Resolution and grainy projects...

[ellene23233416]

I am a total newbie to Premiere Elements and am not a media guru at all.  We have a horse breeding operation and I need to put together some handsome sales videos of the horses.   I am having problem with the resolution and smoothness of my projects.  Most of my video media comes from my Sony HD AVCHD.  When I import the videos from the camera the uploaded file is a .MPG file.  I have been told that that is not a compatible file for Premiere Elements 2019 and that I would need to convert the file.  So, I have downloaded EasyFab Video Converter.  Within that converter you can select for which video editor you are using.  I chose Premiere.

It converts the file and what I find is the same file extention...but with lower case .mpg instead of .MPG.  Then, when I create my videos the images are fuzzy with poor resolution.  Even the static photos have poor resolution.  See below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0yy9eh8-Qkhttp://

Thanks so much for helping me figure this out!!

[Bill Sprague]

Video files from a Sony AVCHD camera should be fine.

My first guess is that you have the camera settings at less than the best.  On a Sony camera there should be a 1920x1080 at 60 frames per second setting.   You shouldn't need to convert. 

What are the camera setting choices you have?  And, what settings have you used?

[ellene23233416]

Here are the settings I see on my camcorder.  Most of them were probably STD versus HD   But still, I don't think the video quality should be that bad...or should it?  I am not seeing a menu where I can select 1920X1080 60 frames/second.   Thanks for your help.

[Bill Sprague]

What camera is that?  I might be able to look up the manual.  "Standard" was a quality level great for old tube TVs.  It will be "that bad" viewed on current screens.  You have to find the "HD" or High Definition settings.

[ellene23233416]

[Bill Sprague]

Look on page 141 of this manual:  https://www.docs.sony.com/release/HDR-CX250_CX260V_CX580V_PJ260_PJ260V_PJ580_PJ580V_PJ600_PJ600V_XR2...

You want to set this: 

[Steve Grisetti]

The problem may be that you're using a video converter to import your video from your camcorder to your computer. This converted video may not be the best quality video to edit.

I recommend using the Video Importer in Premiere Elements to get your video from your cam to your computer. This will give you the highest quality video and will import a video that is perfectly compatible with Premiere Elements. My Basic Training tutorial shows you how.

Basic Training for Premiere Elements 2019, Part 2 of 8 - YouTube

[ellene23233416]

OK....thank you, but...unfortunately, I have already downloaded all my video and have them in Elements Organizer and have deleted them off the camcorder.

[ellene23233416]

Thank you so much!!  For taking the time to research and respond!!  I did think I had my camera on the HD setting.

[Steve Grisetti]

I'd recommend shooting some video and experimenting with your workflow before you get into a big project.

And check out my free 8 part Basic Training tutorials on YouTube! If you're new to the program, they'll help get you up and running!

[ellene23233416]

Thank you!  You have no idea the work that goes into just getting the footage with these horses.  I can't believe I am going to have to redo!!!

[Steve Grisetti]

Well, it will get easier as you learn the most effective workflow.

Which is why I post these tutorials and my books. Helping people get it right the first time so they can save lots of time and energy!