Jeff Pulera
Forum Replies Created
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Hi Ricardo,
To begin with, 2.5 hours is on the long side for a standard DVD, unless you’re considering dual-layer, the quality will not be very good.
Video on a DVD is always compressed as MPEG-2, and at the highest quality setting (least compression), 60 minutes of video fills the disc (4.7GB). By increasing the compression (lowering data rate), up to two hours or more can be fit on the same disc, at the expense of reduced quality.
The video content makes a difference – if the video is a speaker at a podium, there is very little motion or change in the video and it will compress well, but if you are working with footage of a football game, then 2.5 hours will look nasty.
A good rule of thumb for determining compression rate is 560/minutes, then just round down a bit, so 90 minutes = 6.0, while 120 minutes is 4.5, while your 2.5 hours would be about 3.7
This formula assumes Dolby Digital AC-3 audio being used, which is compressed and takes little space on the DVD compared to PCM (wav) audio.
If you have CS3, you should also have Adobe Encore for DVD, they come together. In Premiere, just go to File > Export > Encore, then you can customize the video encoding settings and tell it whether you want menus or not, and encode/burn, that is the simplest method.
Alternately, go to File > Export > Media and choose “MPEG-2 for DVD” then choose a preset that matches your footage, like “NTSC high quality”, then go to the Video tab and adjust the encoding settings. For your 2.5 hour project, try VBR 2-Pass with 3.7 average to maintain quality. For shorter projects, I just use CBR.
The resulting files can be used then in Encore or most other DVD programs. Make sure to select “16:9” or “4:3” also to match your footage. Files will be .m2v for video and .wav for audio, and Encore and most authoring programs will convert the .wav to Dolby during DVD encoding.
Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers -
If you wish to manually drag the ends of the transition to lengthen or shorten, first you likely need to zoom in closer to get any decent control, so that takes time. Next, you have to click and drag BOTH ends of the transition one at a time, and watch the little counter to take equal frames of each end (that was the original question, keeping it symmetrical).
To me, it it way easier and faster to make a single click on the transition (without needing to zoom in first)to select it, then right above it, in the Effects Controls, click and drag the timer greater or less, done. Two quick clicks.
Maybe there’s another way or a keyboard shortcut, I certainly don’t know everything, but seems pretty fast and easy to me.
Jeff
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It sounds like you are new to DVD creation. I don’t use the Mac, but I think you’re taking the wrong approach, seems like you are creating the QuickTime movies to try and get the material to fit the DVD when in fact you need to be exporting to “MPEG-2 for DVD”, in which case you’ll have no problem at all fitting your 90 minutes of material on a single-layer DVD.
I’m sure a Mac user will chime in here and can give you the proper workflow for your setup.
Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor -
Hi Nina,
Having the .mpeg file suggests that the video was captured from an HDV tape via Firewire (1394), does that sound right? Choose an HDV preset that matches the video format (720p, 1080i or 1080p and correct framerate) and the file should work. In fact, it should import into any project, it would just redline if using incorrect project settings, I don’t know why you can’t even import it.
Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor -
Hi Akash,
In recent years before tapeless camcorders became the norm, DV was the standard for over 10 years, and DV cameras use Firewire (1394) to get the video from the camera to the computer. HDV cameras use the same 1394 transfer.
Most computers have either came with a 1394 port, or one could be added cheaply, but what if you need to capture from VHS or DVD, using AV cables? What if you wanted to send the edited program out to a VHS or DVD recorder? That is where capture cards come in – they will have analog inputs and outputs, such as composite, S-video and component video and RCA audio, maybe XLR audio. Newer cards now offer HDMI I/O, and high-end cards offer SDI and HD-SDI.
Even if you use a solid-state camcorder and thus don’t need to capture video because you just transfer the files directly to the hard drive, capture cards still provide I/O for the occasional analog capture that comes up, but an important use is for monitoring the editing output on an LCD display.
A KONA card is overkill for the home/hobby/casual user, something like the Blackmagic Intensity Pro or Matrox MXO2 Mini will be suitable for most users needing HDMI and analog I/O capabilities.
The Matrox RT.X2 (PC-only) offers realtime effects, but the next version of Premiere promises realtime performance, so basic I/O cards are gaining popularity just to be able to monitor edits on an HD display if nothing else.
Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers -
Hi Sean,
A few questions:
1) What is the video source format (codec, frame size)?
2) What project settings are you using?
3) Export settings (format, size)
4) how are you playing resulting file (MediaPlayer?)Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor -
22 hours? That’s sick. I guess I’m spoiled with my Matrox RT.X2 realtime system, I can output a full 2-hour video in under 2 hours. Then again, I’m not working with AVCHD either, which I understand can be very taxing on the system. You also chose 2-pass rendering which is going to take twice as long. Maybe switching from interlaced to progressive added time as well?
For AVHCD editing, you might have better luck using an intermediate codec, check out Cineform NeoScene which has a free trial version. You would import AVCHD files to computer, run conversion, then edit with the new .avi files, much easier on the system.
About the video being 10 minutes short, when you use Export, there are two choices: Entire Sequence, or Work Area. Choosing work area could result in a partial export, determined by the work area bar position above the timeline.
Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor -
Hi Alan,
In Premiere Effects Controls, use Adobe Motion to move and scale the head as needed. Enable keyframes and you will be able to manually set points (keyframes) to have the head follow the body, this can be tedious though. Think of it as “connect the dots”. Look in Premiere HELP to learn how to use keyframing.
This tracking process could be automated use Adobe After Effects, then you can set control points to track and the software will do it automatically, but this takes knowledge and time, just use Motion in Premiere for hobby/fun stuff
Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor -
Mike and Brian are correct, but if exporting an MPEG-2 file for DVD or Blu-ray (or H.264 for Blu-ray), Encore and most other DVD/Blu-ray authoring programs are expecting elementary streams. Your audio will usually be a .wav file (PCM), and that’s preferable to a muxed “.mpg” file because the DVD program will be creating Dolby audio for the disc.
If you supply a muxed .mpg file, the DVD program needs to first DeMux video and audio, then transcode everything again, taking more time and drive space. Give it the raw materials, and only the audio gets converted and video is left alone.
When encoding for the web, iPod or whatever, then of course you want the multiplexed AV file, but this should be part of the preset you choose, you shouldn’t have to manually change it, so maybe take a look at the preset you are using, is it correct for the end use?
Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers -
Click on the transition, which opens up the Effects Controls for the transition, then simply click and drag on the timer in the Effect Controls (or manually enter a different value, but mouse is quicker).
Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers