Question about editing 96khz on Premiere Pro.

I have Premiere Pro, and when I create a project it asks how much khz I will be using, but it only gives me the option of choosing no higher, than 48khz. All the audio I recorded for my short film is 96khz so can I use that, or will their be quality loss, that I cannot work around?
 
You mean you didn't check what your DAW platform will accommodate?

DVD standard is 24bit/48kHz, so 48kHz will not be a "loss" quality. The reason to record and work at 96kHz or higher is that extensive audio processing introduces fewer audio artifacts.

I detailed this in my other posts about bit/sample rates.
 
Oh okay thanks, I see what you mean now that I am getting to know the software. Back when I started using I did not have premiere pro yet, so I didn't know it only went up to 48. But if there is no or downgrade in data, then that's good. So basically what you are saying is, is that no quality is lost, even though the 96khz is shrunk down to 48?
 
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I dont think premiere has this limitation. Ill check when I get home.

It might not have 96khz presets though.. so you might be making your own. Also, there are preferences in Premiere that talk about this kinda stuff, dig there..

If YOU IMPORT the file in premiere it should import as 96KHZ, but it will play back to the SEQUENCE setting.. i.e. 48k. So the dithering (tech term for losing bits) is being done in software.

Also, your RAM playback options can be different from the project, I got stuck on that issue for an hour or so last week!

In my opinion, your golden at 48khz. Im still recording 44.1 at 16bits :( but I love my marantz pdm660 moded ! Sounds cleaner then most others I hear..

EDIT: By golden, I dont mean that you should NOT record at 96khz if you can.
 
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Okay thanks but I'm lost now. What's a sequence template?

I was told by other filmmakers and online to record in 96khz cause it's the highest quality, now I'm told on here now, to do 48. Why do the expensive recorders go all the way up to 192khz, if 48 is better?
 
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In premiere you start a project, a project doesn't have any video, you add the video to a sequence.

When you use the start a new project wizard on start up. You select the template, actually its called a "sequence template" start a new project, after you pick the directory you are presented with the "sequence template" dialogue. My guess is your selecting the Digital SLR - 1080p preset.. you can do this, but once you have it selected click on the "settings" tab and you should see the audio sample rate , I have a 96khz option.

You can get to this same dialogue after you've create a sequence by selecting the sequence in the project browser and choosing Sequence->Sequence settings menu.. however, you cant CHANGE the sample rate, you will have to create a NEW sequence.. bu going to the menus.. file -> New Sequence.. this brings up the dialogue and you can use the settings tab to set the new sequence to 96k

There, that should fix you up.
 
Oh okay I'll try that thanks. I am transferring it all to my new computer and will see if it will work, once it's done. I can just move my video over to a new project, and reset the sound preset then.
 
I was told by other filmmakers and online to record in 96khz cause it's the highest quality, now I'm told on here now, to do 48. Why do the expensive recorders go all the way up to 192khz, if 48 is better?

48khz is not "better", but 48khz is standard for dvd. 96khz is better quality (though the difference, to most people, is not audible), and it's always better to downsample than upsample. If you record at 96, you can have audio at 96 or 48, but if you record at 48 and want to go up to 96, there will be artifacts.
 
I had to know what the heck 1 bit was.. heck I have 24 isnt that like 24x better than one.. so I found this..

http://www.korg.com/services/products/mr/Future_Proof_Recording_Explained.pdf

important bit..
"The basic concept here is that once the sampling rate is increased to such high levels, each step doesn’t need to be defined with such detail. With such frequent readings of the current state of the audio waveform, each step need only be defined is the simplest of terms – has the signal increased since the last step, decreased, or remained the same. 1-bit offers only two values, a 1 or a 0. Either up from the previous sample or down. And at these super-sampling speeds a steady state can be represented by alternating 1’s and 0’s. The chance for error in such a system is much less than in multi-bit approaches. Consider this:
In a 1-bit system the possible values for each measurement are simple, either it’s a 1 or a 0 - there’s little chance to get a wrong value. In a 24-bit system there are 16,777,216 possible values. So which system is more likely to be accurate for each reading?
Future Proof
"
 
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Okay thanks. I met an audio engineer who is going to help finish my short film. Once all the sound is cleaned up, it will be a lot better. He says I should give him a copy of the move with the audio at the highest quality of 96khz, since that's what I recorded at, and I agree. If I give out blue ray copies of the movie to the actors, I will want 96khz for that. But Premiere Pro will still not export at 96, and only gives 48 an option. I assume you can export at 96 though, as movies that have gotten blue ray releases, have been edited in Premiere Pro. So how do I get it to export at 96khz for the man to work with?
 
Digital audio theory is quite complicated and in many respects counter-intuitive. This leads many, including many audio professionals (with less knowledge/experience), audiophiles and the public to make incorrect assumptions. Without going into detail, you should know the following:

1. Audio sample rate does NOT affect audio quality!! 96kHz is NOT better quality than 48kHz and neither is 192kHz. In fact for technical reasons 192kHz is actually slightly inferior to 96kHz and 48kHz. All the sample rate does is to define the range of audio frequencies which can be recorded. 96kHz and 192kHz are therefore employed (extremely rarely) for recording sound FX where there is an intention to use large amounts of pitch shifting in the design of a particular sound effect. Unless you are recording for the design of a specific sound effect, stick to 48kHz sample rate from beginning to end.

2. Bit depth does NOT affect audio quality!! 24bit is NOT better quality than 16bit. In fact, about the highest quality sound you can buy as a consumer is SACD, which is based on 1bit technology. All the bit depth does is to define the dynamic range of the audio which can be recorded. 24bit is preferred because it provides such a large dynamic range and therefore a great deal of headroom which is particularly useful for production sound recording.

In short, always record at 24bit 48kHz. If anyone tells you 96kHz (or higher) is higher quality they are either lying or they are ignorant of how digital audio actually works!

H44, in your current situation you should try to give your audio guy the files at 96kHz as this is what you recorded at and the conversion process in Premiere to 48kHz *could* degrade the quality slightly.

G
 
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So what audio export settings should I use on Premiere Pro, to give to him then?

The workflow and exchange of materials is something you'll have to work out with your sound guy. If it were me, I would ask for a linked (rather than embedded) AAF. That way you wouldn't need to export your audio from Premiere.

If you do have to export from Premier and can only do it at 48kHz, it's not the end of the world. Providing Premiere is not doing anything silly in it's software, the degradation of the audio quality from the conversion process should be well below the threshold of audibility. However, I don't know Premiere, so I don't know what settings you should use or if it introduces audible problems when converting.

G
 
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