>What do I need to chose when I start the new project

You create a project to match your SOURCE video... what IS your source video... ie, what brand/model camera?

Read Bill Hunt on a file type as WRAPPER http://forums.adobe.com/thread/440037

What is a CODEC... a Primer http://forums.adobe.com/thread/546811

What CODEC is INSIDE that file? http://forums.adobe.com/thread/440037

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Report back with the codec details of your file, use the programs below... a screen shot works well to SHOW people what you are doing

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For PC http://www.headbands.com/gspot/ or http://mediainfo.sourceforge.net/en

For Mac http://mediainspector.massanti.com/

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http://blogs.adobe.com/premiereprotraining/2011/02/red-yellow-and-gree n-render-bars.html

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If you have a red line over the timeline after importing a video and before adding any effects... your project is wrong for your video... read above about codecs

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Once you know exactly what it is you are editing, report back with that information... and your project setting, and if there is a red line above the video in the timeline, which indicates a mismatch between video and project

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H.264 will NOT work inside an AVI wrapper http://forums.adobe.com/thread/854115

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More information needed for someone to help... click these links and provided the requested information

-http://forums.adobe.com/message/4200840

-http://forums.adobe.com/thread/416679

Since you are new... some basic reading, including the user guide and some tutorials... not all of the tutorials directly apply to CS4, but still good reading to learn concepts

For easy searching, download the product user guide PDF(s)

The individual CS5 pages also have links to the earlier user guide pages

CS5 User Guides - online and PDF (right click PDF link to save PDF to your hard drive)

http://blogs.adobe.com/premiereprotraining/2010/08/help-documents-for- creative-suite-5-pdf-and-html.html

Here Tutorials

http://forums.adobe.com/thread/913334

http://forums.adobe.com/thread/845731

http://forums.adobe.com/message/3234794

A "crash course" http://forums.adobe.com/thread/761834

A Video Primer for Premiere http://forums.adobe.com/thread/498251

Premiere Tutorial http://forums.adobe.com/thread/424009

And http://forums.adobe.com/message/2738611

And http://blogs.adobe.com/premiereprotraining/2010/06/video_tutorials_did acticiels_t.html

And http://blogs.adobe.com/premiereprotraining/2010/06/how_to_search_for_p remiere_pro.html

And http://bellunevideo.com/tutlist.php

Premiere Pro Wiki http://premierepro.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page

Tutorial http://www.tutorialized.com/tutorials/Premiere/1

Tutorial http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/forumdisplay.php?f=21

Tutorial HD to SD w/CS4 http://bellunevideo.com/tutorials/CS4_HD2SD/CS4_HD2SD.html

Exporting to DVD http://help.adobe.com/en_US/premierepro/cs/using/WS3E252E59-6BE5-4668- A12E-4ED0348C3FDBa.html

And http://help.adobe.com/en_US/premierepro/cs/using/WSCDE15B03-1236-483f- BBD4-263E77B445B9.html

Color correction http://forums.adobe.com/thread/892861

After Effects Tutorials http://www.videocopilot.net/

Surround Sound http://forums.adobe.com/thread/517372

Photo Scaling for Video http://forums.adobe.com/thread/450798

-Too Large May = Crash http://forums.adobe.com/thread/879967

-And another crash report http://forums.adobe.com/thread/973935

Ann... for someone new, there is no way to know what is relevant and what is not... but starting with general information about video files, and then asking for more information, and then tutorials seemed like a good way to get her started