Encoding settings for projecting video onto screen

[jonwinter]

I am a bit unsure what output settings to use for projecting a video, played on a laptop and shown through an overhead projector?

What file format is best? What frame rate, video size or other settings should I consider?

I am using Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5.

Please help.

[Marc Peters]

If it's being played on a PC, I recommend you output to match exactly the input settings.

[jonwinter]

Do you mean the same settings as the original capture i.e. Standard 32 KHZ etc? Can you recommend what settings I should try, maybe the most important ones FPS, video size etc?

I am interested in knowing what settings are recommended for different formats i.e. projectors, also web and dvd. Tried looking around for a rough guide but just can't find a thing!

I also recently created a video for the web but after outputting it as a .wmv file with 15fps the sound was a slight bit out of synch. It is very frustrating being new to this and not knowing what to look out for. Are they any good books that cover things like this or websites etc?

[Marc Peters]

Yes, simply match the settings of the captured video. This will normally result in the the same size and equivalent quality (depending on the compression algo used).

[jonwinter]

and then wasn't 100% sure what file format to output it as? Tried the DV AVI but the size was massive. Tried the normal avi but the same problem. Finally, I am currently trying mpeg1 and it suggests a 10 min video coming in at 145mb.

Am I using the correct format or what do you suggest?

[Marc Peters]

If it's merely for a PC presentation, file size isn't really an issue, is it? I can't really comment on what is best without knowing the source of your original video - DV AVI would be fine if the input video was also in DV AVI, but overkill if the source was more heavily compressed.

If file size is an issue but you will only view this on a pc, I would suggest you try MPEG4 type compression. Try the Xvid or WMV, at bitrates below 2,000kbps, whilst maintaining the original frame rate (fps) and frame dimensions,

[jonwinter]

as I've tried converting it into a mpeg1 file format (anything above is not supported - don't ask!) and the file seems to be good quality and about 145mb in size. The only problem I have now encountered is the conversion was 8 minutes into the video (video length is 10 mins total) and an error came up. It was saying a video frame was available and the process had to stop?!

Is this programme fault, memory problem or something else?

By the way, appreciate very much all the assistance you've given me so far. Starting to feel more confident with the application already already!

[Marc Peters]

If you have SP2 installed on Windows XP, this is a known issue with MPEG encoding in Premiere 1.5.

[jonwinter]

No, we are currently using Windows XP SP1. With the SP2 problem, do you know if there was a fix brought out by either Microsoft or Adobe to correct the problem? Just checking in case you know a lot about it?

Just going back on the last post, do you think a wmv would be suitable and do I set it at the original capture settings (original source was DV) i.e. 720 x 576, 25fps etc?

[Marc Peters]

WMV would be fine at those settings. Put the bitrate at around 3,000 and you'll get perfect quality.