[Ivan Myles]

Happy to help. Glad it worked for you.

[Ivan Myles]

Good to hear. Happy editing!

[Ivan Myles]

Adobe Media Encoder supports custom dimensions for MPEG-2. Be sure to set Level to High. That should work with 1344×384.

MPEG-2 Profiles & Levels Wiki

[Ivan Myles]

There might be a difference in quality but not because of the file extensions. The wrapper is not important, but the capabilities of the two cameras (optics, sensors, image management, operator settings, codecs, compression schemes) plus lighting, etc. could potentially impact image quality. Are these consumer cameras, prosumer, dslr, professional?

[Ivan Myles]

The potential advantages of professional upscaling are as follows:

– Better image quality upscaling from the source footage instead of a compressed file
– Better image quality and/or more efficient encoding when working with professional software, equipment, and personnel

Two important considerations are the quality of the SD file and the capability of your encoder. If they give you a lossless SD file, preferably with 10-bpc depth, using DPX, RGB, or full quality JPEG2000/PNG, you should be able to produce acceptable results with a good quality encoder. The results may not be satisfactory using a highly compressed SD file and/or consumer-grade encoder.

[Ivan Myles]

Thank you for posting the information. I think the 35Mpbs/VBR setting uses 1440×1080 with rectangular pixels. Change to 50Mbps for 1920×1080 with square pixels. This should also give you 4:2:2 chroma sub-sampling instead of 4:2:0.

Here is some additional information for your reference:
XDCAM, XDCAM HD, and XDCAM EX Format Specifications

[Ivan Myles]

To expand on Craig’s comments, QuickTime DV is available at 25mbps and 50mbps. A 30-second video stream will require 94MB at DV25 or 188MB at DV50. With the audio and overhead included 108MB sounds about right.

DV is an all intra-frame format. In order to compress the file to 10MB, use a codec like H.264 or MPEG-2 that incorporates inter-frame compression.

[Ivan Myles]

IIRC, Adobe Media Encoder does not support odd number dimensions with the H.264 codec. In general, multiples of 16 are better because of the encoding structure of DCT codecs where images are broken down into grids of macroblocks.

[Ivan Myles]

First try to verify whether there are issues with the encoded files. Download the transcoded YouTube video and pull it into Premiere with the H.264 file you exported. How do the encoded files compare to your final sequence in the Premiere project? If there are problems with the encoded files, try exporting with CPU-only Mercury Playback Engine instead of GPU acceleration.

If there are no apparent problems with the exported files then there is probably a compatibility issue. Try changing the H.264 export settings to Baseline Profile @ Level 3.1/3.2, two-pass VBR, target 7-10 mbps, maximum 14-20 mbps, and a key frame distance of 12 frames. On the Multiplexer tab select MP4 with Stream Compatibility set to Standard.

Thirdly, export a test clip using different codecs such as DNxHD or QuickTime H.264.

[Ivan Myles]

[Bill Dewald] “I don’t want Premiere to have to do a lot of work re-encoding the footage into a camera format.”

Premiere only re-encodes the source material for preview files, which are optional. This does not impact the delivered file unless you select “Use Previews” in the export settings.

[Bill Dewald] “What’s the best sequence preset for non-camera footage?”

Create a sequence based on your source material and delivery requirements. Some codecs only support specific combinations of settings (e.g. AVC-Intra, DNxHD, ProRes). Otherwise, here are some guidelines to create a custom sequence:

– Animations typically use progressive scanning as opposed to interlaced fields.

– Typical frame rates are 24, 25, and 30 fps. If all else is equal, use 25/50 fps if your local power is 50Hz (most of the world), and 30/60 fps in regions using 60Hz (e.g. North America).

– Typical frame sizes are common SD/HD dimensions.

– Audio sampling at 48kHz supports broadcast video, DVD, and blu-ray. It is not uncommon to use 44.1kHz, especially with music.

– Use square pixels unless otherwise specified (e.g. DVD).

– If the source material is RGB and the final delivered file will be YUV/YCC, select “Maximum Bit Depth” to reduce color conversion issues. Use only 32-bit effects within the project.

– Select “Maximum Render Quality” if the dimensions will be rescaled.