Premiere Elements 9 format problem

[Pete H]

I recently purchased Adobe Premiere Elements 9 for use on a Mac Pro. The first question is can I also install it on Windows XP which is running under Parallels on the same machine?

Secondly, and more urgent, is a problem I'm having with downloading and using DV footage from a mini DVCam tape. I first tried downloading around 38 minutes of footage using my Sony DSR20 tape deck ticking the Capture and split scenes boxes. The result was a mixture of some widescreen and some 4:3 clips! Not useable. Settings were:

Quicktime DV PAL
25 frames/sec
Frame Size: 720h 576v (1.4587)
Pixel aspect ratio: D1/DV Pal Widescreen 16:9 (1.4587)
Lower Field First
Audio: 48000 samples/sec

I then tried using my Sony PDX-10P DV camcorder with the boxes unticked downloading around some 16 minutes of unsplit footage which I then edited down to approx 8 minutes. It downloaded and displayed as widescreen - promising! I then output the resultant footage as a .mov file - again promising! However, despite an OK widescreen replay using a double click on the clip in Finder it converted to squashed up 4:3 when input into Final Cut Express or iDVD!!!

Is there somewhere a confusion because the frame size is quoted as 720x576?

If not can you suggest an answer.

Pete H

[Paul LS]

I will leave it to someone else to answer the Mac Pro and Parallels question.

it is strange that when you captured your footage it came in as both widescreen and 4:3. I assume your camcorder settings were not changed during the videoing. You can possibly correct the 4:3 footage by selecting it in the project media panel and right clicking and selecting Interpret Footage, then select the pixel aspect ratio as 16:9 widescreen.

When you output your .mov file and play it does it play in widescreen format? So, is it that FCE is misinterpreting the aspect ratio. You could download a video file analyzer such as GSpot to be sure that the correct headers are written in the file. GSpot will tell you if the .mov file is 16:9 or 4:3.
http://www.headbands.com/gspot/

[Steve Grisetti]

Hi, Pete. Welcome to Muvipix! And glad we were able to get this worked out with your post.

First, I would definitely recommend against installing Premiere Elements on Parallels. Because Parallels is a program running Windows and operating under OSX, it makes very inefficient use of your computer's power. I think you would find Premiere Elements performance on Parallels dismal to say the least.

On the other hand, I've got Boot Camp installed on my Mac and, if you must work in Windows on a Mac, that's definitely the way to go. Since you actually boot up in one or the other operating systems, you get 100% of your hardware whether in Mac OS or Windows.

Though, if you're installing Premiere Elements 9, you'd be best just installing the Mac version on OSX! I'm running it in Snow Leopard, and it runs terrifically!

That said, I'm not sure why -- or even how -- you're getting a mix of 4:3 and 16:9 clips when you capture your miniDV. It may be the deck you're capturing from ... but I'm still not even sure how that's possible! Assuming, of course, that the original video wasn't shot in a mix of standard and widescreen. Though since your camcorder footage captured OK, indications are that it's the tape deck that's interfacing strangely.

As for your output, which settings did you use to output it your video as an MOV? Did you use one of the DV presets? If so, there's no reason that output shouldn't load right into any Mac-based editing program and work just fine. (Although you may need to ensure your Final Cut or iMovie project is set up for 16:9.)

[Chuck Engels]

Hi Pete, Welcome to Muvipix
Glad we finally got your post working, sorry for the delay and the problems.
Thanks for hanging in there

[Pete H]

Thank you to those who replied to my format problem.

I read on another forum, that I cannot find at the moment, that there is a difference between mini-DVCam and mini-DV tapes. As I used a mini-DVCam tape for this part of the wedding I thought I would try copying the rendered file I had output to hard drive and to a mini-DV tape in my camcorder, a Sony PDX-10P. It stored on the camcorder as a no problem widescreen file. I then put it back into Premiere Elements 9 and output it to DVD and, guess what, it plays fine at a very good quality!

The format problem would seem to be with using a DVCam tape. I can at least use what I have downloaded, edit it and use the camera in this way for the rest of the first tape to obtain a useable file. The rest of the footage was to mini-DV tape and, hopefully, not need this treatment.

Does this sound logical?

Pete H

[Paul LS]

Yes there are some differences between DVCam tape and mini-DV tape, the former is a better quality product and the format "more" professional. But I dont think it can explain the issues you are seeing, it is strange... at least you seem to have found a work-around.

[Steve Grisetti]

I would guess that all of that transferring from camcorder to camcorder has caused the video to lose its widescreen indicators -- which is why you're getting random captures.

Unfortunately DVcam is a professional format and can't be edited natively in Premiere Elements, as you know. I'm just not sure if there's a solution that will maintain the integrity of the original footage -- short of using a professional editing program.

[Pete H]

Thanks guys for all your comments.

I'll let you know if I have any further problems with formats.

I used to do all my video work with a Sony DSR-300, an excellent camera but unfortunately only 4:3 so it is now redundant. It will be going on Ebay soon. I now use the Sony PDX-10P which is 4:3 and 16:9 so that is still useful until I go up to HD. I can still use the DSR20 tape deck but that will probably go on Ebay too.