Posted by Jukka Aho on 02/07/06 03:33

Bernie Dwyer wrote:

> Hi - I've used Premiere Pro 1.5 on Windows XP to edit my first film.
>
> It was filmed and edited in 16:9 so I've exported to AVI format and
> imported that into a new letterboxed 4:3 project, suitable for
> distribution to friends and sponsors who don't have widescreen TVs.

If you're distributing it on a DVD, letterboxing the material yourself
is unnecessary. DVD players will letterbox 16:9 material automatically,
on the fly, if they have been set up for use with a 4:3 tv set.

> I want to send a copy to a friend in the USA (I'm in Australia - PAL
> system). I don't need to make a DVD-VIDEO, just an AVI file to play on
> the computer will be fine. PP's export->movie options include a choice
> to use a DV-PAL compressor, or a DV-NTSC compressor. The only
> difference
> it seems to make is to change the frame rate from 25 to 29.97 (I
> think).

The resolution will also be changed from 720×576 to 720×480.

> Presumably it's going to duplicate some frames and perform other
> magic.

Quality will suffer in this process - motion usually becomes jerky or
blurry.

> Do I need to use the DV-NTSC option if it's only going to be
> viewed on a computer (in the USA), or can I just leave it at DV-PAL?

You can leave it at DV-PAL. Modern computers are not in any way bound to
the dominant video standard of the country where they are used, and can
play back both formats equally well. Note, however, that a single-layer
DVD-R can only hold about 20 minutes of DV video. If you need more than
that, you will have to consider some other codec/format.

--
znark

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