video resolution problems

roden · #1 (**permalink**) 04-23-2006, 11:19 AM

Alright, I've got some footage from my friend's Canon GL2 that we uploaded using Premiere Pro 1.5. Now, when I hover over the .avi file (created by Premiere) in Windows, it says the dimensions are 720x480. But if I take a print screen of the file playing in WMP and paste it into Paint, then crop it to just the video, it says the dimensions are 720x540. So I don't really know what that's all about.

Anyway, I open Premiere and start a new project, and select "Standard 48kHz" in the DV - NTSC folder. Then I import the video (the raw .avi created by Premiere). I want to mess around with the different compression codecs, so I put the video on the timeline, shorten it to 2 minutes, and leave it unedited.

If I export the movie using these settings

file type: Microsoft DV AVI
compressor: DV (NTSC)
frame size: 720x480
pixel aspect ratio: D1/DV NTSC (0.9)

it comes out pretty much exactly the same as before: same relative file size, same quality, still 720x540 according to Paint. Then I tried four other codecs; two using the QuickTime file type, and two using regular Microsoft AVI. The frame size and pixel aspect ratio stayed at 720x480 and 0.9. All four came out at 720x480, but the quality was terrible (because they were a different size than the original, I assume).

Basically I have 3 questions:
1. Why does the raw footgae claim to be 720x480 when it is really 720x540?
2. Why does using a different codec change the video to 720x480 (without setting the frame size or pixel aspect ratio differently)?
3. Can I get a high quality video (at either resolution) using a codec outside of the DV AVI file type? (If the first 2 questions haven't already answered this)

Thanks

bgarthp · #2 (**permalink**) 04-23-2006, 05:09 PM

1: Have you tried exporting a frame from Premiere?

that will make sure it's not just a cropping/WMP issue.

2: ??

3: Yes, you could use lot's of codecs for high quality but lower file size (I assume that's the reason for encoding?) but you should edit first then compress the finished project or you'll run into problems.

If I had this issue I just wouldn't worry about it, if it works in Premiere and the quality is fine, just edit away, there shouldn't be a problem. It's only if it doesn't work on you DVD player or something that you'll need to fiddle with it.