Andreas, The DSLR footage is H.264-based and takes a fair amount of  processing power to decode, and if encoding back to an H.264 format, that also takes more power to encode. Anything faster than realtime is reasonable, so your speed looks fine. It was the 2 hour encode for a 6 minute source that made no sense. Thanks Jeff ... View more

To my knowledge, Premiere only supports a single GPU card, sorry if someone misinformed you causing the extra GTX 780 purchase. But in regards to the "6 minute clips taking 2 hours to render", that seems a bit ridiculous for a render time. Can you please provide more details as to the source video, effects being used, and export settings? Video Denoiser filters can take quite a while, but even then 2 hours is over the top! There are plenty of folks here more than willing to help you to get the best experience with Adobe Thanks Jeff Pulera Safe Harbor Computers ... View more

As Kevin mentioned, don't use a variable frame rate, Premiere doesn't like that. Regarding capture resolutions and such, how do you intend to deliver the finished video? If in a "video" format such as DVD, you have to take that into consideration and use an appropriate frame size and frame rate when capturing and editing. If you're going to deliver online/computer use only, then you do not need to stick to "video specific" parameters like 720p for example. Been a couple of years since I did a tutorial with Camtasia, but I was capturing, editing and delivering as 1024x768, 15 fps (these were Premiere tutorials in fact). If I'd intended to make a DVD, I would not use that format, but it was perfect for electronic delivery (Download or CD). Used the Camtasia software that creates its own menu/playback interface system for PC viewing. If recording for computer viewing, try to use a frame size that is "standard" for computer screens, in other words one of the options your display card provides. I've seen folks use Camtasia and just record a region of some totally random size that is very odd for delivery. Many codecs like numbers divisible by 8, and may not even allow you to export to an odd-number frame size. As many people now use full HD computer screens, if you intend to capture a smaller size region of the screen, it can be helpful to simply set your display resolution to what you want to capture, rather than capturing a smaller part of the 1920x1080 screen. If you want to capture 1280x720, then set your screen to that resolution. Might result in larger font sizes and such that make the recording more legible. Also, I don't remember the specifics, but Camtasia used to offer TWO different capture codecs. One was an .avi format that works in Premiere, the other was something more proprietary for use in their own editing app. My best advice is before starting the actual project, run through the ENTIRE workflow to make sure it is going to provide the desired results, before capturing hours of footage only to find at some later stage that some setting should've been different in the beginning. So capture some sample footage, get it into Premiere, then export to desired delivery format. Does it look good? File size ok? Figure all of that out before getting too deep into the actual job. I learned a lot of this the hard way myself, and you don't want to have to start over half way through the job, whatever it may be. Regards, Jeff Pulera Safe Harbor Computers ... View more

No. But if you screen cap with other software such as Camtasia or one of the free offerings, you can edit the footage in Premiere. Thanks Jeff Pulera Safe Harbor Computers ... View more

My understanding is that there would NOT be any watermarks on export. However, from what I've seen from other posters, some codecs may not be available in the trial version due to licensing issues (Adobe can't include support for certain things unless collecting the appropriate royalties). You can download the CS6 trial versions here - http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/policy-pricing/cs6-product-downloads.html Thanks Jeff Pulera Safe Harbor Computers ... View more

ALL HD formats are 16:9. Period. There is no 4:3 HD format, and perhaps you're not understanding the whole 1440x1080 thing. Adobe has NOT gotten rid of it - look under "HDV" sequence preset, there it is. Yes, 1440x1080 comes out to 4:3, but only with square pixels, which is not part of the anamorphic HD spec. As pointed out by other posters, the rectangular 1.333 pixel shape actually means that the 1440x1080 video really is still 16:9 (1440x1.33=1920), with 1440x1080 acting like 1920x1080 when viewing the material. So use the HDV editing preset, but as others have said, simply add black bars to fix the zooming thing, meaning go into the Titler and make your black pillar box overlay and use that to hide the sides when adding zooms. Simple. Thanks Jeff Pulera Safe Harbor Computers ... View more

You're welcome. Sorry I'm not more specific sometimes, don't have Premiere in front of me to look at so I have to go from memory. I take for granted where these controls are hidden until I have to explain where they are, without looking 😉 Jeff ... View more

File > New > Sequence From the options, just choose "AVCHD" to start and then find 720p30 (29.97) option. Edit > Preferences Jeff ... View more

Hi Larry, We need more info to help. Specifically, what SEQUENCE SETTINGS are you using for the project in Premiere? What are the EXPORT settings being used? If you can post a screen grab of export settings and sequence settings that will be very helpful. And how/where do you wish to deliver the video? That will make a difference in which export preset to use. When you say the output doesn't fill the screen, do you mean the video is surrounded by black border perhaps? Thank you Jeff Pulera Safe Harbor Computers ... View more

