Custom Export Settings (Premiere Pro CS4) *Height

[BoLane]

I've worked with Premiere Pro CS4 for quite some time, definitely not a noob. But I can't seem to get the proper export settings I need for a specific project I'm working on.

Here are some details:

My sequence dimensions are 1920 x 680 (a custom size). After I've worked out my timeline and everything is exactly as I want it, I enter the export settings menu.

Here is a list of all the options:

H.264
TV Standard: NTSC
Frame Width: 1920
Frame Height: 680
Frame Rate: 24
Field Order: None (Progressive) *Grayed out
Pixel Aspect Ration: Widescreen 16:9
Profile: Main
Level: 4.2

Bitrate Encoding: VBR, 1 Pass
Target Bitrate: 32
Maximum Bitrate: 40

Set Key Frame Distance: Unchecked

Now, the problem is, when I export it with the 1920 x 680 settings, my video includes a black border on top and bottom, and the video is stretched. Instead of displaying the video with the correct proportion.

I need it to export at the same frame height and width as my sequence. But it always seems to include a black border on top and bottom. I've tried a ton of variations but nothing is working...

Thoughts?

[poisondeathray]

did you set the pixel aspect ratio (PAR) in AME ?

what PAR does premiere think the video asset is? right click the video in the clip bin in premiere and interpret the aspect ratio

what PAR is the sequence settings using ?


what AR does the video actually use ? use mediainfo (view=>text)

[BoLane]

The PAR in AME was set to Widescreen 16:9.

When I right click on the specific video file, and choose Interpret Footage, these are the aspects it gives me:
Use Frame Rate from File: 23.9760
Pixel Aspect Ratio: Conform to Square Pixels (1.0)

The PAR for the sequence is set to 1920 x 680.

The video clip aspect ration is 1920 x 1080 (1.0).

[poisondeathray]

set the PAR in ame to square pixel (1:1) , preview the output tab to see if it looks ok

everything should be set to square pixel, even the sequence settings - check them

what is the actual source? sometimes premiere can interpret it incorrectly, and you have to re-interpret it. Post the mediainfo results

also change the framerate in the AME export settings to 23.976 instead of 24, since your asset has been intepreted as using that and presumably your sequence settings used 23.976 (otherwise cause sync issues on longer projects)

[BoLane]

I have done that once before (change it to square pixels) and the stretching of the video did not occur ... however, the video was just condensed to a smaller size within the 1920 x 680 frame (in other words, there was a black border on all four sides with the video smaller in the middle). However, I did not change the frame rate to 23.976 ... it was set to 24.

However, it's currently exporting (it's a short clip). I'll let you know when outcome when it's finished.

The problem that I'm having is when it's in the export preview window, it looks exactly like I want it, and when it's encoding. It's just when I open the exported file that I notice it has rendered incorrectly.

[BoLane]

Sorry, I missed a portion of your last reply. Here is the mediainfo from the clip I'm using:

General
Complete name : C:\Documents and Settings\Bo Lane\My Documents\My Videos\Rocky\MVI_3545.MOV
Format : MPEG-4
Format profile : QuickTime
Codec ID : qt
File size : 96.9 MiB
Duration : 17s 601ms
Overall bit rate : 46.2 Mbps
Encoded date : UTC 2011-10-09 06:55:24
Tagged date : UTC 2011-10-10 04:55:13

Video
ID : 1
Format : AVC
Format/Info : Advanced Video Codec
Format profile : Baseline@L5.0
Format settings, CABAC : No
Format settings, ReFrames : 1 frame
Format settings, GOP : M=1, N=12
Codec ID : avc1
Codec ID/Info : Advanced Video Coding
Duration : 17s 601ms
Bit rate : 44.6 Mbps
Width : 1 920 pixels
Height : 1 080 pixels
Original height : 1 088 pixels
Display aspect ratio : 16:9
Original display aspect ratio : 16:9
Frame rate mode : Constant
Frame rate : 23.976 fps
Color space : YUV
Chroma subsampling : 4:2:0
Bit depth : 8 bits
Scan type : Progressive
Bits/(Pixel*Frame) : 0.898
Stream size : 93.7 MiB (97%)
Language : English
Encoded date : UTC 2011-10-09 06:55:24
Tagged date : UTC 2011-10-09 06:55:24
Color primaries : BT.709-5, BT.1361, IEC 61966-2-4, SMPTE RP177
Transfer characteristics : BT.709-5, BT.1361
Matrix coefficients : BT.601-6 525, BT.1358 525, BT.1700 NTSC, SMPTE 170M

Audio
ID : 2
Format : PCM
Format settings, Endianness : Little
Format settings, Sign : Signed
Codec ID : sowt
Duration : 17s 601ms
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 1 536 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Channel positions : Front: L R
Sampling rate : 48.0 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits
Stream size : 3.22 MiB (3%)
Language : English
Encoded date : UTC 2011-10-09 06:55:24
Tagged date : UTC 2011-10-09 06:55:24

[BoLane]

Changing the PAR to Square Pixels helped correct the aspect ration. However, the clarity was significantly reduced and there is still a small black bar on the top and bottom of the export (see attached).

Also (from the other attached AME image), you can see that the export preview looks just how I want it to look. I wonder why it would preview correctly but not render correctly...

[poisondeathray]

The letterboxing is likely added by your media player. Your monitor is probably 16:9 or 16:10 display, but 1920x680 with square pixels is at ~2.82 AR i.e it's wider than your monitor

The clarity is lower likely because your bitrate shows 0.19 in the screnshot . Use a higher average bitrate, and an even higher max bitrate

It also looks like you entered the wrong dimensions: 1597x680

Instead of rendering out the entire project for these tests, mark in /out a few seconds to test - this way you waste less time



Are you going for a 2.35:1 AR export (e.g. like many Hollywood movies use) ? Because 1920x680 is the wrong format it's ~2.82AR

[BoLane]

Yeah, I noticed the error in dimensions after I posted my last comment. I'm re-rendering now but will change the bitrate (I was so focused on getting the frame dimension correct, I didn't even bother looking at the bitrate) and re-render again.

[poisondeathray]

Don't waste time rendering out the whole thing, just render out a few seconds then re-evaluate

1597x680 is about 2.35:1 AR, but you would normally use 1920x816 for this if your goal was 2.35.

Most delivery codecs work better in multiples of 16, or 8. Odd numbers like 1597 are very bad and may even crash players.

[BoLane]

I didn't have a specific goal but 1920 x 816 would probably be fine for this project. This is my first time rendering out a cropped project like this. I usually just stick with the conventional presets.

The 1597 was a typo.

I just rendered a few seconds ... and it's perfect. I appreciate all of your help!

[WrapArizona]

I know this is not the standard but, I have found that QuickTime gives me much richer colors and less pixelation that H.264 with moderate settings.

Here is a guide I put together with screen shots comparing both formats after being uploaded to YouTube:

http://goo.gl/8GZq4i

Hope this helps.