Imported AVI duration not correct in PRE9

[Ron Hunter]

I am using PRE9 to convert a Camtasia AVI file to a MPEG 1920 x 1080i high-def file for use in other projects. I have successfully performed this function with many Camtasia AVI files.

Today I encountered a problem when working with a 7min 11sec Camtasia-created AVI file. The file plays properly in Windows Media Player. However, when I import it into PRE9 the movie duration is only 1 second and 18 frames!

When I right-click the file within PRE9 Project window and select Properties, all of the file parameters look correct except the duration.

I have restarted PRE9 and even rebooted the i7 Win7 PC I'm working with, and neither action changed the outcome.

Does anyone have an idea about what is causing this, and what a remedy would be?

Thanks!

[Steve Grisetti]

It's hard to say without more specifics -- but it could be that the program didn't have time to fully conform the file.

Try clearing the video from your Premiere Elements project and then re-importing it.

Be sure to wait until the program has a chance to fully conform it. (You can usually watch the progress in the lower right corner of the interface.)

[Ron Hunter]

Thanks Steve. I tried clearing the file and re-importing it, but it made no difference. I also tried restarting PRE9 and rebooting, but it made no difference.

I am importing the 1920x1080 (frame rate=30) AVI file into a project whose preset is "NTSC-AVCHD-Full HD 1080i 30". There is no "conforming" or "indexing" progress bar on the bottom right corner of the screen when I import the file.

Most of the other AVI files that have yielded success were 5-7 minutes long. This problematic movie is 7min 11sec long. (Windows Movie Player has no problem with it.) On the premise that the movie is too long I tried splitting up the Camtasia production into two videos, but then Camtasia crashed!

[Ron Hunter]

I just split up the Camtasia production and successfully imported both AVI files into PRE9, where I can combine them and export as necessary.

It would still be good to know why PRE9 choked on that 7min 11sec AVI file; its file size was approximately 250MBytes so that should not have been a problem.

[Steve Grisetti]

I'm not sure what you're loading an AVI into a project set up for Full AVCHD. That forces the program to do some strange transcoding.

If you want to work in hi-def, why not output an MP4 from Camtasia and use it in a project set up for DSLR 1080? It might be a closer fit -- and save you some transcoding overloading.

Although either way we're working with those Tech Smith codecs, so I'm not sure which presents a more compatible file.

[Ron Hunter]

Thanks Steve! I'm not sure what the best workflow is for this convoluted process so I've been using something that works. Well, it worked until yesterday anyway.

I am not familiar enough with all of the various formats to have known that an MP4 from Camtasia would be a good fit with a PRE9 project using DSLR 1080 settings. I want to try that. Any other things I should know about doing it that way?

[Steve Grisetti]

Sorry no.

The challenge with Camtasia files is that they all work with those proprietary Tech Smith codecs. So it really is a matter of trial and error and best guesses.