Unfortunately the Adobe Media Encoder has some bugs when trying to export an edited HD project to an MPEG-2 DVD format from the Premiere Pro timeline. The result of these bugs lowers video quality upon export. To properly export to DVD while retaining maximum video quality it is recommended that you perform the final MPEG-2 encode inside the DVD application, not within Premiere Pro. We recommend that you follow these steps:

1. Finish editing your project

2. Go to the 'File' menu, select 'Export' à 'Movie'

3. Click the 'Settings' button at the bottom right of the 'Export Movie' window

4. In the 'File Type' drop down menu, select 'CineForm HD Export'

5. Click the 'Video' tab on the left

   For NTSC, change 'Frame Size' to '720' h and '480' v, 'Frame Rate' to '29.97' and 'Pixel Aspect Ratio' to 'D1/DV NTSC Widescreen (1.2)' , OR

   For PAL, change 'Frame Size' to '720' h and '576' v, 'Frame Rate' to '25.00', and 'Pixel Aspect Ratio' to 'D1/DV PAL Widescreen (1.422)'

6. Click the 'Keyframe and Rendering' tab on the left

7. Under 'Rendering Options' in the 'Field' drop-down, select 'Lower Field First' for NTSC or 'Upper Field First' for PAL

8. Click 'Save' if you wish to save this setting

9. Click 'OK' to return to the 'Export Movie' window

10. Browse to your desired output location

11. Name your file and click 'Save'

12. This file can be imported into your DVD authoring tools. It is important to verify that your DVD authoring program supports 16:9 content otherwise the resulting DVD will be set to the standard 4:3 aspect ratio which will distort your video. For information on DVD authoring tools click here.
    
    *If your DVD Authoring tools will not accept the AVI file produced, you may import this AVI file into Premiere, and use Adobe Media Encoder to export a DVD MPEG file which most authoring programs will recognize.
    
    Note: Burning a DVD like this will create a WIDESCREEN DVD. The way this will play on a standard 4:3 TV will vary based on the settings in the DVD player. If you are producing DVD's for a client it is highly recommended that you educate them on the differences of these settings when you deliver to them a DVD shot with a 16:9 aspect ratio. Most DVD players will have at least 3 settings:

• 4:3 Standard or (4:3 Pan Scan) - This DVD player setting will likely cut off the left and right edges to avoid distorting the picture.

• 4:3 Letterboxed (or 4:3 LB) - This DVD player setting will play the video letterboxed so the whole 16:9 picture will be viewable without distortion

• 16:9 Widescreen - This DVD player setting will fill the whole screen with the whole picture. It is meant for output to widescreen TV's. If you play this out to a 4:3 TV it will likely stretch the picture vertically to fill the whole screen causing a distorted look.

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