Project Resolution and Export Resolution

[konrad79]

My Premiere Elements 14 projects have a resolution of 1280x720

My resolution of exported videos is 1920x1080 (same aspect ratio).

If the source video files have 1920x1080 too, how important is the project resolution in these cases?
Are the 1080-videos are downscaled to 720 and the re-upscaled to 1080 for export (with all the losses) or has the project resolution no effect if source and export resolution are the same?

Thanks

Konrad

[Steve Grisetti]

If your project resolution is 1280x720, your video can be output at 100% size at 1280x720. If you output your 1280x720 video as 1920x1080, you are over-rezzing the video. It may look a little blurry, though it may be acceptably so.

[konrad79]

But is the 1080er video really scaled down in the export process just to scale it up in again in the same step?
The project itself is just a simple definition file - and the 1080 video is just a link to the original large video file. Or is the original 1080 video file down scaled in the moment I add it to the project (and stored in project cache or somewhere else)?

[John T Smith]

Get a light colored balloon and blow it up part way... use a black felt marker to put a solid line on the balloon... blow it up more... your solid black line is not so solid... similar with video

[konrad79]

To stay in your balloon metapher: I've a big blown balloon (size 1080), draw a line on it - then let it shrink to 2/3 of the size (the project definition) and then again blow it up to its original size (1080) - the black solid line should be look as sharp as drawn.

[Peru Bob]

In that case the analogy is not applicable.  

Any time you decrease resolution and then increase it, you will lose quality, but depending upon the actual resolutions and how it is viewed, the difference may not be very noticeable.

Why not use a 1920 X 1080 project file?  Are you using a smaller project file size so that you can pan and zoom?

[konrad79]

I use an older project file from a traditional point of view - there are many titles etc in it - and since I cannot change the project resolutions after creation (the fields in the project settings are disabled), I hoped to work with an 720er project but using 1080 sources and export 1080 without any loss (and additional scaledown/up steps).

[Peru Bob]

Have a look at Steve's video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eyx0tkzkuc

[konrad79]

Nice trick 🙂