Adobe Forums: Converting video for use in Premiere Elements 8.0 (DV-AVI)

coreymarquesCalculating status...

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Converting video for use in Premiere Elements 8.0 (DV-AVI)

Sep 28, 2009 7:15 AM

I've been converting video from my Creative Vado (flip style video device) for importing into Premiere Elements 8.0. What I've come across is that when I convert using Prism (using the "DV Encoder NTSC (directshow)" option), I get a file that is now 4:3 with bars on the top and bottom. The original file is 16:9 ration. It also shrinks the video, the original size is 1280x720. I've tried playing around with the "Resize Video" option in "Edit Options..." with no luck. No matter what I set these options to, it always produces a video with the 4:3 ratio.

The only other Encoder option that got me close was "Microsoft Video 1". It kept the video size and ratio but this seemed to lose a lot of quality.

Does anyone have any tips on converting files to 16:9 that are compatible with Elements 8.0?

Thanks.

Corey.

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Steve Grisetti,

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Sep 28, 2009 7:24 AM

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What happens if you select the option to crop to 720x480 rather than shrink to 720x480 as your resize options?

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coreymarques,

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Sep 28, 2009 7:31 AM

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"What happens if you select the option to crop to 720x480 rather than shrink to 720x480 as your resize options?"

It chops off the left and right side of the video so that the video fills the screen, removing the letterbox. It still outputs in the 4:3 ratio though.

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Steve Grisetti,

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Sep 28, 2009 8:15 AM

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If you'd like to e-mail a short video clip from that camera, I'll do some experimenting for you.

Send it to steve at muvipix.com.

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coreymarques,

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Sep 28, 2009 8:19 AM

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Awesome, I'll do that when I get home.

Thanks.

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coreymarques,

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Oct 21, 2009 8:05 PM

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Thought I'd come back and give an update. I figured out a way to convert my video. It's kinda hacky but it works. Hope this is helpful for someone.

Converting Creative Vado video for use in Premiere Elements
Load clips into Window Movie Maker and export to Windows Media HD 720p (5.9 Mbps)
These videos will load into Elements fine but editing is very slow, pretty much unusable for me.
Load clips into Elements and export to MPEG HD 720p (This export takes a while)
Codec: MainConcept MPEG Video
Quality: 4.04
TV Standard: NTSC
Frame Width: 1280
Frame Height: 720
Frame rate: 30
Field order: None
Pixel aspect ratio Widescreen 16:9 (1.000)
Profile: Main
Level: High 1440
The resulting MPG video imports into Elements and editing is smooth. Exports from this format are much quicker.

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A.T. Romano,

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Oct 21, 2009 9:29 PM

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coreymarques

Why didn't you try to use MPEG Streamclip?
http://www.squared5.com/

Nonetheless, it is good that you have at least one workaround.

ATR

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coreymarques,

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Oct 21, 2009 10:28 PM

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I did try MPEG Streamclip (version 1.2) but it didn't recognize the video from the Vado. I spent a bunch of time playing with codecs until I finally gave up. If you ever get a chance to work with Vado video clips and get it to work, post the steps, that would be a better solution.

Thanks.

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Bill Hunt,

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Oct 22, 2009 12:57 PM

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Converting Creative Vado video for use in Premiere Elements

Thank you for posting. The AV files from the Vado have been problematic, at best.

Your workflow will likely help someone else in the future.

Appreciated,

Hunt

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A.T. Romano,

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Oct 22, 2009 4:57 PM

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Coreymarques,

It looks like in July 2009 an issue similar to your issue was chatted about. I do not see that an answer to that VADO 720p problem (black video, audio OK in Premiere CS3) was forthcoming. For some reason they talked about H.264 compression. And since it was a CS3 problem, I do not understand how the thread surfaced in the Premiere Elements User to User Forum.
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/464891

I decided to see what was going on with this VADO 720p video with an .avi file extension and editing in Premiere Elements. I found a VADO 720p to download and went about trying to determine what I had, with the help of gspot.

