correct settings for import and export?

[ungermj]

I recently purchased a Canon Vixia HF M30 along with Premiere Elements 9 for my Mac Pro. I am having a hard time figuring out the correct settings for both importing video from my camcorder and exporting edited video to share on facebook.

First of all, which AVCHD preset should I select when importing my video? There are so many choices and it's very confusing. Which ever one I use, I always get asked if I want to automatically change the settings to match the project.

Once I'm done editing, I have tried many different settings to format my video to view on facebook, but everything I try results in the horizontal lines (or "combing" as I've heard it called) during fast motion.

I've spent hours trying to figure this out but am about ready to give up and try different software. Please help!

[Steve Grisetti]

Welcome to Muvipix, Ungermj!

First, I'd recommend, if you want to edit your video in Premiere Elements, you shoot only on FXP or MXP mode. Then you should be able to edit this video in a project set up for AVCHD 1920x1080. The cam shoots in both stereo and 5.1 audio, so make sure you also select the AVCHD preset with a matching audio format.

For output for Facebook, I'd recommend you use Share/Portable Devices/iPod. This will produce a smaller, lower quality video -- but it's one more suited for online upload. When you upload to Facebook, the site will re-encode it but, with those specs, it should cause minimal damage to it.

[ungermj]

Okay, but is there any way to see what mode I recorded my previous videos in?

I'm hoping I can still salvage them. Is it possible to change the format to standard def so that when I export, I won't have the horizontal lines?

[Steve Grisetti]

I don't understand your "horizontal lines" issue. I'm also not sure what you mean by "is there any way to see what mode I recorded my previous videos in?"

But I believe the iPod preset will reduce your video to standard def. Have you tried it?

[ungermj]

I get the same "combing" effect no matter I export it. I tried the high quality ipod setting you suggested and the results were the same. I guess I don't know how else to explain the slight horizontal lines other than to attach a video clip showing you an example. Am I able to add a video attachment to this post and if so, what format? I tried .mp4 and .flv but got a message saying the extension is not allowed.

When I asked about the mode of my previously recorded video, what I meant was, is there a way to see if the video that I already recorded was in FXP mode, MXP mode, SD mode, etc.?
Does that make sense? I could have sworn I recorded it in FXP, but I could be wrong. My settings have all been changed since then.

[Steve Grisetti]

There is free software for Windows that will allow you to see what codecs and settings were used to record your video. There must be an app for Macs too that does this, but I'm not sure what it would be.

Can you shoot some test footage in FXP mode and use that in a properly set up project and see if you're getting the same results? (You are pretty much always going to see some comb effect when playing video on a computer because most camcorders shoot interlaced video and computers use progressive scan. But, if you're using Quicktime Player to play the videos and you're playing that at 100% size rather than full-screen, it should be minimal.)

But try shooting some test footage, using the correct project preset, saving it as an iPod MOV and then loading it to Facebook. That will be our "control" experiment. It should give you great results.

[ungermj]

Well, I realized that once I actually posted the video onto facebook, I didn't see the combing. Sorry about that! But I'm still not getting the quality that I should be. Between learning the new PE upgrade (I used to use PE3) and my new AVCHD camera (used to use miniDV), I'm having a heck of a time learning the best settings for both, depending on what type of media the video is outputted for. Coordinating the correct frame rate and recording mode for the best quality result is what is very confusing to me. I'll just have to keep trying different combination, it just gets very time consuming. Thank you for the help!

[Steve Grisetti]

Glad we can help, Unger!