AV sync problems when rendering Quicktime in PE 8

Question

I have a simple problem when rendering to Quicktime format fromPremere Elements 8: The AV sync goes out of whack.
I have tried rendering:
(a). To MPEG - output is fine.
(b). To WMV - output is fine.
(c). MOV - av sync errors
I am assembling about five clips. The first clip plays fine. The AV sync problems starts at the second clip - the audio is a good 3 seconds or so ahead of the video.
Everything is fine in the editing window.
I am running in Windows 7.  To make sure it is not the player, I have played the quicktime output in Windows Media and itunes and the same problem is in both.
Has anyone seen this issue?
Thanks.

Answer 1

Hi Steve,
Sorry for the confusion. It a sensible suggestion to identify the input formats and output formats and I would most appreciate your inputs to this issue because I admit that I am really struggling here to get a workflow going.
Input  formats:
1. MJPEG 1280x720P at 24 frames per second (from a Panasonic Lumix Camera)
2. WMV 1280x720P at 24 frames per second from output of other programs (which only support wmv output at High def output)
3. MPEG2 1280x720P at 24 frames per second (and sometimes 25 frames per second) from other sources
Target output formats are:
1. Blu-Ray
2. MP4 container format @ 1280x720P for playing on my Apple TV
3. DVD  (ordinary plain PAL DVD at 720x576P at 25 frames per second)
My goal is have Pre Elements 8 Project settings in High Def and then to simply target all three outputs from one project so that I do not have to redo all of the projects with different project settings.
Workflow is in two stages:
Step 1 is to create one project for each Chapter and save to disk:  The inputs are from all three input formats that I identified above (High Def - MJPEG, WMV, and MPEG2). I would like to edit, mix the audio, and then save each chapter to disk. The format in which I save this is preferably some kind of high def format that can be edited easily at a later time.
Step 2 is to create the Project that is used to assemble each chapter for final output: This is the project where I put in Chapter marks, create menus, etc.  The target outputs from this chapter are  Blu Ray (high def), AppleTV (high def), and PAL DVD (Standard def).
In all cases, I set up my Project Settings as HDV-AVI for internal rendering because all inputs are high def and most target outputs are high def.
Issues that I am dealing with:
1. I cannot figure out the best export format to go from Step 1 to Step 2.  HDV-AVI doesn't seem to be available as an export format. Basically, I am looking for an export format that puts the least strain on resources when they are read in for Step 2 and retains the highest quality.
2. Most of my inputs are 24 frames per second but the internal rendering for Pre Elements 8 seems to be 25 frames per second.  Frame rate conversion can be quite tricky and can put significant strain on resources, but it is not clear if this is straining Pre Elements 8 or not. It does seem to be. I am happy to convert my files into a format that puts the least strain on Pre Elements 8 internal rendering and yet produces the best output.
Note: If you ask - why do I do this in two steps?  It is because I am always putting a strain on system resources when operating in high def. Unless I am careful, I get a message that Pre Element is "low on resources" followed by a crash shortly thereafter.  I have Win7 32 bit, 4 GB RAM, no other programs running, all drivers updated with the most recent version (yes - even the NVIDIA driver) so there really isn't anything else that I can do in this area.
So I am looking for suggestions in the following areas:
1. An alternative workflow that produces the three high def outputs with the three high def inputs defined above that doesn't cause Pre Elements to continually go low on resources and crash.
      OR
2. A recommendation for a high def format that puts minimal strain on Pre Element resources?
Thanks!