newbie questions...re Premiere

[minimustangs]

Can anyone tell me or point me to a source for information on what video formats Premiere 6.5 supports

I have been able to capture MiniDV fine, but when trying to import previously created clips from other sources, sometimes I have problems (One file in particular with crash Premiere - I think it's a Divx file).

Premiere help gives me some general, vague info, but I'm getting the sense that some of the video formats may be referred to by two different names.

Is there a tool that will tell you how big an output file will be created? I know my 40-odd minutes of MiniDV took roughly 9.1Gigs; is there a quick formula for projecting approximate space requirements?

Oh yeah, while I'm asking questions. . . The correct format to output to MiniDV? I'm just asking ahead of time because if I have to render this movie for 10 hours I want to render it to the correct format in the first place & not have to tie up the house PC for another render session.

Thanks for the read...

Steve

[housepig]

The correct format to output to MiniDV? ... if I have to render this movie for 10 hours I want to render it to the correct format

correct format for what? what are you trying to end up with - a VCD, a DVD, a Divx file? Your desired end result will determine what format you render to.

[minimustangs]

What am I trying to make? Well I suppose the ultimate goal would be to export the movies to a VHS deck via my MiniDV cam (as a D/A converter).

[Dick White]

If you export the timeline to your MiniDV camcorder via firewire, it will be properly formatted for MiniDV. Then playing the tape back through the camera's A/V output gives you the analog signal for your VHS deck. If that's all you're doing, there's no need to create another file on your HD or get all hung up about what codec to output.

As for supported input formats, the User Guide lists them in the section about importing clips (and this is probably also in Help on Premiere), but there are variations of most formats in different codecs so I doubt thare is a definitive list of all that will work. You'll probably have to learn that by experience and searching the Adobe user forum.