Compressor 4 User Manual
Copyright © 2012 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. Your rights to the software are governed by the accompanying software license agreement. The owner or authorized user of a valid copy of Compressor software may reproduce this publication for the purpose of learning to use such software. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted for commercial purposes, such as selling copies of this publication or for providing paid for support services. The Apple logo is a trademark of Apple Inc.
Contents Preface 9 9 10 10 Welcome to Compressor About Compressor About the Compressor Documentation Additional Resources Chapter 1 11 11 12 17 24 Getting Started Quickly Terms Used by Compressor Quick and Easy Compressor Workflow: Batch Template Method Quick and Easy Compressor Workflow: Manual Method Optional Tasks You Can Perform Before Submitting a Batch Chapter 2 27 Ways to Use Compressor 28 Typical Compressor Scenarios 29 Compressor Features Chapter 3 31 31 34 36 37 39 39 The Basic Transcod
66 67 67 69 4 Share Monitor Droplet Windows About Changing Values and Timecode Entries Keyboard Shortcuts Chapter 5 71 Setting Compressor Preferences 71 About Compressor Preferences 74 Using Compressor Preferences Chapter 6 77 77 81 89 92 Chapter 7 95 96 99 100 102 103 103 105 106 107 108 Creating, Previewing, and Modifying Settings About the Settings Tab Using the Inspector with Settings Duplicating Settings Creating a Setting from Scratch Searching for a Setting Previewing a Setting Deleting Sett
Chapter 10 137 137 138 138 Creating Common Audio Format Files Creating Common Audio Format Files About the Common Audio Formats Pane Configuring Common Audio Formats Settings Chapter 11 141 Creating DV Stream Output Files 141 About the DV Stream Encoder Pane 142 DV Transcoding Workflow Chapter 12 143 144 150 151 152 155 157 157 Creating Dolby Digital Professional Output Files About the Dolby Digital Professional Encoder Pane General Information About Creating Dolby Digital Professional Files Converti
184 185 186 186 187 189 189 191 193 About the MPEG-1 Video Tab About the MPEG-1 Audio Tab About System and Elementary Streams MPEG-1 Transcoding Workflow Configuring the MPEG-1 File Format for Web Use Configuring the MPEG-1 File Format for DVD Use Creating the MPEG-1 Video for DVD Setting Creating the MPEG-1 Audio for DVD Setting Optional—Creating an MPEG-1 for DVD Group and Destination Chapter 18 195 195 196 196 197 208 212 218 Creating MPEG-2 Output Files About Standard Definition MPEG-2 About High
251 252 259 261 262 About the Filters Pane Video Filters Tab Audio Filters Tab Color Tab Adding Filters to a Setting Chapter 23 265 265 270 271 272 275 Working with Frame Controls About the Frame Controls Pane Adding Frame Controls to a Setting About Deinterlacing About Reverse Telecine Using the Retiming Controls Chapter 24 279 279 281 285 Adding Geometry Settings Working with Cropping, Scaling, and Padding About the Geometry Pane Making Geometry Adjustments to a Setting Chapter 25 289 289 289 291
Chapter 29 349 349 351 358 360 363 370 374 385 388 Apple Qmaster and Distributed Processing Distributed Processing Basics Basic Components of the Apple Qmaster Distributed Processing System Getting Started Quickly Using This Computer Plus Getting Started Quickly Using QuickClusters The Interfaces in the Apple Qmaster Distributed Processing System Apple Qmaster Sharing Window of Compressor General Information About Clusters Creating Clusters with Apple Qadministrator Setting Up for Part-Time Distributed
Preface Welcome to Compressor Compressor is an essential part of the video compression process. It makes compression fast, efficient, and convenient, giving you more options in your choices of compression settings and output formats. This preface covers the following: • About Compressor (p. 9) • About the Compressor Documentation (p. 10) • Additional Resources (p.
About the Compressor Documentation Compressor comes with various documents that will help you get started as well as provide detailed information about the application. (To access onscreen help for Compressor, open Compressor and choose Help > Compressor Help.) • Compressor User Manual: This comprehensive document describes the Compressor interface, commands, and menus and gives step-by-step instructions for using Compressor and accomplishing specific tasks.
Getting Started Quickly 1 Compressor contains a number of predefined settings that allow you to start transcoding immediately. You can begin transcoding media files as soon as you install Compressor if you have one or more source media files and the preexisting Compressor batch templates or settings and destinations suit your transcoding needs. This chapter covers the following: • Terms Used by Compressor (p. 11) • Quick and Easy Compressor Workflow: Batch Template Method (p.
• The output filename: You can edit the output filename part of the target if for some reason you do not want to use the name generated based on the destination. Note: You can transcode a job only after it has at least one setting assigned to it. If you need to create your own settings, or modify those that come with Compressor, see The Basic Transcoding Workflow and Creating, Previewing, and Modifying Settings.
Note: The Batch Template Chooser does not appear if you have previously selected the “Don’t show this dialog again” checkbox, or, in Compressor preferences, selected Use Blank Template. Select Show Template Chooser in Compressor preferences to have the Batch Template Chooser appear when you are creating new batches. Alternatively, you can choose File > New Batch From Template to create a new batch and have the Batch Template Chooser appear.
2 Click one of the options in the Batch Template Chooser to select it. The standard Apple batch templates are listed below. • Create Audio Podcast: Use this template to create an AAC audio file suitable for podcasting and add it to the iTunes library. • Create Blu-ray disc: Use this template to create BD H.264 video and Dolby Digital Professional (.
Compressor applies a target to the placeholder job. The target contains the appropriate transcoding setting (based on the template you chose), the default destination (Source), and a suggested output filename, based on the source filename and the name of the applied setting. By default, the batch templates use Source (the same folder as the source media files originated from) as the destination for the encoded files. For information about choosing other destinations, see Creating and Changing Destinations.
A dialog appears where you can name this submission, choose whether to use distributed processing, and set the priority of this submission. In most cases you can leave the settings as they are and just click Submit. For more details about this Submit dialog, see Submitting a Batch. After you submit a batch, you can open the Compressor History window or the Share Monitor application so you can monitor the transcoding progress of your batch.
Quick and Easy Compressor Workflow: Manual Method The following workflow shows you an easy way to manually build and process a batch in Compressor. • Stage 1: Adding Source Media Files • Stage 2: Assigning Settings and Destinations • Stage 3: Submitting the Batch Stage 1: Adding Source Media Files To use Compressor, you must first add source media files to the Batch window. To open Compressor and add source media files to the Batch window 1 Double-click the Compressor icon in the Applications folder.
The figure below shows the remaining windows in the Compressor interface. Note: To see the Compressor interface configured similarly to what is shown above, choose a Standard layout from the Layouts submenu of the Window menu. 3 Drag one or more source files from the Finder or the desktop to an empty area in the Batch window (in this example, just below the empty job). Note: If you drag multiple files to the empty job, only the last file is added to this job and all other files are ignored.
New jobs are created for each source file you dragged to the batch. Each source file creates a job in the batch. Target area (empty in this case) of a job See About the Batch Window for more information about the controls in the Batch window.
To assign a setting and a destination to a job 1 Choose a setting for your source media file jobs in any of the following ways. • To assign different settings to different jobs: Drag settings from the Settings tab to individual jobs in the Batch window. A job with a source media file in the Batch window Select one or more (two in this case) settings to apply to the job.
Select the jobs in the Batch window. Click Add to assign the settings to the selected jobs. Select the settings to apply to the selected jobs. Choose one or more settings, using the disclosure triangles to reveal individual settings, and click Add. The chosen settings are assigned to all the selected jobs. New targets are added for each setting you drag to the job. You can also choose Edit > Select All to select all the jobs before applying the settings.
2 Choose a destination for your job’s targets in one of the following ways. • Do nothing: Accept the default destination Source (the same folder as the source media files originated from) specified in the Destination column. • Use the target’s shortcut menu to change one setting at a time: Control-click the target you want to change and then choose any of the preexisting destinations available to you from the Destination submenu.
A dialog appears where you can name this submission, choose whether to use distributed processing, and set the priority of this submission. In most cases you can leave the settings as they are and just click Submit. For more details about this Submit dialog, see Submitting a Batch. After you submit a batch, you can open Share Monitor so you can monitor the transcoding progress of your batch. You can also set Share Monitor to automatically open in the Compressor Preferences window.
You can also monitor the encoding progress in the History window. See Finalizing Jobs and Submitting Batches for more information on jobs and batches. Optional Tasks You Can Perform Before Submitting a Batch The three stages described in the previous section show you the fastest way to transcode media files. Although you can modify your preexisting settings using this method, you can’t preview your files or fine-tune any settings.
• Creating MPEG-2 Output Files • Creating MPEG-4 Output Files • Creating QuickTime Export Component Files • Creating QuickTime Movie Output Files Chapter 1 Getting Started Quickly 25
Ways to Use Compressor 2 Compressor is a powerful and flexible tool that can be used in many different ways to achieve the results you want. This chapter covers the following: • Typical Compressor Scenarios (p. 28) • Compressor Features (p.
Typical Compressor Scenarios The following are typical Compressor scenarios. • Converting source media to one or more different output formats: You can use Compressor to convert one or more media files to one or more different media file output formats. See Quick and Easy Compressor Workflow: Manual Method for more information. Source media or Final Cut Pro project MP3 MPEG-1 MPEG-4 QuickTime H.264 MP3 AC-3 AC-3 AIFF H.264 MPEG-1 MPEG-2 AIFF MP3 QuickTime H.
• Creating DVD compliant files: Before you can convert your existing media files into a DVD project, you must convert the video into MPEG-1 (SD projects only), MPEG-2 (SD and HD projects), or H.264 (HD projects only) files. Compressor can encode audio in the Dolby Digital Professional format (also known as AC-3). Dolby Digital Professional is a very common compressed audio format for DVD-Video discs.
• Filters: The selection of available Compressor filters gives you dynamic artistic control while you convert your source media to other formats and allows you to create a final product to your precise specifications. A selection of the available filters includes fade in/fade out, timecode overlays, gamma correction, noise removal, letterbox, watermark, color adjustment, and others. Additionally, there are audio filters for controlling dynamic range, peak levels, equalization, and fade in/fade out.
The Basic Transcoding Workflow 3 Compressor makes it easy to transcode media into multiple formats. In addition, Compressor is integrated into Final Cut Pro and Motion. For simple or repetitive workflows, you can also use the Share feature in Final Cut Pro and Motion. The Share feature is an easy “one-click” way to send your work to clients, friends, and other audiences without any advanced knowledge of transcoding, delivery file formats, or FTP protocols.
In the illustration below, the batch contains two source media files, each of which is a job containing two targets (sets of a setting and destination). The total number of output files created by transcoding this batch will be four: Job 1 will create two output media files, as will Job 2.
• QuickTime: QuickTime is cross-platform multimedia technology which allows Mac OS and Windows applications to capture and play back video, audio, and still-image files. QuickTime files can contain many different kinds of media and codecs. Codecs give instructions to QuickTime on how to play back the media. A typical Compressor transcoding process consists of the following components. • Setting: Once you have imported your source media file, you must assign one or more settings to it.
• Destination: A destination also needs to be assigned to the source media file. This is the location where your transcoded media file is stored. You can either use the default destination called Source (the same folder the source media file is in), or you can designate any location to which you have full access. You can also change the default destination in Compressor preferences. The destination also controls how the transcoded media file is named.
You can also streamline your workflow by putting your settings into groups. See Creating Groups of Settings for more information. After you have created a setting, you can further customize it with additional adjustments such as filters (to adjust image quality or add effects such as letterboxing), pixel size (geometry values), and post-transcoding actions. These additional adjustments are all managed in the Inspector window.
Choosing an Output Format Selecting the relevant playback platform (Apple devices, DVD, web, CD, and kiosk) is the first choice you need to make before you compress a source media file into a different output format. Once you have decided on the platform, you can choose the appropriate output format for that platform.
• QuickTime Export Components: Leveraging the component plug-in architecture of QuickTime, Compressor can output a variety of additional codec options and third-party formats such as Windows Media, RealPlayer, 3G, and AVI. The QuickTime Export Components feature allows you to control the third-party encoding engine without having to open another application. For more details on QuickTime Export Components, see Creating QuickTime Export Component Output Files.
You can add one setting to multiple jobs in one step by selecting the jobs in the Batch window and choosing a setting from the dialog that appears when you choose Target > New Target With Setting, or by Control-clicking one of the selected jobs and choosing a setting from the New Target With Setting submenu of the shortcut menu that appears.
See Submitting a Batch for more information. Viewing Transcoding Status You use Share Monitor and the History window to see the current status of a submitted batch and all the jobs contained within it. Share Monitor is a standalone application, so that it can work with both Compressor and Droplets, whether or not Compressor is open, and regardless of whether you have submitted anything. See Creating a Droplet from the Settings Tab for more information about Droplets.
Working with Droplets Droplets provide a fast and convenient way to transcode material without even opening Compressor. You create a Droplet by saving a setting or a group of settings and destinations as an active icon. When you drag one or more source media files to it, the Droplet begins the transcoding process automatically. See Creating a Droplet from the Settings Tab for more information.
The Compressor Interface 4 The Compressor interface consists of a number of core windows in which you do most of your transcoding preparation work. This chapter covers the following: • Compressor Windows and the Transcoding Workflow (p. 42) • Creating and Managing Compressor Layouts (p. 43) • Working with the Compressor Windows (p. 46) • Batch Window (p. 49) • Settings Tab (p. 52) • Destinations Tab (p. 53) • Inspector Window (p. 53) • History Window (p. 62) • Preview Window (p.
Compressor Windows and the Transcoding Workflow Each Compressor window represents a part of the transcoding workflow. Batch window Preview window History window Settings and Destinations tabs Inspector window • Batch window: Allows you to import source media files, add settings and destinations, and name the batch. • Settings and Destinations tabs: The Settings tab allows you to centrally manage Apple and custom settings.
• Share Monitor (not pictured): Allows you to view the status of all batches being processed. (See the Share Monitor User Manual for more information.) Creating and Managing Compressor Layouts As you use Compressor you will find that, depending on the particular encoding task you are configuring, how the various Compressor windows are laid out can affect how easy Compressor is to use. To help with this, Compressor includes the ability to configure and save layouts.
Batch Layout The batch layout places the emphasis on the Batch window. This layout is optimized for those times when you are transcoding a number of similar source media files. Choosing, Saving, and Managing Layouts Compressor makes it easy to choose a layout. µ To choose a layout Choose Window > Layouts, and choose a layout from the list that appears. Once you choose a layout, the Compressor interface changes to match it. You can also create and save your own custom layouts.
The layout manager dialog appears. 2 Do any of the following: • To rename a layout: Double-click it and type the new name. • To remove a layout: Select it and click the Delete (–) button. • To save the current interface configuration as a new layout: Click the Add (+) button and enter a name for the layout. • To choose a layout and apply it to the current Compressor interface: Choose the layout and click the Apply button. 3 Click Done when you have finished managing your layouts.
Working with the Compressor Windows While the standard and batch workflow layouts present the Compressor interface as a single large element, it is actually composed of a number of individual windows that can be positioned and sized to best suit your needs.
About the Tabs The Batch window and the Settings and Destinations window can have multiple tabs. • The Batch window: When you are working with a large monitor and have several batches open, you might want to be able to see each of them in its own window. • The Settings and Destinations tabs: By default, the Settings tab and the Destinations tab are located in the same window. You can choose to have each in its own window or to close one of the tabs.
2 Release the tab to have it appear in its own window. µ To move a tab to its own window using a shortcut menu Control-click the tab and choose Tear Off Tab from the shortcut menu. The tab opens in its own window. To add a tab from one window to another window by dragging 1 Drag the tab to the tab area of the window you want to add it to. A highlight appears around the tab area. 2 Release the tab.
It snaps to the tab area and its original window closes. µ To add a tab from one window to another window by using a shortcut menu Control-click the tab area where you want the window to appear, and choose the tab from the list that appears in the shortcut menu. Note: This is the only method that allows you to add the History, Preview, or Inspector tabs to the window. µ To change the order of the tabs in their current window Drag the tab left or right to its new position.
In addition to the Compressor toolbar and the Submit button, the Batch window contains the tabs for the open batches and an area for showing and configuring a batch’s jobs. For information about adding source media files to a batch, see Adding Source Media Files to a Batch to Create Jobs. For information on working with jobs and targets, see Finalizing Jobs and Submitting Batches. Customizing the Toolbar The Batch window contains a toolbar that you can customize to better fit your needs.
You can choose to show the icon and text, the icon only, or the text only. 3 Click Done when you have finished. Note: The toolbar configuration is saved as part of a layout. See Creating and Managing Compressor Layouts for more information about layouts. It is possible to add more items to the toolbar than there is room for. When that happens, the right edge of the toolbar shows a double arrow that you can click to get access to the icons that do not fit.
• Preview: Opens the Preview window. • Share Monitor: Opens the Share Monitor application. • Create Droplet: Opens a settings selection dialog for you to select the settings for this Droplet. • Separator: Adds a vertical line to the toolbar, allowing you to group items together. • Space: Adds a fixed-width space to the toolbar. • Flexible Space: Adds a flexible-width space to the toolbar.
See Creating, Previewing, and Modifying Settings for details on using the Settings tab to create, manage, and choose settings. Destinations Tab The Destinations tab allows you to create, modify, or remove destination settings, set a default destination, and add file identifiers to your output media filename. To open the Destinations tab Do one of the following: µ µ µ Choose Window > Destinations (or press Command-4). Click the Destinations icon in the Batch window toolbar (if present).
Note: Unlike the other Compressor windows, the Inspector window cannot be resized. About the Automatic Settings Several items in the settings panes have an optional automatic mode. When the automatic mode is enabled, Compressor determines the optimal value for the setting. The Automatic button is dark when active, and its item is dimmed. The Automatic button is dimmed when inactive, and its item is selectable. In general, when the automatic mode is active, its item is dimmed and cannot be changed.
Media Source Files and the Inspector Window When you select a job in the Batch window, the Inspector window shows you information about the job’s source media file and allows you to add annotations, closed caption files, and job actions. The Inspector window contains three tabs: A/V Attributes, Additional Information, and Job Action. A/V Attributes Tab The A/V Attributes tab contains general information about the source media file and is divided into three sections.
See Additional Information Tab for more information on managing the closed caption files and annotations. • Closed Caption file field: Displays the name of the closed caption file currently associated with the source media file. • Choose (closed caption) button: Use this button to open a dialog and navigate to the the closed caption file you want to associate with the source media file. • Clear button: Use this button to remove the associated closed caption file.
Job Action Tab The Job Action tab allows you to apply and adjust post-transcoding actions to entire jobs. See Adding Actions for more information. • When job completes pop-up menu: Use this pop-up menu to select and apply a post-transcoding action for a job selected in the Batch window. About the Settings Panes When you select a setting in the Settings tab or a target in a batch’s job, the Inspector shows one of six panes.
The Summary table includes the following details. • Name: The name of the setting selected in the Settings tab. • Description: A description of the setting selected in the Settings tab. • File Extension: The extension assigned to the transcoded media file. This identifies which format your source media file is being converted to. • Estimated file size: When assigned to a source media file, this shows the estimated total file size.
• File Extension field: The following file extensions automatically appear in this field based on the format you choose from the File Format pop-up menu, and if video and audio tracks are enabled. Don’t alter this field without good reason, because your file may not be recognized if you do. • aiff: Represents AIFF. • ac3: Represents Dolby Digital Professional. • caf: Represents Apple CAF files. • dv: Represents Digital Video (DV) format video. • mpg: Represents MPEG-1 multiplexed (video and audio) stream.
Frame Controls Pane This pane of the Inspector offers automatic and customized settings for advanced image analysis in frame resizing and frame retiming. Frame resizing would be necessary when transcoding between a high definition format such as 1080i and a standard definition format such as DV-NTSC. An example of frame retiming would be when transcoding between video formats with different frame rates such as NTSC (29.97 frames per second) and PAL (25 frames per second).
Select the checkbox next to any of the filters you want to include in a particular setting. Use each filter’s sliders or arrow controls to adjust your filter settings as necessary. Filters are applied to the source media file in the order you organize them in the Filters list. You can reorder filters by dragging them up or down in this list. For more information about the Filters pane, see About the Filters Pane.
Actions Pane You use the Actions pane to activate transcode-completion notification emails and assign a default destination to this setting. • Email Notification to checkbox and field: Use to enter the address to which you want an email notification sent after the media file has been transcoded, or in the event of an error. • Default Destination: Choose a destination from the pop-up menu that you want this setting to use as its default. For more information about the Actions pane, see Adding Actions.
µ Click the History button in the Batch window toolbar. Note: The History window automatically opens if it is closed when you submit a batch for transcoding. The History window contains entries that display information about the batch name and the date and time it was originally transcoded. The entries are ordered by date, with the oldest first. When you drag a batch into the Batch window for resubmission, a new untitled batch is created for it (any existing batches are unaffected).
µ Click the Preview button in the Batch window toolbar. Marker pop-up menu button The Preview window has additional features, including a Marker pop-up menu. The Marker pop-up menu allows you to import chapter lists or manually add chapter (and podcast) markers and compression markers (to improve the compression quality of your media file). For more information about the controls and settings in the Preview window, see About the Preview Window.
Apple Qmaster Sharing Window Compressor includes a distributed processing feature that you can use to speed up your transcoding jobs. It allows you to harness the power of multiple computers on your local network to spread out the work. The Apple Qmaster Sharing window, opened by choosing Apple Qmaster > Share This Computer, provides most of the controls needed to configure a distributed processing system. For details on setting it up, see Apple Qmaster and Distributed Processing.
Share Monitor You use Share Monitor to monitor the progress of all transcoding batch activity, including estimates for the transcoding time remaining for all jobs. Share Monitor is a separate application that can be opened without opening Compressor. For more details on Share Monitor, see the Share Monitor User Manual. µ To open Share Monitor Click the Share Monitor button in the Batch window toolbar.
Droplet Windows You can save one or more settings or groups of settings into a Droplet, a standalone preset, packaged into a drag-and-drop application and saved as an icon. Then you can transcode source media files (without even opening Compressor) by simply dragging them to a Droplet icon. See Using Droplets for information on creating and using Droplets. Drag selected source media files to a Droplet to transcode them. You can open any Droplet and view its window for full details about the Droplet.
Using Value Sliders There are two methods used to enter general numeric values: traditional sliders with separate numeric entry fields and value sliders that combine the slider with the numeric entry field. Value slider with combined slider and numeric entry field Separate slider and numeric entry field Value sliders allow you to enter a specific number in the value field or to drag in the value field to set a value.
Using Timecode Value Sliders Compressor uses timecode value sliders for all timecode entry fields. In addition to being able to enter timecode values directly, you can “scrub” the timecode value by dragging. If you place the pointer over a segment of the timecode, small arrows appear above and below that segment. You can drag up or to the right to increase the value in that segment (values in segments to the left will also increment if your dragging causes the selected segment to roll over).
Setting Compressor Preferences 5 You can use Compressor preferences to configure many aspects of Compressor. This chapter covers the following: • About Compressor Preferences (p. 71) • Using Compressor Preferences (p. 74) About Compressor Preferences Use the Compressor Preferences window to configure a variety of Compressor controls. The Compressor Preferences window contains the following controls.
• Outgoing Mail Server: For more information about email notification, see Working with Post-Transcoding Actions. • Automatically launch Share Monitor: Use this checkbox to control whether Share Monitor automatically opens when you submit a batch. • Display job thumbnails: Use this checkbox to control whether thumbnail images are displayed for jobs in a batch. • Cluster Options: Choose one of the following to control cluster options (for distributed processing scratch storage settings).
Remote Computer Address Dialog The remote computer address dialog is displayed when you click the Add/Remove button in the main Compressor Preferences window. Use this window to enter IP addresses or ranges for manually selected computers. This dialog contains the following controls: • Host/Host IP address range buttons: These buttons control whether this dialog is in IP Address mode (in which you enter a specific address) or IP Address Range mode (in which you enter a range of addresses).
Using Compressor Preferences Follow the instructions below to set Compressor preferences. µ To open Compressor preferences Choose Compressor > Preferences, or press Command-Comma (,). The Preferences window appears. To configure the email notification preference 1 Enter the default email address to use when email notification is activated. You can change this address in the Actions pane of the Inspector window. 2 Enter the mail server used by this computer for outgoing email.
