[Jeff Pulera]

You could possibly get smoother editing with AVCHD in Premiere if you follow these steps for import, if not already doing so. Copy entire contents of SD card to hard drive, keep all folder structure intact. Then in Premiere, import using Media Browser, not File > Import.

There is metadata in the folders that helps Premiere properly interpret the footage, including handling of spanned clips, audio, etc.

But I agree, bump that RAM to 16GB if you can!

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

What I sometimes do is copy/paste the audio to another track. Then apply FILL LEFT to one track and FILL RIGHT to the other, so I have two independent tracks. For instance with a wedding, shotgun and lapel mic recorded on different channels, then I can edit and mix them them individually (with results going to both sides of stereo mix).

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

Hi Alan,

Try right-clicking the .vob in the Project Bin and use Modify > Interpret options and play with the settings to see if that helps.

You might also try changing the .vob extension to .mpg (and re-import as well).

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

Hi Patrick,

Something else to consider is that if you put 1080 clips into a 4K sequence, Premiere is going to upscale the HD to 4K, which is going to soften/pixelate/degrade the HD to some degree, and then when you export as HD, that degradation will still be there.

So, if you do intend to export as HD, then edit as HD. The 4K content will look great scaled down, and the HD clips will of course be perfect on the export since they have not been upscaled/downscaled, staying native resolution.

For the 4K clips in HD sequence, right click and select “Set to Frame Size”. The 4K will then fit the HD frame, however if you wish to use Adobe Motion to reframe the 4K footage at all, you can do so while using all that glorious 4K pixel goodness to your advantage in the HD frame size.

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

“When I look at the tracks on the discs, I can see shiny spots on them as though nothing is recorded.”

I know exactly what you are referring to – had that happen several years ago, was simply a bad batch of discs! Throw them out (or try to get a refund) and get a new batch.

Taiyo Yuden later became my go-to brand, always highly recommended as “the best”. JVC bought Taiyo Yuden a couple years back so you may see them branded as JVC or JVC/Taiyo Yuden now.

Over the years, Verbatim DVDs have given very inconsistent performance for me and in fact if you use software that reads the manufacturer code, they apparently will buy from multiple sources, so you don’t know what you are getting. One time, I bought two spindles at once, same SKU and packaging, but discs in the two packs were made by different companies! Neither of which was Verbatim of course…

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Digital Vision

[Jeff Pulera]

OK, I see that you want to put SD material on a Blu-ray. I just went through this scenario with another forum user a few weeks back. First off, 30Mbps for SD is way too high. Yes, I know that the slider allows it, but as I recall from the previous research, Blu-ray has a limit for the SD data rate, might have been like 15Mbps? That is why your file is shrinking in Encore, it has to transcode down to something more reasonable – you are at a high quality HD setting. And there is no benefit going beyond a certain data rate, as the SD video can’t possibly get any better, wasted bits.

That said – why even do Blu-ray at all for SD (unless the file was much longer)? If you encode as MPEG-2 DVD using VBR 2-Pass with 6.0 Mbps average and Max Render Quality, you should get decent results on DVD. The player makes a big difference in getting good playback quality – a DVD played on a DVD or Blu-ray player that has HDMI out and hardware upscale can look very very good. Never use the composite analog output to an HD display.

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

I’ve read on forums that some screen capture apps may use Variable Frame Rate recording. Run your video clip through the free HandBrake app to convert to a standard format and see if that helps.

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

Hi Keith,

Are you purposely trying to make a Blu-ray with SD video content? That’s what I’m seeing from the screen grabs, that you have it all set up for 720×480.

How was the .m4v file encoded? Can you provide a screen shot of the Export settings from Premiere?

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

Having no idea of the scope of the proposed streaming endeavor, there are a wide range of products are widely varying price ranges to choose from!

If you want to get into serious live streaming of multiple events, then a purpose-built unit like a Newtek TriCaster or vMix GO will act as both the switcher and streaming device, all in one. Plus titling, video playback, etc.

Connect your cameras, set up the encoding parameters for your CDN, and off to the races!

On a budget, maybe to “get your feet wet” on a few small projects, the cheapest solution might be the Cerevo Live Wedge box at under $1000. Switch multiple HDMI sources and live stream them from a small box, with optional iPad controls.

I will agree that DSLR cameras are not ideal for long-form, live event coverage, but that’s your call. And of course as mentioned, HDMI is limited in the cable run length department. If your cameras are near one another, maybe it works out fine. If they are all over the auditorium…not so much.

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers

[Jeff Pulera]

Hi David,

Is Mercury GPU Hardware Rendering enabled? Have you tried setting the Program Monitor resolution to 1/2?

Your PC specs certainly look more than adequate! Which version of Premiere?

In general, when using any card-based format in Premiere, make sure to copy the entire contents of the card to a folder on your hard drive, keeping entire folder structure intact. There is “metadata” which is crucial to Premiere located inside. Then import into Premiere using “Media Browser” rather than “File > Import”. I’ve seen this improve playback for AVCHD and such, maybe it will help you if not already doing this.

Thanks

Jeff Pulera
Safe Harbor Computers