You say that your computer has 2 GB RAM. Is that installed or available? If it installed, you probably have far less than 2 GB available RAM. A good virtual memory setup will help, but.... Then for the free hard drive space, you say that you have over 30 GB of hard drive space. Is that total capacity or free? So, how much over 30 GB (if free). The typical need is for 4 GB RAM installed and about 100 GB free hard drive space. The values for these parameters that you see in System Requirements are minimum values.

And, very important...am I miss reading the file properties as to duration...the duration is 4 minutes, not 4 seconds?? File size about 200 MB.

What do you mean that it does not play at all? No video, no audio, Timeline Indicator does not move when you press the playback button of the Edit Mode Monitor, etc? Does the file play on any of your computer players?

Have you optimized your computer? Especially, defragmented the system. I think that it was Dan who recently told of how defragmentation turned around a bad Timeline issue for him.

If you try the Koyote Soft, maybe look at converting your 1440 x 1080 .mts to MPEG2 1280 x 720 30 and bring that into Premiere Elements 8 with the HDV HDV 720p30 project preset (new project dialog).

Please review the comments, read that AdobeTech Note link that I posted earlier, and see if it comes together for you. If not, we will discuss the matter further.

I will be looking forward to your progress.

ATR
(As long as you explain in your own words, that is great. We can always clarify things on both sides in the discussions that follow in the thread. The more details the better. Thanks for the properties data.)

[ATR]

Scott

In the back of my mind the resource issues keeps popping up. So, can we quickly rule that in or out by:
a. importing one or two jpg photos into Premiere Elements and see if you get playback of that Timeline in the Edit Mode Monitor
b. taking a quarter of your 4 minute high definition (AVCHD) video to the Timeline and see if you get playback of that Timeline in the Edit Mode Monitor.

If that works to get playback of your Timeline in the Premiere Elements Edit Mode Monitor, then next you might want to look at converting the AVCHD to MPEG2 1920 x 1080 or MPEG2 1280 x 720 with the free Koyote Soft HD Converter (http://www.koyotesoft.com) and see if that can be viewed in Premiere Elements Edit Mode Monitor.

By the way, what happens if you double click the video on the Timeline to bring up the Preview Window? Can you get playback in that Preview Window? I suspect not, but I thought that I would ask anyway.

Please keep me updated, and we will see what can come up with short of upgrading your computer resources and/or a complete uninstall/reinstall of Premiere Elements.

ATR

[ucscottb4u]

We might have a breakthrough. I tried importing a couple of JPEGs as you suggested and it didnt playblack, again nothing happened. does this mean i need to reinstall PE8?

[ATR]

Scott,

Before you do the complete uninstall/reinstall of Premiere Elements,

By the way, what happens if you double click the video on the Timeline to bring up the Preview Window? Can you get playback in that Preview Window? I suspect not, but I thought that I would ask anyway.

How did that turn out?

If you get no playback there, then let us see if the complete uninstall/reinstall of Premiere Elements corrects the situation. And, make sure that we are still dealing with a clean and optimized computer setup.

I will be watching for your progress.


ATR

[ucscottb4u]

I did try that, and it didnt work, so at this point i am waiting on my IT dept in my office (who holds the software) to come by to do the uninstall/reinstall,
thanks again for your help, ill let you know what the story is after the reinstall

Scott
Scott,

Before you do the complete uninstall/reinstall of Premiere Elements,



How did that turn out?

If you get no playback there, then let us see if the complete uninstall/reinstall of Premiere Elements corrects the situation. And, make sure that we are still dealing with a clean and optimized computer setup.

I will be watching for your progress.


ATR

[ATR]

Scott

I know that IT Departments like to give advice and service, and not necessarily need or want advice, but, if it suggests a Repair instead of an Uninstall/Reinstall, encourage them to go the Uninstall/Reinstall route. Repair never works for me in these situations.

I will be watching for your next report which I hope will be good so that you can move on with creating and exporting your projects.

ATR

[ucscottb4u]

sigh...just didnt the install. no luck
let me ask a stupid question, should it make a difference that i am brining the media in from the PC files or Folders option rather then from AVCHD or other harddisk option?

if that is the problem then i need to figure out how to let my camera let the computer capture from it cause right now i cant figure that out either.

[ATR]

Scott,

Please forget about the AVCHD for now.

What happens with playback when you bring in regular jpeg photos in the IT reinstalled Premiere Elements 8 in your Windows 7?

If it is same as before, then we need not implicate AVCHD in this matter unless you have a lot of large sized AVCHD stored to the C:\ Local Drive, causing a resource issue.

ATR

[ucscottb4u]

Scott,

Please forget about the AVCHD for now.

What happens with playback when you bring in regular jpeg photos in the IT reinstalled Premiere Elements 8 in your Windows 7?

If it is same as before, then we need not implicate AVCHD in this matter unless you have a lot of large sized AVCHD stored to the C:\ Local Drive, causing a resource issue.

ATR

Sorry it took so long for a update but got bogged down in other projects.
First off just a correction, I am using Windows XP.

Now the bad news. I added a bunch of pictures and still nothinghttp://www.elementsvillage.com/forums/images/icons/icon9.gif

[ATR]

Scott,

I have not forgotten you.

I have been trying to link your issue with a problem I encountered yesterday when doing some troubleshooting with oversized photos and slideshows. As I always say, problems may sound alike, but really do have different causes, so.......

In both Premiere Elements 7 and 8, the playback of the video portion of the video audio Timeline would not playback as the Timeline Indicator moved from left to right. In contrast, while the view in the Edit Mode Monitor was remaining at the first frame of the video part as the Timeline Indicator moved from left to right, the audio was playing along well from start to finish.

With your current setup are you attempting to preview your Timeline playback in the Edit Mode Monitor as well as via some external device, TV monitor..? Have your IT people owed up to doing anything other to your computer than uninstalling/reinstalling Premiere Elements?

To be continued....

ATR

[ucscottb4u]

Scott,

I have not forgotten you.

I have been trying to link your issue with a problem I encountered yesterday when doing some troubleshooting with oversized photos and slideshows. As I always say, problems may sound alike, but really do have different causes, so.......

In both Premiere Elements 7 and 8, the playback of the video portion of the video audio Timeline would not playback as the Timeline Indicator moved from left to right. In contrast, while the view in the Edit Mode Monitor was remaining at the first frame of the video part as the Timeline Indicator moved from left to right, the audio was playing along well from start to finish.

With your current setup are you attempting to preview your Timeline playback in the Edit Mode Monitor as well as via some external device, TV monitor..? Have your IT people owed up to doing anything other to your computer than uninstalling/reinstalling Premiere Elements?

To be continued....

ATR


ITs only other help was a suggestion i had eliminated early on (changing a setting)

I am not using any kind of external device for playback, just using the regular comp monitor.

Have a happy thanksgiving!!

[ATR]

Scott

Now the bad news. I added a bunch of pictures and still nothing

When you said that you put jpeg photos on your Timeline and got the same no playback for them as the video, what were the pixel dimensions of those photos and how many did you place on the Timeline?

Even though they were just jpegs, did you render the Timeline in the Edit Mode by pressing the Enter Key and waiting for completion of that process in which the red line over the Timeline turns green?

Just checking and thinking.

Hope your Thanksgiving Day is great and the weather co-operates for the travelers. Right now I am reading up on the benefits of eating turkey. I was hoping to find something that would justify its eating to improve Premiere Elements troubleshooting. Time will tell.

I have not given up yet.

ATR

[ucscottb4u]

Scott



When you said that you put jpeg photos on your Timeline and got the same no playback for them as the video, what were the pixel dimensions of those photos and how many did you place on the Timeline?

Even though they were just jpegs, did you render the Timeline in the Edit Mode by pressing the Enter Key and waiting for completion of that process in which the red line over the Timeline turns green?

Just checking and thinking.

Hope your Thanksgiving Day is great and the weather co-operates for the travelers. Right now I am reading up on the benefits of eating turkey. I was hoping to find something that would justify its eating to improve Premiere Elements troubleshooting. Time will tell.

I have not given up yet.

ATR

I used 9 photos, and the largest of them were 800x600
I originally didnt render them, but after reading this post, i went back and rendered them, This time only 4 photos all 800x600. and still no luck.

could there be a obvious simple step i am missing early on? Its seems really strange that this part is so difficult and i am certainly willing to admit to ignorance, if thats the case.

hope you had a good thanksgiving.
Scott

[ATR]

Scott,

I am determined that we are going to resolve this today....I hope.

