Change Aspect Ratio of Project?

[JP's]

Hello everyone.

It's been awhile since I last posted.

I started a project in PE4 using 16:9 aspect ratio (standard definition). As the project evolved, I used video from a Sony Hi8 camcorder (4:3 ratio). All video in the project is 4:3.

Can I go into the project settings and change the 720x480 to 640x480 to correct the ratio?

Or will PE4 automatically output the correct ratio based on the video used?

[Chuck Engels]

Hi JP,
I remember this coming up in the past and a quick search of "change aspect ratio" found the answer
viewtopic.php?p=9810#p9810

[Steve Grisetti]

Unfortunately, you technically can't change a project's settings mid-project. It's only available when you first start your project.

I believe you can open the project (.prel) file with a text editing program (like Wordpad) and hack it to different settings -- though someone else will need to tell you how to do that.

The challenge in your case is that you'll also have to deal with pixel aspect ratio. See, both 16:9 and 4:3 video has the same number of pixels (720x480). It's the SHAPE of the pixels that determines whether it's widescreen or standard.

So, if and when you do change your project's settings, all of your video is going to look squished.

How deep are you into the project? Is it too late to start over, with the right project settings? Otherwise, there are some emergency measures (like using ClipMate to cut the clips from one project's timeline and paste them into another).

[Chuck Engels]

I believe you can open the project (.prel) file with a text editing program (like Wordpad) and hack it to different settings -- though someone else will need to tell you how to do that.

See the link in my post above...

Never use Wordpad to edit these types of files, only Notepad.

[Paul LS]

Hi Chuck, you mention never to use Wordpad when editing these files, only Notepad... why is that?

[Dave McElderry]

I think it's because Wordpad saves in a rich text format, adding formatting information. Notepad is a pure text editor.

[Chuck Engels]

Dave is correct, Wordpad adds formatting characters, returns, and lots of other data that will really screw up files like this. Any pure text editor will work, Notepad is a good option.

[Bob]

Notepad will certainly work, but so will Wordpad. Wordpad supports text documents (your project file is a text document). As long as you don't save it to a different format you'll be fine. If you override the text document type and save it as a word processing format such as rtf, you will get formatting codes embeded and you will be in trouble. On my Windows 7 64-bit system, I find that Wordpad also loads the project file faster than notepad and the edits are faster also. And, Wordpad will display the project's xml text in a formatted view which I find easier to read and scan through.

There is a slight difference between the two applications. If you press enter, Notepad will insert the Line feed character (hex 0A) while current versions of Wordpad will insert the Carriage Return (hex 0D) and Line feed (hex 0A) characters. XML parsers ignore these characters and they will not cause a problem in either Premiere Elements or Premiere Pro.

The usual warning applies: Make a copy of your project file before you do any edits on it.

There is a checkbox in the Save As dialog to always save in the format you select there. You probably want to uncheck that so it will use the text document type. You should be fine if you use Save (ctrl+s). If you use save as, make sure it didn't append a ".txt" suffix to the file.

[Paul LS]

Thanks the explaination gentlemen.

[JP's]

Chuck,

In my haste to get to work I did not think to use the search function.

Steve,

The project started out as a 16:9 however I found some older Hi8 tape with forgotten footage and grew from there. Fortunately it is a simple home movie. I will start a new project with the correct settings.

Thank You all for the help!

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!!!

[Steve Grisetti]

Have a wonderful holiday, JP! And thanks for being part of the Muvipix community.

[Chuck Engels]

Well with that explanation Bob, I stand corrected about Wordpad.
Still, because of problems I have personally encountered in the past, will not use Wordpad for editing any code or xml files. Notepad works in a pinch but I also primarily use a tool call Notepad++, very nice if you are working with lots of different coding, html, php, xml, etc.

I'm still not sure you can edit HTML with Wordpad and not have issues. Notepad++ works well and I don't have to worry. http://notepad-plus-plus.org/

[Bob]

I understand, Chuck! I'm not a big fan of MS Notepad or Wordpad, but they are good for some quick and dirty tasks and I do use them for that. Of course, I do have the industrial strength tools also.

I haven't used Notepad++, but it looks like it would be useful. It's quite a bit different from MS Notepad -- it's in the class of applications known as source code editors which were originally developed as a programming tool because they can recognize syntax and highlight and format the code. I've used a number of them over the years. Nowadays, there's one built into most commercial programming tools.

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!!!

How nice to be greeted with a Happy Christmas message and accompanying, appropriate picture instead of the totally meaningless happy holidays. Thank you from someone that you would be most unlikely to call a Christian but is someone that truly values western cultural heritage.