1. Video Codec: XVID with Name: Xvid ISO MPEG-4….Codec installed was the gspot message
2. Audio Codec: ADPCM (1 channel)….Codec installed was the gspot message
3. Frame Size: 1280 x 720
4. Frame Rate 30 frames per second

If I played back the video with GOM Player, I obtained full video and audio.
http://www.gomlab.com/eng/GMP_download.html
However, in Premiere Elements 7, Windows Media Player 10, CyberLink Power DVD, and MPEG Streamclip 1.2, I ended up with no video (just black screen), but audio was OK. After I created my own Windows Movie Maker 720p profile with the Windows Media Encoder, I brought the VADO 720p.avi into Windows Movie Maker 5.1 and converted it to a 720p.wmv file. Now, playback of the 720p .wmv resulted in black video/OK audio for all the players mentioned. I had lost my GOM video play back after the conversion, although the audio played OK. For Window Movie Maker, the video codec was Windows Media Video 9 and the audio codec was Windows Media Audio 9.2. The bitrate was set at 5.9 Mbps.

So, coreymarques, it would appear that there is something missing in how you went about obtaining the working workaround. Is there something missing from the equation for the workflow that you described, namely, specific codec that you downloaded and installed on your computer in order to get any kind of video, be it slow or slower in running?

I may not be the only one who is not getting it to work, so any further details should be helpful to get this VADO 720p matter behind us.

ATR

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Bill Hunt,

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Oct 22, 2009 5:18 PM

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I did not remember the Xvid aspect of the Vado. With Xvid, and its commercial equivilent, DivX, I find that the best method is to use a conversion program, like DigitalMedia Converter, to something that PrE, or PrPro can handle. A very, very few claim that they have gotten DivX footage to edit in PrPro, but somehow, I kinda' doubt that. I have the CODEC's installed (DigitalMedia Converter needs those), but have NEVER been able to get any NLE that I have (have a bunch) to handle the footage in native form.

Good luck to all with the Vado.

Hunt

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Bill Hunt,

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Oct 22, 2009 5:20 PM

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Here's a fairly recent THREAD from the PrPro forum on footage from the Vado.

Hunt

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coreymarques,

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Oct 22, 2009 7:26 PM

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ATR,

I may not be able to help with that. I never had problems loading the video into Window Movie Maker. It might be because I had previously installed a codec pack called K-Lite, not sure.

When I look at my Vado AVI's in gspot I get the following:

Codec: H264
Codec Name: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC
Audio Codec: 0x0002 (ADPCM)
Frame size: 1280 x 720
Frames per second: 30.000

Also, my original problem wasn't that the Video wouldn't show up, it was that Premiere Elements would AV and crash constantly while editing these files. My second issue (this thread) was that when I used Prism to convert the video it lost quality, size and added letter boxes.

I just went to the Creative site and noticed there were two different Vado's. Vado HD and Vado HD (2nd Gen). We're probably dealing with two different video file formats.

Corey.

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Bill Hunt,

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Oct 22, 2009 7:43 PM

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Codec: H264
Codec Name: H.264/MPEG-4 AVC
Audio Codec: 0x0002 (ADPCM)
Frame size: 1280 x 720
Frames per second: 30.000

Thank you for that. There are two Vados - one SD and one HD. That would make a major difference to what would work, and what would not. Sorry, that my memory, regarding my limited research on the Vado was so cloudy - wasn't THAT long ago.

As for K-Lite, I hope that its installation of FFDShow does not negatively affect PrE. That is one module that has caused no end to problems with PrE and also with PrPro. Some have had to wipe their system drive and reinstall from the ground up, to rid their system of it. For some things, it works fine, but for things Adobe it is often the other way - disaster.

Good luck, and thanks for the memory jog.

