[Scot Sheely]

Alex,

I have never experienced this issue personally.

In the past I have exported to both DV and VHS with no problems whatsoever using PPRO 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0. Hopefully I will be upgrading to CS3 in the next 3 or 4 months.

I do recall being a big guinea pig with PPRO 1.0, though. Lots of bugs in PPRO and Encore. Both seemed to crash at the drop of a hat, destroying days / weeks worth of work.

I actually taught the Adobe phone support reps at least 2 dozen new work-around tricks I discovered within the first 4 months of that version’s release. Rarely were they able to actually assist me with any real, workable solutions, although, God bless them, they sure did try. It wasn’t from lack of williness to help, it was that PPRO and Encore were both completely revamped / new applications.

I am very grateful that the development team has been so responsive in fixing bugs and adding much-needed features to the later versions of the suite. IMHO, it has only gotten much better. There are still a few roads to travel down (like network multi-user editing workflow, batch rendering in PPRO, just like in AE, etc.). They will get there, and when they do, I believe that the Adobe suite / video collection / whatever they decide to call it will persevere and overshadow Avid and FCP in movie and television production, due mainly to their tight integration with the other applications.

As it stands now, After Effects and Photoshop are the De Facto industry standards for their respective applications, dwarfing nearly all other programs in the same class (I still like Motion and Shake, though!).

Anyway, I digress. Good luck with resolving this issue, please let me know how you finally conquer the problem, I would appreciate that.

Scot

[Scot Sheely]

I forgot to mention, another possible option to pipe out the video only to a TV / broadcast monitor is to use your Firewire jack out to a camera or deck (like the DSR11, for e.g.), and then use the S-Video or composite video out and into a TV or monitor (but NOT a computer monitor, not unless you buy and expensive scan converter).

This also provides the video out to a TV, as long as the playback settings in PPRO are configured correctly.

Just select PROJECT->PROJECT SETTINGS->GENERAL->PLAYBACK SETTINGS and choose “PLAYBACK ON DV HARDWARE AND DESKTOP” under the REAL-TIME PLAYBACK section in the middle of that window. Also, make sure the checkbox at the top that says “PLAY VIDEO ON DV HARDWARE” is selected as well for this to work.

Of course, this is just a workaround, but it is kind of cool. I have noticed that the video is not of the same quality as what is being reviewed from PPRO. It tends to be a bit more pixelated (smeared looking) than the final output, but it is another valid way to achieve this effect if you are interested in doing so.

So, to recap, you have 3 choices:
1) Stretch your desktop as previously suggested (best choice)
2) Buy a Parhelia VGA, configure 3rd monitor to be a TV
3) Use the DV hardware out function in PPRO in conjunction with your camera or deck and pipe out via firewire to S-VIDEO or composite out to the TV.

Hope that helps! FYI, I am a computer tech and videographer with over 30 years experience in each of those respective fields, and have built and configured many hundreds of NLE systems, so I really do know what I am talking about concerning this subject. It comes up all of the time during the basic setup and configuration of PPRO.

Scot

[Scot Sheely]

This is exactly what I am advocating. To do that, you need to stretch your display across two or more monitors, then build a custom workspace in PPRO, with the monitor full-size (or nearly so) in your main display.

This is the only way to achieve this, shy of buying a Matrox Parhelia card that allows for 3 displays to be used.

I have the Parhelia card, and have display 1 and 2 set for PPRO (et al), and the third display is actually a large Panasonic TV, which, with the Matrox “WYSIWYG” plug-in, pipes out the main monitor display directly to the TV itself.

This is in addition to the PPRO monitor, which I often keep at a much smaller screen, but still needds to be present in order for this to work.

Incidently, this TV as a 3rd monitor effect also works with AE, PS, Winamp, PowerDVD and several other video-related applications.

To achieve what you are looking for with your current display card (which is a very good one, IMO!), you will have to follow the steps I outlined in my previous post. At this time, there is no other available work-around I am aware of to achieve your goal.

Scot

[Scot Sheely]

Alex,

How are you Exporting to Encore? Are you rendering an .AVI, an .m2v, or using Project Link?

Are you using all of the CS3 suite (Encore as well as PPRO)? I know that sounds like it should be assumed so, but in previous support sessions I have had other people throw me for a loop when they told me that they were using older, previous versions of Encore with the newer versions of PPRO. This workflow could affect that as well.

Are you getting a specific error message with a set of numbers, or only the message as you stated, verbatim?

Also, knowing a bit about your hardware configuration might help identify this issue as well. Are you a Windows or Mac person?

Last, but not least, is this the only time you have received this message, while working on this current project? If so, does creating a “Copy” of the current project (go to File menu, choose “Create Copy Of Currrent Project”) help resolve this issue when you open the copy of the project?

You might possibly have a corrupt project, which although rare, is certainly frustrating, but there are work-arounds in many cases.

Please post some additional info as I requested and let’s see if we can tackle this issue together.

Scot Sheely

[Scot Sheely]

I agree with Vince on this one.

To preview the full-res version of your .AVI in PPRO, simply hit your ENTER key to render a preview file of the project.

