Common settings for sharing

Regardless of the file type you choose for sharing, the presets (default settings) are adequate for most applications and produce high‑quality results. However, you can change them if you have specific requirements not addressed by the presets. You can specify custom settings when sharing using the Computer or Mobile Phones And Players options.

Export settings don’t update as you work on your project; however, it’s a good idea to make sure that all export settings are still appropriate. When you change an option, you create a preset that you can name, save, and subsequently use in later projects. All presets that you create are listed in the Preset menu with the default presets in Publish And Share panel.

Some capture‑card software and plug‑in software provide their own dialog boxes with specific options. If the options you see are different from those described in this user guide, refer to the documentation for your capture card or plug‑in.

Customize Advanced Share settings

When you share a file using one of the options in the Publish And Share panel, you can customize options and save custom presets in the Export Settings dialog box.

Video settings

The following options are available in the Video panel of the Export Settings dialog box (you see these when you share a project using the Computer or Mobile Phones And Players options). Not all options are available for all presets.

Exports the video tracks. Deselect to prevent exporting video tracks.

Exports the audio tracks. Deselect to prevent exporting audio tracks.

Specifies the codec, or compression scheme, available on your system.

Specifies the level of quality for the final file. A setting of 3.0 is a good general setting; however, video with lots of motion may benefit from a higher setting. The higher the quality setting, the longer it takes to render the file.

Conforms the output to the NTSC or PAL standard.

Scales the output frame’s horizontal aspect to the specified width.

Scales the output frame’s vertical aspect to the specified height.

Specifies the output frame rate for either NTSC or PAL formats.

Specifies whether the output file’s frames are interlaced, and if so, whether the upper or lower field is dominant. No Fields (Progressive Scan) is the equivalent of progressive scan, the correct setting for computer display and motion‑picture film. Choose Upper Field First or Lower Field First (the default) when exporting video for an interlaced medium such as NTSC, PAL, or SECAM. DV footage is generally Lower Field First. However, some newer nontape camcorders produce video with reverse field order, so make sure to check your camcorder’s documentation.

Specifies the ratio of each pixel’s width to its height, which determines the number of pixels required to achieve a given frame aspect ratio. Some formats specify square pixels, while others use nonsquare pixels.

Specifies the number of seconds after which the codec will create a keyframe when exporting video.

Specifies whether the codec achieves a constant or variable bitrate in the exported file.

In general, a frame is complex and more difficult to compress efficiently if it contains great detail, or if it significantly differs from surrounding frames, as it would in a scene containing motion.

note: When comparing CBR and VBR files of the same content and file size, a CBR file may play back more reliably over a wider range of systems, because a fixed data rate is less demanding on a media player and computer processor. However, a VBR file tends to have a higher image quality, because VBR tailors the amount of compression to the image content.

Constant Bitrate (CBR) keeps the data rate of the exported file constant within a fixed limit you specify. Since the complex sections are held to the same bitrate as the simple, they are more likely to show the quality-degrading artifacts of compression.

Variable Bitrate (VBR) allows the exported file’s data rate to vary within a range you specify, allocating higher bitrates, and therefore less compression, to the more complex sections and lower bitrates to the less complex.

Specifies the number of megabits per second you want the encoded file to have. This option only appears if you select CBR as the Bitrate Encoding option.

The following options appear only if you select VBR as the Bitrate Encoding option:

Specifies the minimum number of megabits per second you want the encoder to allow. The minimum bitrate differs according to the format. For MPEG2‑DVD, the minimum bitrate must be at least 1.5 Mbps.

Specifies the number of megabits per second (Mbps) you want the encoded file to have.

Specifies the maximum number of megabits per second you want the encoder to allow.

Specifies the number of B frames (bi‑directional frames) between consecutive I frames (intra‑frames) and P frames (predicted frames). This option is available only for MPEG formats.

Specifies the number of frames between I frames (intra‑frames). This value must be a multiple of the M frames value. This option is available only for MPEG formats.

Specifies the frequency of each Closed Group of Pictures (Closed GOP), which can’t reference frames outside of the closed GOP. A GOP consists of a sequence of I, B, and P frames. (This option is available when you choose either of the Multimedia Compatible presets (MPEG1 Multimedia Compatible or MPEG2 Multimedia Compatible) from the Export MPEG dialog box, and then click Advanced.)

