Wrong aspect ratio with MP4 file

[Finnkai]

My problem concerns some video shot on a Panasonic Lumix FT-1 in AVCHD-lite.

I successfully downloaded this material from my camera to my PC using Panasonic's PhotoFunStudio software and then converted a clip of this video to an MP4v file using Handbrake so I could edit it in Premiere Elements 7.

However, when I brought the resulting MP4 file into my (new) project, it appeared in PSE7 no longer as widescreen but had been "squashed" to 4:3 aspect ratio with black sections either side. I have tried using different project settings when setting up my new project but every time the aspect ratio for this clip in PSE7 is the same. Incidentally, the converted MP4 file from Handbrake does play correctly as widescreen before being brought into PSE7.

Has anyone got advice on what I am doing wrong? Thanks.

[Paul LS]

Right click on the clip in the Media bin and select Intepret Footage. Then select Conform To and select the appropriate NTSC or PAL Widescreen aspect ratio.

[Steve Grisetti]

BTW, there's probably no real advantage in taking that AVCHD Lite and converting it to an MP4. Neither file format is directly compatible with Premiere Elements. That's why the program is probably not recognizing the pixel aspect ratio.

If you're going to convert the file, you'd be much better off converting it to a 1440x1080 MPEG2, a hi-def file format that should work with Premiere Elements HDV project preset. (Those 1440 pixels, by the way, are non-square -- or anamorphic -- so a 1440x1080 anamorphic video is 16:9, just like a square pixel 1920x1080.)

[Barb O]

Finnkai,
What version of the Windows operating system are you running with Premiere Elements 7?

Steve Grisetti, JohnnyO, and other participants,

BTW, there's probably no real advantage in taking that AVCHD Lite and converting it to an MP4. Neither file format is directly compatible with Premiere Elements. That's why the program is probably not recognizing the pixel aspect ratio.

If you're going to convert the file, you'd be much better off converting it to a 1440x1080 MPEG2, a hi-def file format that should work with Premiere Elements HDV project preset. (Those 1440 pixels, by the way, are non-square -- or anamorphic -- so a 1440x1080 anamorphic video is 16:9, just like a square pixel 1920x1080.)

Looking at some info on the Panasonic Lumix FT-1 it seems that it takes:
1280x720 pixels, 60p - AVCHD Lite (SH: 17Mbps, H: 13Mbps, L: 9Mbps)

So Steve, I am puzzled about converting to 1440x1080 MPEG2: is that upscaling the video?

I am wondering about using a Premiere Elements HDV 720p project setting, which seemed to work in my one test of AVCHD lite from my Panasonic DMC-ZS3 using Premiere Elements 7 running under Vista Home Premium. However, my workflow did not involve editing directly from the AVCHD Lite source: instead I output to SD widescreen from the HDV 720p Premiere Elements 7 project and then will use that SD widescreen video in a different PE 7 project with other standard definition video.

Note : I think that JohnnyO probably has the most experience (among the muvipix moderators and regulars) with Panasonic still camera AVCHD Lite video. So perhaps he will have some suggestions and could comment on differences with Windows 7 versus my Vista Home Premium.

Barb O

[Finnkai]

Thanks for the replies.

Taking them in order:

The "Interpret footage" tip worked although I wasn't sure what project settings to use. In the end went with HDV 720p as Barbara had said this worked well.

Steve suggests converting straight to MPEG2. Didn't try this as it wasn't an option with Handbrake. Is there a recommended piece of software for doing this (ideally free!)?

Barbara asks what OS I'm using. The answer is Windows XP SP3.

[Steve Grisetti]

Give Free Video Convertor from http://www.koyotesoft.com/ a try. (When you install it, watch out for the option to install add-ons to your web browser or you'll end up with an annoying Yahoo bar.)

I'm still experimenting with it myself, but it seems to take in a lot of formats and output a lot of formats. You can select an MPEG2 option at 1920x1080.

And, yes, that is upscaling -- and that's kind of a cheat. But since it makes the file more compatible with the HDV format setting, it's an acceptable compromise, IMHO.

I'm still on the lookout for a free convertor that will produce true HDV, 1440x1080 anamorphic.

[Gerlinde]

Have you tried to import your footage directly into PRE with the 720p preset without converting to mp4? If your computer can handle it, you could then export (share) if necessary to mpeg2 1440x1080i or even HD 720p 30. Obviously Barb O reported she could use PRE to convert to sd format.

