Imported video not showing correctly in project using premiere elements 10

[Davidujn]

Hi

I when I import media into my projects I am not seeing the content What is there is just an image of dotted colours and lines. When I double click to play the media seems ok. Any advice on how I can see the actual clips in the project tab would be appreciated.

David

[Steve Grisetti]

What model of camcorder is your video coming from and what format and resolution is it? Version 10 is a pretty old program (nearly 8 years old -- a lifetime in tech years) and it does not support a number of current video formats and codecs.\

Better yet, open one of your videos in the free download MediaInfo. In MediaInfo, set View to Text and then copy this report and paste it to this forum. Once we know what your video's specs are, we'll better be able to advise you.

[Davidujn]

Hi Steve

I have imported various formats and none of them appear correctly in the project. All formats are ones that I have used on premiere elements 10 before, all be it some years ago. I have not used the program for some time now but see no reason why it is doing this.

formats also Here is the information you requested. Please advise if If you want the info in from the other formats.

David

[Davidujn]

This is the image of what I see in the projects when I add media.

[Steve Grisetti]

As you can see, your video uses the MJPEG codec, a codec that does not edit well in Premiere Elements 10.

It might be worth test driving version 2019 (a free download) and see if it handles this file better. I'm not sure it will.

You can also try converting these videos to 1920x1080 30 fps MP4s using the free download Handbrake.

But otherwise you're just not likely to have much success editing this video with version 10.

[Davidujn]

What about this video. I have edited videos using this codec many times with no problem.

[Bill Sprague]

That looks like "out of the box" AVCHD video from Panasonic or Sony.  Version 10 did fine with AVCHD from cameras I had then.  It should work. 

[Davidujn]

And there is the issue....it doesn't. And neither do these. Very frustrating!

[Bill Sprague]

Davidujn  wrote

And there is the issue....it doesn't. And neither do these. Very frustrating!

Which then goes back to the age of your software.  Unless you've been hiding under a rock, your operating system and graphics drivers have evolved and your version of Premiere Elements has not. 

Steve's suggestion to test drive version 2019 or convert with Handbrake are good choices.   Other choices on an older Windows machine are Windows Movie Maker.  On a newer Windows machine "Photos" edits video.  On a Mac, there is iMovie.

[Davidujn]

Ok.

So really you can't really purchase a product and keep it for too many years. Doesn't seem right that you have to pay to upgrade with something you may not use too often.

Also aren't the new versions subscription only? If so, which version can I upgrade too without causing any software issues?

[Steve Grisetti]

Same thing happens with my TV, my phone and my car, David. Turns out that TV I bought back in 2001 just can't keep up with changes in technology.

Premiere Elements and Photoshop Elements continue to be one-time purchases. They are not subscriptions.

[Davidujn]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Steve+Grisetti  wrote

Same thing happens with my TV, my phone and my car, David. Turns out that TV I bought back in 2001 just can't keep up with changes in technology.

Premiere Elements and Photoshop Elements continue to be one-time purchases. They are not subscriptions.

Difference is Steve is that my TV, Phone and my Car all still do what I paid for them to do all those years ago whether new technology came along or not. I am not expecting them to do anything different now than when I purchased them, ditto Premiere Elements.

Anyway, regarding upgrading do you think there would be any issues upgrading from Elements 10 to 18?

[Steve Grisetti]

Technically the program doesn't upgrade, David. Adobe just sells the program at a discounted price to current owners. You still get a complete installation of the program. But look online first. You may be able to find the program on sale for less than the "upgrade" price.

But be sure to install the free trial first and give it a good test drive before you buy it. Make sure it does what you need it to do before actually buy it.

[Davidujn]

Yes, I guess I should try the free trial first. Or I may even try out using iMovie. I never used it previously because I liked the interface of Elements better.

I still am unsure of why my old movies, in formats I have used before, do not now work properly.

Excuse me for the additional question but if the upgrade is a complete installation does that mean that I would have Elements 10 and 18 installed on my computer? If not am I able to uninstall Elements 10 to save hard drive space.

[Steve Grisetti]

If you've started any project in version 10, complete it in version. You won't be able to open it in a later version of the program.

But, once you're up and running with a more recent version, you can remove the older.

[Davidujn]

Thanks for the advice.

David