Re: Premiere Pro 1.5 freeze on video import


"Native" <native_texan_03@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:1174271995.227502.146440@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Your hard-drive camcorder records in mpeg2, mpeg4
or some variation thereon. You can try transcoding
your file to a DV-codec-encoded AVI file. Premiere
Pro 1.5 can read those just fine.

Thank you for the information. You are correct....my camcorder files
are mpg. Would going from a mpeg to AVI degrade the quality
noticeably? Also, do you reco any codecs that do this?

You'll lose some quality, and then lose some more when re-transcode back to mpeg to burn a DVD. What you want isn't a codec, but a transcoder. I don't use them as a rule, but a google search on mpeg to avi should turn something up. You can also get plug-ins for Premiere Pro that will let you manipulate (more or less) mpegs, though they're on the expensive side.




If you're serious about editing, I'd suggest returning
the camera and getting a miniDV machine.


What are the advantages of switching to a MiniDV? Does MiniDV offer
superior quality? And, would I have to run the camcorder in play mode
to capture the video to my computer?

MiniDV uses the DV-25 standard which compresses at roughly 5 to 1 and has a 25 mpbs data rate. Mpeg2 (at least DVD-compliant mpeg2, and I'll bet your camcorder is below that) temporally-compresses (only the data that changes with respect to a periodic reference frame is stored), has a compression rate at least double DV-25 and is limited (on a good day) to a maximum data rate of 10 mbps. So, yes, miniDV offers fairly dramatic superior quality, not to mention ease of editing -- it's going to be difficult to do much more than simple cuts-only edits of mpeg source.

To get the video into your computer you do play it on the camera. It is "captured" (really a misnomer) via the 1394/Firewire port -- you get a bit-for-bit copy on your computer. The downside (and the only downside) is that the capture occurs in real time -- it takes one hour to transfer one hour's worth of video.


I'm not a professional by any stretch, but I do like quality and ease
of use. The hard drive camcorder I thought would make transferring
very easy, but.... :-)

Hard drive and DVD standard definition camcorders are intended for the family crowd who do not edit and want simple and convenient. I'm not a professional by any stretch of the imagination, but the kind of quality represented by the mpeg-based machines is far below what I consider acceptable for my purposes. Like you, I edit in Premiere Pro 1.5, and I like to do nice, composited titles, correction (color and gamma), smooth dissolve transitions, the occassional special effect, and the like. This would be impossible with mpeg source. I once did a feature-length project that used video gathered over a period of 25 years or so. Some of it was only available on DVD, i.e. mpeg. Working with those segments was horrendous (and I bought the mpeg plug-in for Premiere Pro). They brought my otherwise-speedy computer practically to its knees, render times were ridiculous for even the simplest effects such as transitions, color correction, particular key-framed corrections, i.e. those that changed over time, could take hours for just a few minutes of video.

My personal belief is that the camcorder manufacturers do the public a tremendous disservice when they offer ONLY these hard drive and DVD-based camcorders on the theory that they're "good enough" for most people. They're certainly not good enough for me. Bear in mind, though, that capture format (and mpeg2 was never intended as anything but a distribution medium) is only part of the story when it comes to video quality. The lens, sensor size and density and electronics will all contribute to the final product -- there are crappy miniDV camcorders out there that will look every bit as lousy as their non-tape consumer counterparts.





.

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