Adobe Premiere Pro 101: Three Easy SD-to-HD Upconvert Options [VIDEO]

Doddle by Patrick Sammon Jr.

We’re now 3 years post-DTV conversion in the United States, when all full-powered and licensed TV stations were required to sign off their long standing analog signals and go digital-only. High Definition is the new video standard, and most raw footage today is shot in the 1080i/p format. But the million dollar question is: What about the millions of hours of digital and analog footage out there, found in collections, archives and bins? Do you keep it, donate it or trash it? Is it still usable? Yes, and you can upconvert it to high definition very easily. (I also include video examples of each.)

The method of up-converting is easy, and I prefer to use Adobe Premiere Pro when working in video production. I myself have been shooting video as far back as 1993 on VHS (yes, I proudly state that and thus date myself). TV stations and cable channels are still using their old analog/DV formats when they need to pull file footage or vintage programming.

For my Thesis in late 2009 for my Masters Degree in Education from Nova Southeastern University, I produced several reels comprised of both HDV and DV footage, including a considerable amount of archived material on VHS and 8mm tape. When you’re working with DV in an HD project, be prepared because there WILL be resizing involved.

Here’s what can be done, by using a frame of VHS footage from my college TV Production archive, dubbed to DV and then captured by Adobe Premiere Pro. read more...