New to forum so I apologize if has been discussed before

[danhertlein]

Hello All,

I'm new to all this. I have a Flip Mino HD which outputs to MP4. I brought this into my newly installed PE9 and after a few minutes, the video is out of synch. I've tried creating a MOV file (although I use WIN7 on my PC with PE). I also have a MacBook which I viewed the MOV file with the same result.

I think I have to convert the MP4 to a DV-AVI file, correct? How do I do it?

Thanks

[Chuck Engels]

Hi Dan,
Welcome to Muvipix

There are probably others that will speak up with experience using the Flip camera, I have no experience with that.
However, you can convert the MP4 files to DV-AVI using QuickTime Pro for $30. I use it on a regular basis and it has been the best $30 I ever spent on video editing software. There are other converters as well, probably some free ones, that I'm sure someone will mention soon.

Thanks for stopping by the best forum in the known universe

[Steve Grisetti]

Welcome to Muvipix, Dan!

Version 9 is designed to work with video from a Flip camcorder without doing any video conversions -- but you need to use the appropriate Flip video project preset in order for it to work. Did you do this? (My books, by the way, show you which presets to use with which video sources and how to set up projects up. You can find out more info on them at http://Muvipix.com/pe9.php )

To set up a project for Flip video, select the option to start a New Project and then click the Settings button. Select the Flip video project preset that matches your camcorder. (Is it a Mino or Ultra? Standard or hi-def?) Once you've done this, you can use Premiere Elements' Get Media/from AVCHD and Flip Camcorders Video Importer tool to rip the video from your camcorder to your computer and onto your hard drive. (This is the preferred way to do it, by the way.)

If you do this, the Flip video should work very well in Premiere Elements. I've done it myself on my iMac.

If you're still getting issues, though, it may be that your computer isn't powerful enough to work with hi-def video. The non-pro MacBooks are built for portability rather than power and, particularly if you haven't got a good load of RAM and plenty of hard drive space, your computer may struggle with the footage. (Although, as I've said, by dual-core 2.66 mhz iMac does a pretty good job with Flip UltraHD video.)

[JohnnyO]

Also try to render the timeline. It may look like the sound is out of sync but after eendering you wmay see that it is not.

[danhertlein]

Well I used the suggestion Steve gave me importing the video file from the Flip but it still starts to lag about half way through (4 minutes in) the video. It gets progressively worse. At the end, it's probably lagging half a second. I will say, if I watch the MP4 in it's raw form, it does not lag.

My PC is an AMD based (2.8 ghz) system and has 3 GB of ram. Hard drive space is not an issue.

Any additional suggestions will be appreciated. BTW, I did get your book Steve but, it'll be here after I have to submit this video. BTW, my wife and I are doing a video for eHarmony. They wanted our story for a possible commercial. They said not to worry about production value but I guess I'm a perfectionist ;-)

[John 'twosheds' McDonald]

Try running the source video through VirtualDub (free). I have used it successfully to 're-sync' video and audio clips. Let us know if that helps.

http://www.virtualdub.org/

[Steve Grisetti]

I agree that your computer power may be an issue. You'll likely need at least a dual-core machine to work with Flip video. Especially if it's HD.

Still, if you're patient enough, you should be able to Share/Computer/MOV to create an MOV file for eHarmony, YouTube or whatever that should look and play very well.

Meantime, I won't ask why you and the Mrs. are making eHarmony videos. Aren't you happy dating each other?

[danhertlein]

Just wondering...I clipped some of the video at the beginning of the clip. Is it possible this is causing the slippage later in the clip?

[Steve Grisetti]

It certainly shouldn't be.

As we've said, the most likely issue is that your computer is struggling to keep up with the hi-def video, so your audio is leading.

But try outputting an MOV, as I suggested above, and play it. If you created your project with the correct Flip video project preset, your output video should play perfectly.

[danhertlein]

Whoops, I didn't do that Steve. I'll give it a whirl. And thanks!

[danhertlein]

Well I just saved it as a MOV file and it is still doing it. Kind of frustrating. But thanks for the assistance.

[Steve Grisetti]

Wow! I'm not sure what to say, Dan. Flip video has worked perfectly on both computers (one Mac, one PC) that I've tested it on, as long as I've used the correct project setting for the camcorder.

I don't know why you're experiencing what you are -- especially if you used the Premiere Elements Video Importer to download the file from your camcorder to your computer. So I'm sorry. I can't be of any further help. All I can say is that it can and, in most cases, does work!

[danhertlein]

I'm thinking it may be this processor. It's an AMD Athlon LE-1660 2.80 GHz. I do notice PE 9 runs quite slow and I can't use the mouse for many functions within PE. I have to tab around... Never had the problem with other apps though. I just chalked it up to Adobe being a very large resource drain.

[Chuck Engels]

Did you press the Enter key and render the timeline like Johnny recommended earlier?

[danhertlein]

Yes. Hate to say it, but I got so flustered...I went back and rebuilt the video (which includes photos and music as well as several clips). Total of ten minutes. So, I used MS Movie Maker. Worked perfect...