Frame size and publishing

[tedco]

Hi,

I have now completed all my analog vhs-tapes successfully, thanks to all your help, and am moving in to digital footage recorded on small "credit-card' point-and-shoot camera's.

The original footage I have is in mpg-format 640 x 480 and 30 frames per second, although some are 25.

In Premiere Elements 13, I pick the PAL > DSLR > 480p preset, although it has a frame rate setting of 50 frames/second, as this is the only Preset with the 640 x 480 size.

However, when I publish, there are no options to select similar frame width/height setting and selecting AVI setting, the frame size will be 720 x 576.

Would that cause any problems on the finish footage ?

Regards

[Bob]

Have you tried simply placing your footage on the timeline and let Premiere Elements select the project settings?

PAL presets are for use in the UK and other countries that use the PAL system. If you are in North America, you would normally be using NTSC presets.

640x480 is an early video standard used for standard definition video and has a 4:3 frame aspect ratio using square pixels. It has the same height and frame aspect ratio as NTSC standard definition and can be used in an NTSC standard definition project. NTSC is 720x480, but these are rectangular pixel that are narrower then square pixels so the video remains 4:3 and Premiere Elements will automatically take care of the conversion.

When you publish, you can output to any format that's compatible with NTSC standard definition video.

[tedco]

Hi Bob,

Thank you for your quick reply.

Placing the footage on the timeline and let PE select the settings works fine.

However, I am puzzled as to why when publishing the finished video, the format is 720 x 576 - there are no settings in the Publishing setting that is 640 x 480 - or at least, I can't find any.

I thought that input footage dimensions would equal output publishing dimensions - I assume that when original 640 x 480 footage is published as 720 x 576, it would be "stretched" to a certain degree, or I may be totally wrong - not the first time, though....

Thank you in advance.

Regards

[Bob]

Are you letting Premiere Elements select the project settings or are you forcing the project to use the PAL preset? Your footage is 480 pixels high, the same as NTSC. Which is what you should be using if you plan on viewing this on a TV in North America. It sounds like your project settings are 720x756 which is the PAL frame size.

Input footage dimensions don't necessarily equal project dimensions or output publishing dimensions because the pixel aspect ratio is changing and that will dictate the equivalent number of horizontal pixels. Your 640x480 video is 4:3 and uses square pixels, NTSC 720x480 is 4:3 and uses pixels that are narrower than they are high, and PAL 720x756 is 4:3 and uses pixels that are wider than they are high. The important thing is that they all have the same 4:3 frame ratio. Premiere Elements will resample the pixels to accommodate the change in pixel aspect ratio. 640x480 is not commonly used for output intended for TV viewing and would not be included in the standard presets. If you publish to PAL, you won't be able to view it on a standard North American TV.

[tedco]

I have tried both, selecting the PAL DSLR 480p Preset and also start a new project and drop the footage to the time line - both works perfect.

I am in Australia and using PAL setting, and do not have a need to use NTSC setting.
The footage is rather old dating back to 2003.

I guess what confused me was that my original footing of 640 x 480 would be published in a larger dimension as 720 x 576 and thought it would be somehow stretched when finished and published to disc.

BTW - is it possible to edit or design your own preset ?

Thanking you in advance,

Regards

[Bob]

I am in Australia...

Had I known that, I wouldn't have suggested NTSC.

I guess what confused me was that my original footing of 640 x 480 would be published in a larger dimension as 720 x 576 and thought it would be somehow stretched when finished and published to disc.

Square vs rectangular pixels is an unfamiliar concept for most people and can be confusing. As long as the frame aspect ratio remains the same, the image proportions will remain the same and you will not get stretching.

is it possible to edit or design your own preset ?

You cannot create a custom project preset, but you can create a custom preset for use in publishing. When you share a file using one of the options in the Publish And Share panel, you can click the Advanced button in the Export Settings dialog box and customize the options. When you exit the dialog you can name and save the custom preset.