When selected, sets the placement of Group of Pictures (GOP) automatically. (This option is available when you choose either of the MPEG Multimedia Compatible presets from the Export MPEG dialog box, and then click Advanced.)

note: MPEG‑1 and MPEG‑2 formats include numerous advanced options not listed here. In most cases, selecting a format or preset designed for your target output sets the appropriate options automatically. For detailed information on options not listed, consult the industry specifications for the MPEG‑1 and MPEG‑2 formats.

Audio settings

The following options are available in the Audio panel of the Export Settings dialog box (you see these when you share a project using the Computer or Mobile Phones And Players options). Not all options are available for all presets.

Specifies the type of audio output, such as AAC or MP3, and may determine which audio codec is used.

Specifies the codec for Premiere Elements to apply when compressing audio. The codecs available depend on the file type you specified in the General panel in the Export Settings dialog box. Some file types and capture cards support only uncompressed audio, which has the highest quality, but uses more disk space. Check with your capture card’s documentation before choosing an audio codec.

Specifies the rate for export. Choose a higher rate for better audio quality in an exported file, or choose a lower rate to reduce processing time and disk‑space requirements. CD quality is 44.1 kHz. Resampling, setting a different rate than the original audio, also requires additional processing time. Avoid resampling by capturing audio at the final rate.

Specifies the bit depth for export. Choose a higher bit depth and stereo for better quality, or choose a lower bit depth and mono to reduce processing time and disk‑space requirements. CD quality is 16‑bit stereo.

Specifies how many audio channels are in the exported file. By default, stereo provides two channels of audio; mono provides one. If you choose to export a stereo track as mono, the audio will be down mixed.

Specifies how often audio information is inserted among the video frames in the exported file. See your capture card documentation for the recommended setting. A value of 1 frame means that when a frame is played back, the audio for the duration of that frame is loaded into RAM so that it can play until the next frame appears. If the audio breaks up when playing, the interleave value may be causing the computer to process audio more frequently than it can handle. Increasing the value lets Premiere Elements store longer audio segments that need to be processed less often, although higher interleave values require more RAM. Most current hard disks operate best with 1/2‑ to 1‑second interleaves.

Specifies the number of megabits per second you want the encoded file to have. Generally, higher bitrates increase both quality and file size. This option is available for AAC, MPEG, and some Windows Media Audio codecs.

note: Options not documented here are specific to the selected format. For detailed information, consult the industry specifications for the selected format.

Specifies whether the codec achieves a constant or variable bitrate in the exported file. Constant keeps the data rate of the exported file constant within a fixed limit you specify. Since the complex sections are held to the same bitrate as the simple, they are more likely to show the quality-degrading artifacts of compression. Variable allows the exported file’s data rate to vary within a range you specify, allocating higher bitrates, and therefore less compression, to the more complex sections and lower bitrates to the less complex.

In general, a frame is complex and more difficult to compress efficiently if it contains great detail, or if it significantly differs from surrounding frames, as it would in a scene containing motion.

note: When comparing CBR and VBR files of the same content and file size, a CBR file may play back more reliably over a wider range of systems, because a fixed data rate is less demanding on a media player and computer processor. However, a VBR file tends to have a higher image quality, because VBR tailors the amount of compression to the image content.

Specifies the number of times the encoder analyzes the clip before encoding. Multiple passes increase the time it takes to encode the file, but generally result in more efficient compression and higher image quality.

note: Options not documented here are specific to the selected format. For detailed information, consult the industry specifications for the selected format.

Multiplexing settings

Multiplexing combines multiple data streams into one signal. Some formats, such as Apple iPod, include one or more of the following Multiplexing options:

Specifies the type of multiplexing you want to use. Choose the format from which you plan to playback the video: DVD, 3GPP, or MP4. If you don’t want to use multiplexing, choose None.

Specifies the media from which the video will be played back: PSP (PlayStation Portable), iPod, or Standard.

Activate a component for sharing

Premiere Elements includes a number of components, such as codecs, that must be activated the first time you use them. For example, the first time you try to export to a certain format, you may be asked to activate a component.

If you are connected to the Internet, component activation occurs automatically. If you are not connected to the Internet, the Activating Component dialog box appears.