[JohnnyO]

I am wondering about using a Premiere Elements HDV 720p project setting, which seemed to work in my one test of AVCHD lite from my Panasonic DMC-ZS3 using Premiere Elements 7 running under Vista Home Premium. However, my workflow did not involve editing directly from the AVCHD Lite source: instead I output to SD widescreen from the HDV 720p Premiere Elements 7 project and then will use that SD widescreen video in a different PE 7 project with other standard definition video.

I have the Panasonic DMC-ZS3. I also use the Panasonic Photofun Studio HD software to copy the AVCHD-lite video clips to my computer. I have been using the AVCHD-lite format for over a year now.

I am running Windows 7 on an old computer (Pentium 4HT - 2.8GHz). Therefore it is impossible to edit this highly compressed format on my machine, no matter what video editor I use. I therefore need to use proxy editing. I convert the AVCHD video to lower resolution mpeg 2 clips before editing.

This works best in MAGIX Movie Edit Pro 9version 16) and Sony Vegas Studio (version 10). It does work in PRE7 however when replacing the proxy files with the originals, PRE7 takes an unreasonable amount of time to render. How unreasonable, I wil never know because I lost patience with it.

The bottom line is that I agree with Steve to convert to an HD MPEG2 format when using in PRE. When doing so you will be compressing an already highly compressed format into a different compressed format. You will loose quality doing this.I How much I don't know. You will need to run some tests and compare on your TV. You may not notice a difference.

I also agree with Barb that you need not convert to a higher resolution format. I don't think you will gain anything with this. Using the PRE 720p pre-set is definitely the way to go.

I was using Koyotesoft's free HD converter for some time. It is nice and does batch conversions. And it is free. I stopped using it a while ago because the sound was out of sync using its converted videos after I took an upgrade. Maybe they fixed it by now. Since then I am using the batch conversion included in Magix Movie Edit Pro.

I fiond that the Magix MEP editor handles AVCHD-lie video much better than PRE does. So I stopped uning PRE as AVCHD-lite is now my main video source.

I am really happy with my Panasonic DMC-ZS3. The quality of the video is much better than DV-AVI when I compared the 2 side by side - rendering to SD. The cameras are compact and they also take photos. So much less to carry around and you even get the benefit of beter quality.

[Steve Grisetti]

You guys are right! I forgot that version 7 also included a 1280x720 project preset (under HDV). Before we do any conversions, it might be worth a try to see if the MP4 works with it. (Though the clip will certainly need to be rendered on the timeline before it will be viewable at any quality.)

[Finnkai]

If I understand everyone right, the final suggestion was to use the MP4 file I had created by converting the original AVCHD-lite (m2ts) file with Handbrake and load this in PRE-7 under the HDV 720p setting and render it on the timeline.

I can report this certainly works and (at least in PRE7) the quality looks OK. Haven't yet got to the stage of exporting it as am still experimenting with how to get it into PRE7 for editing.

Do I conclude there is probably no benefit from converting to MPEG2 (or other format)?

Thanks again for your thoughts.

[Steve Grisetti]

This may be one you'll have to answer, Finnkai. You may just have to try a couple of our suggestions and see which gives you the best results.

Unfortunately, when working with video from still cameras like the Lumix, there is no one-size-fits-all solution that works for everyone.

[Gerlinde]

Hi Finnkai,

My suggestion was to import your videos unconverted (as .m2ts) into PRE7 with a 720p project preset. But all may depend on your computer, how powerful is it?

I have a Panasonic Lumix FP-1, which records also HD video, but the files are in .mjpeg (mov) format. These files are also quite highly compressed ( not as high as AVCHD lite of course). I don’t expect to do a lot of fancy editing on those clips. The only things I do with them is to shorten or string several clips together . I also have done some color correction and I added a title. I have had no problems of doing that with my CoreDuo 2 notebook. My preferred output format is either .wmv 720p or mp4.

So what I’m trying to say is, avoid conversion if ever possible, but if your computer is not able to handle the footage, than a conversion is the best thing to do.

[Finnkai]

Hi

I have now imported the file in directly (had originally got impression this would not work) and, in the end, can say the result was very good. Yes it did take quite a while to render (computer appeared to hang but then lurched forward, stalled again and eventually completed!).

Haven't yet done anything to edit clip but expect, like gpecht, it will mainly be cutting and joining.

Thanks again to all - as usual the best advice comes from muvipix.com!

[Gerlinde]

Yeah!

Thanks for reporting back and happy editing