The link you shared above might be good for the online distribution, but again has nothing to do with the DVD. Basically, you'd need to encode all the material twice, making an MPEG-2 for DVD and an H.264 for online distribution. And both should ideally be made right from the source, not re-encoding one to the other. If Camtasia for Mac will not encode to MPEG-2 DVD, then you may need to use what is called an "Intermediate Codec". Export your edited video from Camtasia to a high-quality format that minimizes loss, then bring that into iDVD and let iDVD convert to MPEG-2. On a Mac, ProRes is an excellent intermediate codec. Don't know if that would be available out of Camtasia, and might require a standard frame size such as 720p (may not offer an option to use the 1402x986 oddball frame size). You just might HAVE to encode to H.264 before the DVD program, might be a necessary evil. For future projects (and I found this out the hard way with my first Camtasia projects) you'll want to figure out the entire workflow before recording all of the lessons. Otherwise you spend all the time recording the subject matter only to find out later that the workflow is not working out for delivery. Jeff ... View more

To further add to the confusion, let me toss in this idea. I was tasked with making some tutorial videos a few years back, and like yourself used Camtasia and had nice-looking original recordings of the screen. However, they looked pretty nasty and illegible by the time the clips got to DVD, due to downscaling and heavy compression to NTSC format. So, let me ask - must the material be delivered on standard "Video DVD" that will play on set-top players, or could it be delivered as something that will work on computers only instead? I ended up creating an updated version of my tutorials with Camtasia later, and rather than making Video DVDs, I used the player utility in Camtasia to create a self-running disc for computers. Is not something that would play in a set-top DVD player on a TV. But using that method, I was able to KEEP the original computer screen quality and it played back crystal-clear on computers and even included a menu system to choose which segment to view. The best part is that over 3 hours of material compressed down to under 700mb, deliverable on CD or preferred method of electronic delivery! Note the Camtasia player I used works on PCs only (and that was ok because my viewers would all be on PC due to subject matter). I don't know if a Mac-compatible player is offered by Camtasia. Something to think about though. Jeff ... View more

To be clear - DVD is a standard. DVD players only play DVDs that meet the standard, to spec. That spec is 720x480 MPEG-2 video. Yes, H.264 can make smaller, high-quality files, but they DO NOT WORK on a DVD. If you import an H.264 or any other format into the DVD program, it will convert it MPEG-2, that is the only acceptable format for a DVD. So you're not gaining anything converting to .mp4 first, just adding another generation of encoding/conversion between formats. It's going to end up MPEG-2 anyway, so just encode to the proper MPEG-2 to start with. If you're getting up over 2 hours, then yes you may want to use a DL disc. At the 126 minutes, 4.4 would be the maximum bitrate, however if using motion menus for the DVD that adds additional overhead, the size of which one could only guess at not knowing the extent of the motion clips being used. But that would lower the bitrate a bit more IF using the 4.7GB disc. For the DL, then all could be higher rate since you have twice the space available. Jeff ... View more

Maybe I'm not asking the questions the right way, sorry, I should be asking what is the TOTAL length of all videos going on the DVD? That ultimately determines the bitrate and we can't figure that out based on a single clip if you are using multiple clips. Also, when you say you have no sound...when encoding to MPEG-2 DVD in AME, it is always going to output TWO separate files, one video and one audio, so no there won't be any sound if you play the video clip itself. Are you seeing an audio clip in your output folder? Again, no idea how iDVD works, but with Encore you import both clips. In AME, you can actually enable "Multiplexing" and get an .mpeg file with audio, but that is not proper for most authoring workflows. Jeff ... View more

David, In your first post, you mentioned "barely getting" two hours on a DVD, but in the screen grab you sent, the duration shows at 58 minutes, so I'll ask again what is the program length? If one hour, there is really no reason to use a Dual-layer DVD, because at the highest allowed bitrate, one hour of video would barely fill a standard DVD. The DL would be half empty and provide no benefit whatsoever. But even if the program is 90-120 minutes, that will still easily fit a 4.7GB disc and if it's mostly still images then quality should not be an issue...so I think you're barking up the wrong tree thinking DL will solve all problems, there is something else going on causing your woes with this process. I've been authoring DVDs for about 13 years. Jeff ... View more

