Sharing to videotape



    Share to videotape

    Exporting or sharing your movie to tape is a good way to prepare it for easy presentation on TV screens, as well as a good way to archive it before removing it from your hard disk. Also, you can recapture the movies you have stored on tape and add them to new projects.

    You can record your edited movie to tape from within Adobe Premiere Elements. If you are recording to a digital device, such as a DV or HDV camcorder, you can record video to it through your computer’s IEEE 1394 port, conveniently controlling your camcorder’s recording functionality from within Adobe Premiere Elements.

    Share to tape with device control

    If your recording device is connected to your computer by way of an IEEE 1394 port, or by way of a supported device controller, you can record your movie to tape using the export controls built into Adobe Premiere Elements.

    1. To set up for device control, do one of the following:

      • If your device has an IEEE 1394 port, connect it to the same type of port on your computer. Either of these will transmit both the video and the commands from the computer to the recording device.

      • If your device has a LANC, Panasonic 5-pin (control-M), control-L, or RS422 jack, connect it to the same kind of jack on the device controller connected with your computer. This will transmit the computer’s commands to your device. Also, connect your AV DV converter (or digital camcorder if you are using one to make the conversion) to your computer, and its analog audio and video outputs to your recording device.

    2. Turn on the recording device and set it to VTR, VCR, or Play mode. If a dialog box appears, indicating that the Windows operating system just found the device you plugged in, close it.
    3. Start Adobe Premiere Elements and open your project.
      To give your recording device additional time before your video starts and after it ends, add black frames before and after the movie in the Timeline or Sceneline. In addition, if you plan to have a postproduction facility duplicate your videotapes, add a minimum of 30 seconds of color bars and tone at the beginning of your program to aid in video and audio calibration.
    4. Make sure that your recording device is on, that a blank or appendable tape is in the device, and that the tape’s record protection tab is in a position that allows recording. If necessary, cue the tape to the location where you want to begin recording. Make sure that you have sufficient tape, and are recording at an optimal speed, in order to record your entire movie.
    5. Do one of the following:

      • Click Share in the Tasks panel, and then click Tape .

      • Choose File > Export > Export To Tape.

    6. In the Export To Tape dialog box, select options as desired. (See Export To Tape options.)
    7. Click Record.
    8. If the movie contains unrendered clips, the rendering begins at this point. Once all the clips are rendered, Adobe Premiere Elements sends a record command to your device and sends the movie to it.
    9. When you are finished recording, click Stop and close the dialog box.

    Share to tape without device control

    If your device does not have an IEEE 1394 port and if you do not have a device controller for it, you can export a movie to it without using the device control functions built into Adobe Premiere Elements.

    1. Connect your AV DV converter (or digital camcorder if you are using one to make the conversion) to your computer, and its analog audio and video outputs to your recording device.
    2. If your device is a camcorder or if it is a deck with more than one set of inputs, set it to record audio and video signals through the inputs you desire.
    3. Turn on the recording device and set it to the Record-Pause mode appropriate for the set of inputs you selected.
    4. Start Adobe Premiere Elements and open your project.
    5. If the movie contains unrendered clips, render them all.
    6. Make sure that your video recording device is on, that a blank or appendable tape is in the device, and that the tape’s record protection tab is in a position that allows recording. Cue the tape to the location where you want to begin recording. Make sure that you have sufficient tape, and are recording at an optimal speed, in order to record your entire movie.
    7. Do one of the following:

      • Click Share in the Tasks panel, and then click Tape .

      • Choose File > Export > Export To Tape.

    8. In the Export To Tape dialog box, select options as desired. (See Export To Tape options.)
    9. Put your device into its recording mode, and click Record.
    10. When you are finished recording, click Stop and close the dialog box.

    Export to analog tape

    If you want to record to an analog device, such as a VCR or analog camcorder, you can record from Adobe Premiere Elements in either of these ways:

    • Connect your analog device to a digitizing capture card or analog‑to‑digital converter (AV DV converter) which, in turn, is either installed into an expansion slot in your computer’s motherboard or connected to it via one of its IEEE 1394 ports.

    • Connect your analog device to the analog outputs of a digital device, such as a DV camcorder or deck. Connect the digital device to your computer, typically via their IEEE 1394 ports.

    By using a third-party device controller, it is possible to use the device-control functionality of Adobe Premiere Elements with analog devices. Typically the device controller would connect to your computer via one of its serial ports and to your analog device through a LANC, control-S, Panasonic 5-pin (control-M), or RS-422 jack.

    View full size graphic
    One way to connect an analog player to your computer

    Export To Tape options

    The following options are available in the Export To Tape dialog box. These options work only if you are recording to a DV or HDV recording device that allows device control.

    Activate Recording Device
    Lets Adobe Premiere Elements control your DV or HDV device.

    Assemble At Timecode
    Indicates the place on your DV or HDV tape where you want the recording to begin, if you have a tape that already has timecode recorded, or striped, on it. You stripe a tape by first recording only black video before you record your footage. You record black video usually by recording with the lens cap on. If your tape is not striped, leave this option unselected to have recording begin at the location where you have cued the tape.

    Delay Movie Start By n Quarter Frames
    Specifies the number of quarter frames that you want to delay the movie so that you can synchronize it with the DV or HDV device recording start time. Some devices need a delay between the time they receive the record command and the time the movie starts playing from the computer. Experiment with this setting if you are experiencing delays between the time you enable record and the time your DV or HDV device begins recording.

    Preroll _ Frames
    Specifies the number of frames that you want Adobe Premiere Elements to back up on the recording deck before the specified timecode. Specify enough frames for the deck to reach a constant tape speed. For many decks, 5 seconds or 150 frames is sufficient.

    Abort After _ Dropped Frames
    Specifies the maximum number of dropped frames you want to allow before Adobe Premiere Elements aborts the recording. If you choose this option, you generally want to type a very low number because dropped frames will cause jerky playback and are indicative of a hard drive or transfer problem.

    Report Dropped Frames
    Specifies that Adobe Premiere Elements displays the number of dropped frames.

    Note: If you want to use device control but it’s unavailable, click Cancel, choose Edit > Preferences, click Device Control, make sure that your device is set up properly in the Device Control options, and then click OK. Then try recording to tape again.