Check List
(Before you start, make sure that you have turned off Background Rendering found Premiere Elements Edit Menu/Preferences/General)

1. You have Premiere Elements 8 installed on Windows XP...what version? (I am going to retreat temporarily from the resource angle since we are just going to begin by getting about 7 jpeg-800 x 600-pixels-photos to playback on your Premiere Elements 8 Edit Mode Monitor).
(a) your Premiere Elements project preset (new project dialog) = NTSC DV Standard

2. Playback Settings. Right click the Edit Mode Monitor, select Playback Settings. Do they read as follows:

Realtime Playback

"check mark" Desktop Video Display During Playback

External Device "DV:29.97 720 x 480i

Aspect Ratio Conversion "Hardware (If Supported)"

"dot" Desktop Audio and "no dot" External Device audio

Export

External Device "DV: 29.97 720 x 480i

"check mark" Disable video output when in the background

24p Conversion Method

"no dot" Repeat Frame (ABBCD)
"dot" Interlaced Frame (2:3:3:2)

Please check and confirm the above.

To be continued....on reply please give description of your video card and when last updated.

ATR

[ucscottb4u]

Scott,

I am determined that we are going to resolve this today....I hope.

Check List
(Before you start, make sure that you have turned off Background Rendering found Premiere Elements Edit Menu/Preferences/General)

1. You have Premiere Elements 8 installed on Windows XP...what version? (I am going to retreat temporarily from the resource angle since we are just going to begin by getting about 7 jpeg-800 x 600-pixels-photos to playback on your Premiere Elements 8 Edit Mode Monitor).
(a) your Premiere Elements project preset (new project dialog) = NTSC DV Standard

2. Playback Settings. Right click the Edit Mode Monitor, select Playback Settings. Do they read as follows:

Realtime Playback

"check mark" Desktop Video Display During Playback

External Device "DV:29.97 720 x 480i

Aspect Ratio Conversion "Hardware (If Supported)"

"dot" Desktop Audio and "no dot" External Device audio

Export

External Device "DV: 29.97 720 x 480i

"check mark" Disable video output when in the background

24p Conversion Method

"no dot" Repeat Frame (ABBCD)
"dot" Interlaced Frame (2:3:3:2)

Please check and confirm the above.

To be continued....on reply please give description of your video card and when last updated.

ATR
All my settings match those settings. (and just to be sure, still no playback)
im using XP Version 2002 Service Pack 3
also, not really sure about the details of the Video Card, according to my Device Manager its Nvidia Quadro. but i know something is missing from the details on the card. The computer was set up for me by our IT dept over the summer but before it was decided i was doing video work, so it wasnt set up with that in mind.

[ATR]

ucscottb4u

Continuation of Check List

3. GPU Cards nVidia Quadro FX540, FX4000, FX500/FX600 were found in one Premiere Elements 2 "tested by Adobe list". Have your IT people check out the video card that you have installed and made sure that it is compatible and updated for your present computer environment? Further, have we confirmed that checking and unchecking "Enable GPU Playback" (Edit Menu/Preference/General) has no impact on the realtime playback issue? Double check that there are no exclamation marks after Display Adapters components under the computer Device Manager. Also, any chance the IT people could try another video card, maybe of the GeForce series?


4. Scratch Disks. Please report and confirm Scratch Disks setup (Edit Menu/Preferences/Scratch Discs). Where are the scratch files directed to and how much free hard drive space is there?

5. For the present, we will continue to work for real time play back of photos on the Premiere Elements 8 Timeline.

To be continued.....

ATR

[ATR]

Scott,

Have your IT people actually gone through all of the AdobeTech Note and exhausted every possible solution for your issue in it?
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/515/cpsid_51526.html

ATR

[ucscottb4u]

I tried switchingt he GPU Playback setting with no luck.
the scratch disk i use is a western digital USB2 1tb drive. with 931gb free.
im gonna talk to IT, but convincing them to switch out the Video Card is going to be a uphill battle, though a winnable one.

[ATR]

Scott,

I think that getting your IT people and the video card involved at this time is a good idea. And, I would demo the situation with the 7 or 8 photos on the Timeline, rather than starting with the AVCHD or other video format on the Timeline which brings in other variables. Once the photos playback in the Edit Mode Monitor successfully, do not let them get away until they have confirmed that video on the Timeline will playback in the Edit Mode Monitor as well.

I will be watching for your progress and hoping for the best. It has been a long road. Thanks for your stick-to-it-tiveness.

ATR