Hi David, Now we're making some progress, thank you for sharing more info. As a CC user, you are able to download and use Encore CS6. Adobe has stopped further development of Encore so there is no CC version, but you are welcome to use CS6. Here's some instructions - http://www.streamingmedia.com/Producer/Articles/Editorial/Featured-Articles/RIP-Adobe-Encore%3B-and-How-to-Install-and-Use-Encore-CS6-with-Adobe-Premiere-Pro-CC-93119.aspx There are some issues with your encoding settings. To begin, the Source resolution is not a standard video resolution, which would be for instance 1920x1080, 1280x720, or 720x480. Nor is it even a computer screen resolution. How did you determine the Sequence setting in Premiere to start the project? Is that the resolution of your stills or screen-recordings? I went through this myself some years ago when tasked with creating a training video, so I understand how confusing it can get! This will affect the final quality if the downscale proportions come out weird. Note that DVD is SD and what looked nice and crisp on the high-resolution computer display will look muddy on DVD, but quality loss can be minimized with good workflow practices. Next issue, you are encoding to .mp4, when in fact DVD requires MPEG-2 for DVD. So any other format you encode to will just need to be transcoded (re-encoded) in your DVD software again. More quality loss. Also, source is 30fps but Output is 24fps. In AME, for FORMAT, please choose "MPEG-2 DVD", and then preset "NTSC Widescreen Progressive". That should be the best bet, and using 29.97 frame rate. Looks like the program is 58 minutes, so you ought to be fine with CBR encoding at 7 or 8 setting. Touch nothing else in the encoder besides bitrate. The export should result in an .m2v video clip, and on PC the audio would be .wav, for Mac might be .aac, not sure what they use there. In any case, Encore would convert audio to Dolby. I don't know how iDVD works, sorry. Looking at the filenames you are using, I would avoid putting periods in the name, as the file extension typically follows the period, such as .jpg, .mov, .m4p etc, this can confuse the software sometimes. Use underscores or spaces instead, such as _. Good luck with all this Jeff ... View more

David, Seeing as you are in an Adobe forum, I think we were all assuming you might also be using Adobe Encore for the DVD authoring. You did skip mentioning the important fact that you're using iDVD which changes things 😉 Do not change the frame rate. DVD players and TVs don't play 15fps video, and I doubt any DVD application would accept it. Or if it did, it would transcode it back to 29.97 most likely. You're going outside the legal DVD spec when you start changing parameters like that, and that invites headaches. In the past, I've seen iDVD users state that there seems to be a 60-minute default for DVDs (how do I get 2 hours on my DVD?), so wondering if iDVD is transcoding your media at the 60 minute rate, therefore increasing the size? If you bring a DVD-compliant file (.m2v) into Encore, it does not touch it, unless it is too big to fit the media. Max Render Quality is used when the Source and Destination frame size differ, like 1080 to 720 or HD to SD. If your Premiere Sequence is anything bigger than SD, then you can check Max Render as that will help with the downscaling to DVD, which is SD. Don't check "Max Bit Depth", that is for 10-bit video (high-end camera workflow) and will only slow down encoding without benefit. Please help us to help you and answer a few simple questions: 1) What is the length of the video you are encoding? 2) What are the file sizes of the audio and video clips exported from AME? 3) Can you post a screen grab of the AME settings panel? Thank you Jeff ... View more

Hi David, So what is the total program length? Any animated menus/buttons on DVD, or just standard still menus? Animated menus will take up additional space and throws off the bitrate calculations. Also, there is always the chance that an Encore asset is being counted twice due to an authoring error, that will really balloon the overall project size. Regarding the 560 calculation, I will typically "round down" the result a bit for safety margin, for instance 560/120=4.66 and I'll then use 4.5. Are you on Mac or PC - I think Toast is Mac, right? Not familiar with using that software and would leave that out of the equation. Encoder your Premiere video in AME, and author/burn in Encore. Speaking of AME, use an appropriate MPEG-2 DVD preset such as "NTSC High Quality" or whatever suits your situation, and the ONLY thing you should be adjusting in there is bitrate, don't touch anything else and then there is no reason the audio shouldn't be coming through really. Thanks Jeff Pulera Safe Harbor Computers ... View more

Hi David, The only limit to how much video you can put on a DVD is...how much compression do you want to apply? The lower the bitrate, the more video you can fit. Of course, the lower the bitrate, the lower the quality. Definitely a trade-off. I've put up to 3 hours on a 4.7GB DVD with good results, but a lot of that depends on the content. I did a talking head video, shot on a tripod, and the 3-hour DVD looked just fine. However, I'd never try to fit a 3-hour sporting event for instance, it just wouldn't look good because there would not be enough data to properly compress all the detail and motion. With average content, such as a wedding video, things start to go south beyond 2 hours, unless using advanced encoding techniques that squeeze additional quality out at low bitrates. Using 2-Pass Variable Bit Rate encoding does help on longer videos. You can easily experiment without taking the time to encode your entire video. Find a few minutes of footage that best represent the common content of your movie, and export that same footage several times at different bitrates. What I do is just stick a title over the footage in Premiere, stating the bitrate used, and just change that before each encode, then the bitrate info is right there on the video when I review clips. After making up the samples at different rates, burn them all to one DVD and review. This only takes a matter of minutes to do. A good rule of thumb to figure bitrate is 560/minutes=bitrate. The max allowable is around 9, but many users don't like to go above 7 or 8 just to be safe, as some DVD players might not like high bitrates on burned media. Regarding dual-layer discs, they are a lot more expensive than standard DVDs, and seem to have compatibility issues with some players, so not the best solution for wide distribution (when burning your own copies). Thanks Jeff Pulera Safe Harbor Computers ... View more

