How to split a PE1 project into two smaller projects?

Question

I have a 1hr 36 min. project in PE1.  I want to split it into two different projects of about 48 min. each and burn two DVDs.  My intent is to get a better MPEG resolution for these smaller projects.
Can I select half of the timeline, cut it and paste it into a new project?  Would the effects be preserved?  I have a week of work invested in this project and I don’t want to screw it up!
Thanks
Fred J.

Answer 1

FredJ,
Welcome to the forum.
I agree with both Neale and Steve, though it might at first appear that they are saying two different things.
The bit-rate in the Transcoding to MPEG-2 will be determined by the Duration of the Timeline and the capacity of the blank media, whether DVD-5, or DVD-9. In most versions of PrE, this bit-rate will be a function of the Quality Slider, but the ultimate bit-rate for the combined video and audio is set in the DVD-specs. One cannot exceed about 8 b/s.
Now, with your Duration, there might be a very slight increase in the bit-rate, were you to take Neale's advice and break your Project into two parts, however, I think that his advice to study the result of your entire Timeline is good, as I doubt that one could tell the differences, unless you have a great deal of fast motion, of either the camera, or the subject, and then it's likely that the quality would appear to be the same to the human eye.
Steve is correct in that the result will have to be within the DVD-specs, and will only be 720x480, at up to that max. bit-rate. That is as good as it gets.
For the ultimate test, I would take Neale's suggestion on Burning to Folder one step further. Once that is done, you can first test your Project with a DVD software program on your computer. BUT, be aware that you are viewing on a higher-rez, progressive computer monitor, and its rez will exceed that of a TV and that of a DVD-Video disc. Thus, it is not a perfect test. To get an idea of how the DVD will look on a set-top player, hooked to a TV, you can either, also burn to a DVD RW (rewritable disc) to test on a set-top player, or you can use the free burning utility, ImgBurn, to burn to a DVD RW and test. The reason for the Rewritable media is so that you can reuse it for testing. You will NOT be using this disc for delivery, but just for testing. Now, if you feel that very slight decrease in bit-rate is noticed, you can go back to his suggestion on how to split the Project, and then produce a multi-disc. set for the Project.
Also, the ultimate quality and also playability of the DVD-Video will be enhanced if you use quality blank media. I strongly recommend Verbatim, or Taiyo Yuden blank media. Brands like Memorex, TDK, recent Ritek and ALL "store-brands," are to be avoided. One is also best served by buying slower speed media, as PrE will measure the speed of the media and the speed of the drive and try to get you the fastest possible burn. It does not allow you to set the speed of the burn manually. Most people feel that stepping down from a max. burn speed produces a better DVD. I routinely will drop the burn speed (in other software) to about 1/2 of the max., and have had thousands of perfect DVD's. One can set the burn speed in the above mentioned ImgBurn utility.
To distill the above: try it and see if your Project isn't perfect now, and if not, then break it apart into two segments. I doubt that you could tell the difference.
Good luck,
Hunt