Depending on your system resources, this might take a while to complete. A good idea might be to use the render selection slider at the top of the Timeline (directly below the CTI – Current Time Indicator) and select only the area where the .AVI is nested to help reduce the time it takes to render a preview.

Once the preview is fully rendered, your .AVI should appear to be “normal” when reviewing that section of your Timeline.

Also, just as Vince correctly suggested, make sure you have selected the full-res preview function in PPRO by left-clicking on the 3 color orbs at the bottom of the preview window. This will enable a drop-down menu with several choices as to the resolution of your playback. When you mouse over this widget, the yellow pop-up description will show the word “OUTPUT”.

Towards the bottom of that context menu you will see the choices: Highest Quailty, Draft Quality and Automatic Quality. Choose Highest Quality for a full-res preview of the .AVI and the Timeline in general.

If you have a lot of layers, motion graphics, titles and filters (effects, transitions, etc.), then selecting DRAFT QUALITY helps PPRO chug along a little more nicely than Auto or Full res in your Timeline.

Scot Sheely

[Scot Sheely]

Vince and Mike are both exactly correct in every statement.

Pixel aspect ratio did not appear until the first CS version (directly after version 7).

All of the more current CS versions include this feature when you create a new file (from the file menu).

Here is a work-around chart for Photoshop version 6 or 7:

Format: DV-NTSC 4:3
Create image at: 720×531
Resize image to: 720×480

Format: DV-NTSC 16:9 (Anamorphic)
Create image at: 868×480
Resize image to: 720×480

Format: 601-NTSC 4:3
Create image at: 720×538
Resize image to: 720×486

Format: 601-NTSC 16:9 (Anamorphic)
Create image at: 868×486
Resize image to: 720×486

You probably haven’t seen these particular numbers show up anywhere before, but they are based on previously established, yet apparently little-known, information: the actual SMPTE Recommended Practice for pixel aspect ratios (SMPTE RP 187-1995).

The DOWNSIDE: Images created using the two above methods will be geometrically incorrect when viewed in PPRO on your computer display, particularly if it is an LCD display being driven with its digital input (DVI or ADC). The error isn’t much–less than 2%–but a circle created using either of the above methods will not be a circle when viewed in PPRO. It also will not match the shape of images created in PPRO.

The real solution is to upgrade to a later version of Photoshop in the CS series, which offer a lot of additional features that are quite useful for video editors. I know this involves an unexpected expense, but the power it will afford you is truly worth the price of admission, IMHO. All of this work-around will be moot at that point, as all that is needed is to create a new file in PS, and use the drop-down menu at the bottom of that “NEW” window to choose “DV” and then select your aspect ratio (16:9 or 4:3, non-square pixels).

Since you are most likely working with PAL and not NTSC, the beauty of that is that PS also includes PAL presets as well in that same drop-down menu.

For a PAL project, you will have to convert the numbers in the chart I provided above to reflect PAL instead of NTSC.

Of course, as you already know, PAL is 720×576. If you want to create a still in correct PAL pixel aspect ratio with pre CS versions of Photoshop, start with a 1024×576 image, then resize (without the “Maintain ratio” selected for the resize area in Photoshop) to 720×576. It’ll look a bit odd, but it will be correct for PAL broadcast.

Let me know if you get stuck on this part of the process and I will gladly e-mail you a PAL conversion chart as well.

Good luck, I hope this helps you out and gives you a bit of food for thought as well.

Scot Sheely
IMG Videos.com

[Scot Sheely]

Larry,

This relates to your display settings more than any adjustments within the Adobe family applications.

I suggest you right-click on a blank area of your desktop, choose “Properties”, then click on the “Settings” tab on the far right.

From there, you should have some options to review. If you are using Win XP Pro (which I am assuming is the case here), you should have two check boxes in the bottom left-hand corner which read “Use this device as the primary monitor” and one below it that reads “Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor”.

Both checkboxes should be selected (and greyed out) under the Display 1 drop-down menu in the middle. When you select display 2, the “Use this device as the primary monitor” should be DE-selected, but the “Extend my Windows desktop” SHOULD be selected.

What you are doing, in effect, is stretching the width of the desktop over both monitors instead of simply replicating the main desktop twice over those displays.

Once you have this configured properly, click on APPLY and OK. You may be prompted to reboot for the changes to take effect, but this is not usually the case for newer VGA cards.

When you go into PPRO, click on the middle box at the top right of the application (the maximize button found in between the minimize (-) and the Close (X). Then, stretch PPRO over the width of both monitors by left-clicking and holding down the left mouse button on the bottom right-hand corner of PPRO (where the 3 grey diagonal lines are) and drag to cover your desktop over both displays.

This is easier to actually do than it is to describe, so have no fears in playing around with the configuration until you get it optimized for your setup. The beauty of all of this is that when you re-open PPRO for another session or a new project, it maintains the global settings and remembers your last Windows positions (most of the time, anyway!). Sometimes you may have to reset this full width again, especially if you accidently or purposely reduce PPRO to a single monitor width.