If your camcorder can shoot 60p, import that clip, then right-click it and Modify > Interpret. The frame rate should show up as 59.94, go ahead and change that to 29.97 and then put the clip on the timeline. This should have the result of doubling the length of the clip and providing silky smooth 50% slow motion (without adding Speed Change, leave that at 100%). Just picked up a new GoPro Hero 3 White, and it has 720p60 and I tried the above and it looks nice! The more expensive GoPros offer 720p120 and that should yield excellent 25% slow motion using the same methods. With the waterproof housing and wide angle lens, you could get right up close to that waterfall! Thanks Jeff ... View more

Besides Ann's suggestions, I notice that the Premiere monitor window looks like 4:3, but your footage is aparently widescreen judging by the VLC screen shot. What are the sequence settings being used? What happens if you choose "DV Widescreen" for the sequence, place your clip in the timeline, and then use Motion to change the scaling - if you scale down, can you then see the rest of the image that was previously cropped? You might also right-click a clip in the bin and check Modify > Interpret and see what the settings are. If it says "1.0" pixel aspect, you can change that to widescreen if need be. Hope this helps. I had a client give me .mod files once, not fun. Thanks Jeff Pulera Safe Harbor Computers ... View more

Which version of Premiere? CC does not include Encore, but you can download the Encore CS6 from your account. As it is part of Premiere CS6, I believe you would need to download and install Premiere/Encore CS6, and then you can uninstall Premiere CS6, leaving Encore CS6 installed. If you have Premiere CS6, then you already have Encore CS6. In either case, from Premiere, use File > Export > Media to open Media Encoder. For FORMAT, choose "MPEG-2 DVD", then choose an appropriate preset from the list. For instance, if editing with 1080i, then you might choose NTSC Widescreen High Quality. For 1080p, then use the Progressive version, etc. What is your source video format? If starting with HD, then check the box at the bottom of AME for Max Render Quality, it helps with the scaling. Hit EXPORT at bottom and it exports two files, an .m2v for video and .wav for audio. Open Encore, start a New DVD project, and then File > Import > As Timeline and grab both those files for import. From there, I recommend finding an Encore tutorial, too involved for me to type it all out here. Hope this gets you going at least, but search online for tutorials, there is plenty of good, free stuff out there Thanks Jeff Pulera Safe Harbor Computers ... View more

A good workflow is to make sure you copy the entire folder structure from memory card to hard drive. Do not use Sony conversion utility software. Then in Premiere, import using the Media Browser, NOT "file > import". Media Browser will access the metadata to better understand and interpret the files you are importing, especially when sometimes audio and video might be in different folders. I don't know that this has any bearing on the issue being discussed, but is good practice for any tapeless format. Also, in Premiere Preferences, you may wish to turn off "Write XMP Data", as this seems to change some info when importing files and many editors prefer that stuff to be left alone. Thanks Jeff Pulera Safe Harbor Computers ... View more

Glad to assist. And you must have been exporting as "DV AVI", as 20GB sounds about right for that since DV is 13GB per hour. Uncompressed HD would have been exponentially larger than that. Jeff Pulera Safe Harbor Computers ... View more

Don't use "Import" - copy entire contents of memory card to hard drive, then within Premiere, use MEDIA BROWSER. This will interpret the format better than "Import". Hope this does it for you. Has to do with the metadata and other info contained in the folder structure. Jeff Pulera Safe Harbor Computers ... View more

Oh Joe, ya beat me again Jeff ... View more

Not HDV, there ought to be a "DSLR" folder. If you don't see a long list of options, you could have a faulty install that did not put everything in. Once you choose DSLR, there are sub-options to match the frame size and frame rate as well. The truth is, you do NOT have to use a "DSLR" preset necessarily, you could also use AVHCD or something else as long as the specs match. Also, on bottom right of Project Bin, there is a button for New Item - drag and drop a clip onto that icon to create a Sequence with the correct parameters to match your source footage. Thanks Jeff Pulera Safe Harbor Computers ... View more

Hi Chris, Where do you see 24.64fps, in QuickTime player? From what I've seen in recent posts, those numbers are not at all reliable and the source of much hair-pulling for editors. Jeff Pulera Safe Harbor ... View more