PE 11, 12, 13: More About Project Presets

INTRODUCTION

When Premiere Elements 11, 12, or 13 is opened to a new project, the default project preset is for 1080i*, either 1080i25 (if PAL setup) or 1080i30 (if NTSC setup).

If the program is installed with a PAL TV Format, then the project's default project preset is
PAL
AVCHD
Full 1080i25
If the program is installed with a NTSC TV Format, then the project's default project preset is
NTSC
AVCHD
Full 1080i30
The above default project preset is overwritten for a new project
a. automatically based on the properties of the first video dragged to the Timeline as the first file.
or
b. the user manually setting the project preset using File Menu/New/Project before the source media are imported into the project

Premiere Elements 11, 12/12.1, and 13/13.1 were designed so that the project sets the project preset (project settings) automatically based on the properties of the first file dragged to the Timeline. This automatic setting of the project preset depends on the program analyzing correctly the file properties (properties such as clip dimensions, frames per second, pixel aspect ratio, field order) and overwriting its default 1080i project setting with one of the project's project presets that matches the properties of the source file.

As an example, if the source is 1920 x 1080p30 video and Premiere Elements analyzes it correctly when it is the first video dragged to the Timeline as the first file, then the default project preset (1080i30) is overwritten with
NTSC
DSLR
1080p
DSLR 1080p30 or 1080p30@29.97.

But, if it cannot find the match for project preset and properties of the source file, then it uses its default 1080i project preset

NTSC

AVCHD

Full HD1080i30

There is no guarantee that a project will do the automatic set properly for every source video format. So, the first time a video from a different source is used, best to check Edit Menu/Project Settings/General to see what the project has set for the project preset using Adobe's automatic way. If the setting is 1080i instead of what it should be, then manual setting of the project preset is indicated, File Menu/New/Project**.

An important note in all this.....it has been found that, if photos and videos are to be imported into a new project and photo is dragged into the Timeline as the first file to be dragged to the Timeline, then the project preset will always be and remain 1080i (the project's default) even if the next drag into that Timeline is 1080p video.

ISSUE

How can the default project preset that exists when the project opens be changed

• 1080i25 instead of 1080i30 or 1080i30 instead of 1080i25

• from 1080i25 or 1080i30 to something else

SOLUTION

Changing Default Project Preset That Exists When The Project Opens (Before Source Media Are Imported)

1080i25 Instead Of 1080i30 Or 1080i30 Instead Of 1080i25
and
From 1080i25 Or 1080i30 To Something Else

During product installation set
NTSC TV Format for NTSC 1080i30 default project preset
PAL TV Format for PAL 1080i25 default project preset

(The above is applicable to Premiere Elements 11 and 12/12.1, but not Premiere Elements 13/13.1 where the NTSC TV Format or PAL TV Format choice appears to have been removed from the installation process. At the present time, there was no solution found for the Premiere Elements 13/13.1 situation. See COMMENTARY section after SOLUTION section.)

Once the NTSC TV Format or PAL TV Format is established and the installation complete, the TV Format choice cannot be changed without doing a program uninstall/reinstall selecting the TV Format wanted.

The choices for default project preset when the project opens (before source media import) are either 1080i25 or 1080i30, and no user additions to those two choices were found possible.

Changing The Project Preset For The Project After The Source Media Have Been Imported And Editing The Timeline Content Is In Progress

Typically it is written that, if incorrect project settings are realized after the project is begun, the user has to start a new project to correct the situation. For Premiere Elements 11 and 12/12.1 we have found a way, in some cases, to change these project settings without having to start a new project. This is done by editing the Notepad document of the save project file (.prel).
http://atr935.blogspot.com/2013/05/pe11-changing-project-settings-without.html 
It was not found possible to apply this approach to Premiere Elements 13/13.1 project due to the coding that presented in the Notepad document of the saved Premiere Elements 13/13.1 project file. 

COMMENTARY

No where in Premiere Elements 13 installation, do we see the dialog which lets the user customize by selecting NTSC TV Format or PAL TV Format.

Instead, all that the user gets are places to set language and country which are presumed to set automatically the default project preset as well as the language in the program. But it is not working for default project preset. As an example, Premiere Elements 13 installation/language and country French and France got us the program in French but a NTSC default project preset instead of the expected PAL one.

We went back to Premiere Elements 11 installation and had no problem setting for English (North America) and PAL TV Format so that we arrived in the opened new project with a default project preset of PAL AVCHD Full HD1080i25. But the installation for 11 has the dialog for NTSC TV Format or PAL TV Format. We have gone back to 13 and tried the installation settings of English (North America) and selecting United Kingdom as the country. Still NTSC default project preset settings, not PAL.

At this point, our major questions are

• What happened to the NTSC TV Format and PAL TV Format dialog in 13 installation?

• Why is language and country in 13 installation not directing the program to the appropriate default project preset***?
  

The most current Adobe document that could be found on the topic of its Project Settings and Presets does not seem to offer answers to these questions. Please refer to
https://helpx.adobe.com/premiere-elements/using/project-settings-presets.html

Also see the April 29, 2013 blog post titled "PE 11: Accuracy of Automatic Project Preset (New Project Dialog) Setting
http://www.atr935.blogspot.com/2013/04/pe11-accuracy-of-automatic-project.html


________________________________________________________________________________
*1080i referred to in this blog is 1920 x 1080 @ either 25 or 29.97 interlaced frames per second with Field Order = Upper Field First. "Default Project Preset" represents the project settings when a new project is opened (and before source media is imported into the project).

**Manual setting of the project preset is done...

• Open the project to the Expert workspace, and go to File Menu/New Project and Change Settings.

• In Change Settings, set the project preset to match the properties of the source media. OK out of there.

• In the New Project dialog that opens, rename the project and make sure to have a check mark next to "Force Selected Project Setting on This Project". OK out of there.

• Back in the Expert workspace, import your source media using Add Media/ choice.

***Just a reminder concerning the distinction between "default project preset" and "project preset" being used in this blog post. "Default project preset" represents the project settings that exist when a new project is open, and the source media have not yet been imported. In contrast, "project preset" represents the projects settings established by the project (automatically) based on the properties of the first file drag to the Timeline or by the user manually setting the project preset (File Menu/New/Project) before the source media are imported. 





ATR