Hunt

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A.T. Romano,

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Oct 22, 2009 8:24 PM

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Corey

This is the link from which I obtained the "Vado Video" for testing and which had the properties that I cited in my previous posts.
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/08/29/review_vado_and_flip/page3.htm l

Am I assuming correctly that your video is coming from what is called Vado HD 2nd Gen? That looks like what they call AVCHD Lite. Since we are both apparently working with 720p video, I do not think that Vado SD vs Vado HD had anything to do with the differences in our observations. I suspect that there must be two versions of the Vado HD, one Vado HD and the other Vado HD 2nd Gen.

Before I start the hunt, have you come across any web sites with free sample download of what you are trying to edit? I stand a better chance of coming up with an answer for AVCHD Lite than I do with Xvid.

ATR

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Bill Hunt,

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Oct 22, 2009 10:01 PM

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I stand a better chance of coming up with an answer for AVCHD Lite than I do with Xvid.

I agree completely. Xvid and DivX are problems, and the only fix that I have ever come up with is conversion.

Thanks for the input,

Hunt

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Jackson Joseph,

Oct 23, 2009 4:54 AM

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PRE Elements supports flip camcorders, No need to use prism converter to change the video. Import Creative VADO footage directly to Premiere elements in 720 p project settings. Letter boxing would display if you convert 16 : 9 footage to 4 : 3 footage.

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Steve Grisetti,

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Oct 23, 2009 6:18 AM

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A.T. Romano,

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Oct 23, 2009 7:01 AM

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Joseph Jackson

Your results are interesting, yet not consistent with those who continuously report problems with "Vado video" and flip cameras.

However, you may have come upon something that may have been overlooked??? Could you supply the details behind your success, such as,

a. model of the Vado camera and settings from which we could determine the video and audio codecs involved in what you are importing into Premiere Elements as 720p.
b. version of Premiere Elements being used
c. possibily related video and audio codecs that you have listed in the Hardware/Device Manager/ listing in your computer (did you have to install any specific codec pack to gain this success)
d. if at first you did not succeed in this type of edit, troubleshooting that led to your success

Your contributions on the above would be of great value to other users and might help to sort out video editing issues being dumped under the label of "Vado Video" or "Flip Video".

ATR

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coreymarques,

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Oct 25, 2009 9:39 AM

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ATR

Sorry for the delay, haven't checked back til today.

I regard to
I do not think that Vado SD vs Vado HD had anything to do with the differences in our observations. I suspect that there must be two versions of the Vado HD, one Vado HD and the other Vado HD 2nd Gen.

I actually wrote:
I just went to the Creative site and noticed there were two different Vado's. Vado HD and Vado HD (2nd Gen). We're probably dealing with two different video file formats.

I wasn't comparing the SD to the HD. So your suspicions were correct . And yes, I think mine is probably 2nd gen

I don't know of any sites for download but I have a clip I could email you if you'd like.

Thanks,

Corey.

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A.T. Romano,

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Oct 25, 2009 9:51 AM

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Corey

Is it possible for you to send me a small downloadable sample video via this forum using the "Your Stuff" header and Private Message?

I have never done that before, so maybe Steve Grisetti and Hunt could give us some how tos on that, unless you have been there and done that before.

ATR

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Bill Hunt,

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Oct 25, 2009 10:08 AM

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ATR,

I have never used Adobe PM for that. Instead, I have just asked that the file be sent as an attachment to my POP account, which has a very high limit on the size of attachments. For transfers of large files, especially if one does not have unlimited attachment size, I use YouSendIt, and all has worked fine. It is a subscription service, but there are free services similar to it. I have just not used any others. What happens with YouSendIt, is the recipient gets an e-mail with the URL of the file. It can be password protected, and one can also get delivery receipt.

Good luck,

Hunt

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A.T. Romano,

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Oct 25, 2009 10:15 AM

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Corey

In view of Hunt's comments and weighing all factors, how about us trying the Adobe Private Message system and see what happens and take it from there. What do you think?

ATR

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coreymarques,

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Oct 25, 2009 3:46 PM

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ATR,

I just sent it over.

