Premiere Pro CS4 Timeline quality issue

[Mike Velte]

What is the resolution of your source footage? What is your Project settings, specifically resolution?
Typically the Program window is set to display at Automatic Quality, but there is a Draft setting. The window is also set to “Fit” your video in the window, Scaling (up or down) images and video to preview on a PC screen will induce aberrations and artifacts. How does the video look at 100%?

[Andrew Dennis]

Here is what it says in the properties for the sequence in the timeline…
Norwich sequence
1440 x 1080
00;17;33;12, 25.00 fps
48000 Hz – Stereo

Here is what the source footage properties
Type: AVI Movie
File Size: 12.3 GB
Image Size: 720 x 480
Pixel Depth: 32
Frame Rate: 29.97
Source Audio Format: 48000 Hz – 16 bit – Stereo
Project Audio Format: 48000 Hz – 32 bit floating point – Stereo
Total Duration: 00;57;58;07
Average Data Rate: 3.6 MB / second
Pixel Aspect Ratio: 1.2121

AVI File details:
Reel name: Untitled Tape
Contains 1 video track(s) and 1 audio track(s).
Interleave: 1 : 29.00

Video track 1:
Size is 11.65G bytes (average frame = 123.44K bytes)
There are 104243 keyframes.
Frame rate is 29.97 fps
Frame size is 720 x 480
Depth is 24 bits.

Audio track 1:
Size is 636.88M bytes
Rate is 48000 samples/sec
Sample size is 16 bits

When I change the project footage from draft, automatic, and highest quality, there is no noticeable change. When increase the magnification from ‘fit’ to 100% the picture goes from a small image that fills roughly a quarter of the display, to a full screen image that is pixilated and blurry. Also, there is definitely a serious downgrade in quality, because when I try to export to mpeg2 .mov etc. i get the same tiny pixilated picture as in the timeline.

[Mike Velte]

You have a HDV Project/sequence and your video is SD. By default “Scale to frame size” is turned on and stretching your SD footage to fill the screen. The pixel aspect ratio of your sequence is 1.3 and your source is .9.
Put your SD footage in a DV preset sequence (CS4) or a DV Project (CS3).

[Andrew Dennis]

Thanks Mike. That was the problem.

[Shereen Bartlett]

I have a similar problem. I create a new project using the DV PAL Standard 48kHz. I am able to capture footage but when I put it onto the timeline it is blurry (the size looks correct). When I export to mpeg2 .mov etc. i get the same blurry picture as in the timeline.

I can not record from the timeline to the SONY DSR 11 deck. It says it is recording, but when you play the tape back it is just black.

The device control is not picking up the deck – it is not in the drop down menu list. So I am using the DV/HDV setting.
The edit suite does not have a video card. I would have preferred one, but the supplier said they did not have one to support Adobe which was my choice of editing software.

Any advise please would be greatly appreciated.

Below the project/sequence settings:
SOURCE FOOTAGE PROPERTIES
File Path: E:NDCNDC DETAILS MOVIE.avi
Type: AVI Movie
File Size: 141.8 MB
Image Size: 720 x 576
Pixel Depth: 32
Frame Rate: 25.00
Source Audio Format: 48000 Hz – 16 bit – Stereo
Project Audio Format: 48000 Hz – 32 bit floating point – Stereo
Total Duration: 00:00:39:05
Average Data Rate: 3.6 MB / second
Pixel Aspect Ratio: 1.094

AVI File details:
Timecode:
User Timecode: 00:30:00:16
Contains 1 video track(s) and 1 audio track(s).
Interleave: 1 : 24.50

Video track 1:
Size is 134.58M bytes (average frame = 148.12K bytes)
There are 980 keyframes.
Frame rate is 25.00 fps
Frame size is 720 x 576
Depth is 24 bits.

Audio track 1:
Size is 7.17M bytes
Rate is 48000 samples/sec
Sample size is 16 bits

PROPERTIES FOR THE SEQUENCE SETTING

File Path: E:NDCNDC.avi
Type: AVI Movie
File Size: 6.2 GB
Image Size: 720 x 576
Pixel Depth: 32
Frame Rate: 25.00
Source Audio Format: 48000 Hz – 16 bit – Stereo
Project Audio Format: 48000 Hz – 32 bit floating point – Stereo
Total Duration: 00:29:07:16
Average Data Rate: 3.6 MB / second
Pixel Aspect Ratio: 1.094

AVI File details:
Reel name: Untitled Tape
Contains 1 video track(s) and 1 audio track(s).
Interleave: 1 : 24.99

Video track 1:
Size is 5.85G bytes (average frame = 148.12K bytes)
There are 43691 keyframes.
Frame rate is 25.00 fps
Frame size is 720 x 576
Depth is 24 bits.

Audio track 1:
Size is 320.00M bytes
Rate is 48000 samples/sec
Sample size is 16 bits