To control whether Compressor remains running after a batch has been submitted through it by another application (such as Final Cut Pro) Do one of the following: µ Select “Quit after submitting batches from other applications” to have Compressor quit once the batch has been submitted. µ Deselect “Quit after submitting batches from other applications” to have Compressor continue running once the batch has been submitted.
µ µ µ To control whether Compressor displays the Batch Template Chooser on startup Select Show Template Chooser to display the Batch Template Chooser on startup. Select Use Blank Template to not display the Batch Template Chooser on startup. To control whether other computers with Share Monitor can view this computer’s job status Select “Allow connections from other computers” to allow remote computers running Share Monitor to monitor this computer’s job status.
6 Importing Source Media Files The first step in the traditional Compressor transcoding process is to import at least one source media file into the Batch window. Note: If you are using the batch template workflow, the first step would be to choose a batch template. For more information about the simple batch template workflow, see Quick and Easy Compressor Workflow: Batch Template Method. This chapter covers the following: • About the Batch Window (p.
General Batch Window Information Batches are the heart of your Compressor workflow, and the Batch window is where you work with the batches. The Batch window supports having multiple batches open at once, showing them as separate tabs. µ To create a new batch Choose File > New Batch (or press Command-N). A new untitled batch is added to the Batch window. Depending on how For New Batches is configured in Compressor preferences, the Batch Template Chooser may appear.
The Batch Template Chooser contains a variety of options you can choose from to configure a new batch. Choosing a template adds one or more settings to the batch, as well as a job action to be executed once the batch output is finished. The standard Apple batch templates are listed below. • Create Audio Podcast: Use this template to create an AAC audio file suitable for podcasting and add it to the iTunes library. • Create Blu-ray disc: Use this template to create BD H.
Creating a Custom Batch Template You can save any batch as a custom batch template. Custom batch templates appear as options in the Batch Template Chooser, alongside the default Apple batch templates. Custom batch templates can save you time, particularly with workflows that you repeat often.
Adding Source Media Files to a Batch to Create Jobs You need to import the source media files into the batch in the Batch window before you can add any transcoding settings to them. Once they are imported into the batch, the source media files create a job, which is the first step to getting the files transcoded. There are special methods to use when importing surround sound source media files.
• Open your source media file folder and drag one or more source media files into the batch. Note: You can combine the above steps by selecting all the source media files you want to transcode before opening Compressor and then dragging them to the Compressor application icon. This opens Compressor and adds the media files to the default untitled batch at the same time. 3 Save the batch by choosing File > Save As (or pressing Command-Shift-S).
The batch now contains your selected media files, each in its own job. Source media files with video content also include a thumbnail image and a scroller that you can use to scroll through the video. The targets for this job will appear in this area. Each source media file creates a job. Drag the slider to scroll through video files. Click anywhere in the job to see this file’s attributes in the Inspector window. You can change the source media file assigned to a job.
These jobs are now ready to have a target added to them. Adding Surround Sound Source Media Files to Batches There are two methods you can use to add audio files to a batch to create a surround sound job: an automatic method that relies on file naming to map the audio files to the proper channels and a manual method that allows you to manually assign the audio files to the channels.
Note: If you are creating Dolby Digital Professional (AC-3) surround sound streams, you will not use all the channels listed in the table at once. See Audio Tab Settings for a diagram of the Dolby audio coding modes. 2 Drag the renamed source audio files to the Batch window. If the following conditions are met, Compressor automatically collapses the entire group of files into what appears as a single surround source media file in the Batch window: • The files in the group must be named correctly.
3 Repeat step 2 for each of the source audio files that you intend to include in the surround stream. Note: If you are creating Dolby Digital Professional (AC-3) surround sound streams, you will not use all the channels listed in the table at once. See Audio Tab Settings for a diagram of the Dolby audio coding modes. 4 Optionally, click the Add Video button to select a video file to include with the surround sound job.
2 Locate the file to assign to that channel and click Open. 3 Optionally, you can either click Add Video to add a video file to the job, or delete the video file already assigned and then click Add Video to choose a different video file. See Creating Dolby Digital Professional Output Files for information on creating Dolby Digital Professional output files.