I sent it through the private mail as a link to some space I have.. I couldn't figure out how to attach it.

Thanks for taking a look at this.

Corey.

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A.T. Romano,

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Oct 25, 2009 10:27 PM

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Corey

I received your video sample in the Private Message System here. Thanks. I have not acknowledged your last post until now since I have been so wrapped up in your video.

I have some things for you to check out...
a. Prism Video Converter version 1.3 was the only software that would work with the video that you sent
H.264/MPEG-4 AVC
1280 x 720
Audio ADPCM (44100 Hz 177 kb/s (l chnl)

Do not convert your video to DV AVI since you will end up with 720 x 480 (4:3) video.
Instead,
Output Format: .wmv
Encoder Options: video compressor = Windows Media 9; audio compressor = Windows Media Audio 9.1 (30 kbps 32 kHz Stereo CBR)
Edit Output
check mark next to Resize Video
dot next to Shrink or Enlarge the video to the selected size
Width 1280
Height 720
check mark next to Contrain Proportions
16:9

You should have no problem importing this into Premiere Elements 8.0, using project preset new project dialog = NTSC HDV HDV 720p, with Premiere Elements' Get Media/Files and Folders. The quality of the video should be good.

I tried some export routes for the Timeline with this .wmv video....Share/Personal Computer
QuickTime/Cable Modem/video H.264 and audio AAC
The resulting file with a .mov file extension plays great (video/audio) with QuickTime, but does not play back on my Windows Media Player 10 or the GOM player.

Windows Media/HD 720p 30 video Windows Media Video 9; audio Windows Media Audio 9.2
The resulting file with a .wmv file extension plays well on Window Media Player and the GOM Player.

MPEG/HD 720p30 video Main Concept MPEG; audio MPEG.
The resulting file with a .mpg file extension had its problems with audio on Windows Media Player 10 and GOM player. Video was great, but audio choppy.

Bottom line: the conversion of your video by Prism as a .wmv video gave good to excellent results and was one way to maintain the 16:9 aspect ratio of your original 720p (1280 x 720).

I will check out your comments in the light of day.

ATR

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DigitalArena,

May 13, 2011 6:26 PM

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I have found several suggestions for converting the VADO HD file format helpful, but all were laborious and resulted in duplicate files in different formats with either larger files or lower quality files.

The best solution I have found that worked for me was to install the K-Lite Codec Pack. Once done I was able to use VADO HD footage in Premiere Elements 7 natively without any conversion being required and no loss of quality. More about my VADO HD video editing solution here.

Happy day.

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Bill Hunt,

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May 14, 2011 9:01 AM

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I wish you good luck with K-Lite. It has ruined many user's Adobe installations, but some people swear by it.

The biggest problem with CODEC "packs," and especially the free ones, is that they will overwrite good, commercial CODEC's on one's system with ones that are likely much older, are hacked, or are reverse-engineered. This is one reason that Adobe "hides" its CODEC's, by using a non-standard naming convention. Next, most install all sorts of other "stuff." Some of this, like older G-Spot utilities are not bad, but one can get the new version free, so having an older version, with limitations, is not that good an idea. Last, there are often some real problem modules, like FFDShow, that can really mess up Adobe NLE programs. Some are also impossible to uninstall, and end up requiring a complete wipe, re-format and installation of everything, just to get the editing programs to work. For some interesting reading, head over to the PrPro forum, Search on "FFDShow," and "K-Lite," and read. Many of the threads will end with "Why didn't anyone warn me to not install this stuff? Now I have to completely rebuild my system."

Good luck, and hope that all conrinues to go well for you. Some users have not had any problems at all.

Hunt

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DigitalArena,

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May 14, 2011 5:19 PM

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Thanks Bill,

Thats interesting to know. So far everything seems to be working fine for me - ut I will bear this in mind for future Codec packs, and will check out those threads you suggested. Thanks for the reply.

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Converting video for use in Premiere Elements 8.0 (DV-AVI)

Sep 28, 2009 7:15 AM

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