FYI, you will have to re-size all of your various applications you wish to stretch across two displays (such as AE, Audition, Encore, Photoshop, etc.) Generally speaking, I do this for most of my applications so that I have a “Preview” monitor and a “Widgets” monitor (all of the various tools and auxillary panels, etc.).

Good luck, I hope this works for you! If you have any further questions, feel free to e-mail me anytime and I will gladly assist you.

Scot Sheely

[Scot Sheely]

The encoder in PPRO, After Effects, Encore and even Sony Vegas is the same animal: The MainConcept encoder.

I have tried Procoder, which I think is very good, but IMHO it takes a back seat to the full-blown version of MainConcept that you can buy directly from that company off of their website.

As it stands, the version that comes standard with the Adobe and Sony products is darned good, especially in the MPEG2 and .AVI encoding. Lots of variables to adjust, and best of all, you have not only their stock presets to work with, but you can customize and save your own, which I heartily recommend.

Optimal settings for any project depends entirely on the project requirements itself, but in general terms, for encoding MPEG2 (which is what is required for a DVD), I would select the following attributes:

1) VBR 2-Pass encode, NTSC, 29.97 FPS DF (for Region 1)
2) 4:3 or 16:9 depending on your source video; lower fields
3) 6 or 7 Mbps target, Max 7 Mbps, Min 5 Mbps High Quality
4) PCM audio (unless you purchase the Dolby encoder option)
5) Demuxed (use elemental streams; in other words, choose “None” under the Multiplexing option. This will create two separate files, one for audio, one for video).
6) Leave the M and N frames as default (3 and 15 respectively)
7) Post encoding tasks: I personally prefer to have LOG FILE DETAILS available to check for errors (like a dropped frame, etc.). This is not absolutely necessary, but can help you troubleshoot a problem.

Once you set this type of encode preference in the MainConcept / Adobe encoder, be sure to save it as a custom name you recognize next time. For me, I always save as something like: “Scot’s 16×9 High Quality 7 MB 2-Pass VBR PCM Audio” (without the quotes).

That way, when I go to encode another project, I know by the name what the most important settings are without having to open preset and view them manually.

One thing to note: you cannot save a preset using the colon (” : “). A 16:9 or 4:3 screen ratio needs to be saved as 16×9 or 4×3. Some special characters are not recognized by the application.

Something I didn’t mention earlier, but is very important to learn how to do, is create a “Bit Budget”. This can be done using any number of free Bit Budget Calculators that can be found on the Internet. Here is a link to one of my favorite freebies from a guy who really knows his stuff, Bruce Nazarian, that I met last year at WEVA EXPO 2006:

https://www.recipe4dvd.com/component/option,com_docman/task,cat_view/gid,50/Itemid,151/

You will need to register on his website and use the free one-week trial to get to that link in the downloads area, but its all good. Although Bruce is a Mac fanatic and uses FCP and DVSP, the calculator applies to any and all DVD Authoring tools available, regardless of manufacturer.

FYI, Bruce used to play guitar in the ’70’s rock band Brownsville Station (“Smokin’ In The Boys Room” and “Martian Boogie”, amongst other killer songs).

Sorry for the long post, but I sincerely hope that helps you out. Feel free to e-mail me if you have any further questions and I will gladly assist you to the best of my abilities.

Scot Sheely
IMG Videos.com

[Scot Sheely]

You can use the export settings feature, choose “Recompress” and “Limit to….” and set the data rate a bit lower (no pun intended!).

Doing so reduces the quality greatly once you dip below 1500 Mbps, but at least you will be able to have you cake and eat it too.

My suggestions would be to create a client review file using Flash Video instead. The file size will be less than 10% of an .AVI, and the quality will be quite high if you choose the correct settings.

Even though I own Flash, I have found a smoother, faster and better overall rendering experince to be had in After Effects.

Simply inport your full-res .AVI in AE, choose FILE->EXPORT->FLV (Flash Video), and play with the settings. I always choose CUSTOM SETTINGS, include the audio, use the On2 CODEC, and use a data rate of at least 750-850 Mbps.

If you want to further reduce the file size, but maintain a relatively high quality, you can opt to RESIZE by 50%, or choose the pixel dimensions of 360×240 if you are working with NTSC 720×480.

Typical file sizes for 3 to 5 minute productions range from 20-60 MB’s, depending on the data rate I choose during the render process.

Feel free to e-mail me if you have further questions on the specifics of this process as I have created a full tutorial that you can review if you need to do so, and I will send you the link.

Scot Sheely

[Scot Sheely]

JKB,

As a general FYI, any effect you want to search for quickly can be done by going to your effects tab and typing in the first few letters or words in that white space at the top.

That is a dynamic search tool that is available in both PPRO and AE, and has been around for a while (older versions as well as new).

I agree, Shadow/Highlight is a valuable tool to learn. It is identical to the one found in Photoshop. Be advised that the Shadow slider brightens, and the Highlight slider darkens, which is the opposite of what you would expect.

Modest adjustments can work miracles on blown-out details, especially when used in conjunction with the brightness/contrast filter.

Scot