The new job appears in the Batch window. 5 Select the job in the Batch window. The Inspector window displays the A/V Attributes tab containing information and controls for the new image sequence job. 6 Do any of the following: • Confirm the selected image sequence files. (Click the Info (i) button for the complete list of files.) • Confirm the video format information in the Video section. • Use the Native Field Dominance pop-up menu to adjust the field dominance for the source files.
Note: You can also use Compressor to output an image sequence. For more information, see Creating Image Sequence Output Files. Using the Inspector with Source Media Files When you select a batch’s job, the Inspector window shows you information about the job’s source media file. The Inspector window contains three tabs: A/V Attributes, Additional Information, and Job Action.
Additional Information Tab The Additional Information tab allows you to see and modify a variety of metadata items that might have been added in other applications such as Final Cut Pro or QuickTime. It also includes the ability to associate a closed caption file with the file. To associate a closed caption file with a job’s source media file 1 Click the job to show the source media file’s attributes in the Inspector window. 2 Click the Additional Information tab.
To add an annotation 1 Click the job to show the source media file’s attributes in the Inspector window. 2 Click the Additional Information tab. 3 Use the Add Annotation pop-up menu to choose the type of annotation. 4 Double-click the corresponding Value field and enter the annotation text. 5 Click Save. Note: This Add Annotation feature is supported by the H.264 for Apple Devices, MP3, and QuickTime Movie output formats.
Job Action Tab The Job Action tab allows you to apply and adjust post-transcoding actions to entire jobs. For complete details on using the Job Action tab, see Adding Job Actions. Tips on Importing Source Media Files Here are some additional tips on importing source media files. Highly Compressed Source Files It is strongly recommended that you do not use highly compressed source files, such as MPEG files, as your source files, because they can cause undesirable artifacts in the encoded video.
This does not happen with MPEG-2 elementary files encoded using Compressor that had the “Add DVD Studio Pro metadata” checkbox selected. See Extras Tab for more information. About Dolby Digital Professional Source Media Files You can use Dolby Digital Professional AC-3 audio files as source media files for your jobs. There are two common reasons to want to do this.
Creating, Previewing, and Modifying Settings 7 A setting is a combination of transcode attributes, such as output format, filter, and geometry settings, that you apply to the source media file as a part of the transcoding process. You need to assign at least one setting to a source media file before you can transcode it. Once you have a source media file in the current batch in the Batch window, you can either select a preexisting setting or create a customized one using the Settings tab.
About the Settings Tab The Settings tab allows you to manage your settings. In conjunction with the Inspector window, the Settings tab also provides details of all the settings and provides easy access to common transcoding controls. You use the Settings tab (together with the Inspector window) to create, modify, or delete settings, as well as create group folders for multiple settings. You can also create Droplets from the Settings tab.
• Save Selection as Droplet: Click to create a Droplet from an existing setting or group of settings. Droplets allow you to transcode a media file by simply dragging one or more source media files over the Droplet icon. Once you have selected your setting or group and clicked the “Save Selection as Droplet” button, the Save dialog asks you to name your Droplet, choose a location for it, and choose a destination folder for the relevant output media files.
New settings appear in the Custom group folder with the default name “Untitled [File Format]” with “[File Format]” being the file format you chose from the (+) pop-up menu. It’s a good idea to change the setting name to something meaningful, such as details of the settings or distribution method associated with the setting. Click the setting in the Settings tab to open it in the Inspector window. Enter the selected setting’s name and description in the Inspector window.
Selecting a Target Whenever you select a batch’s target, its setting immediately appears in the Inspector window with Selected Target in the Name field. This is a temporary copy of the setting and not the setting itself, so you can make temporary modifications to the setting for just that one batch submission. Select a target in the Batch window to see its settings in the Inspector window. The setting’s name shows as “Selected Target.
• Encoder pane: Allows you to select an output file format and other related video and audio settings. See the following specific sections for more information about the different encoder panes. • About the AIFF Encoder Pane • Creating Common Audio Format Files • About the DV Stream Encoder Pane • About the Dolby Digital Professional Encoder Pane • About the H.264 for Apple Devices Encoder Pane • Creating H.
2 Click the Duplicate Selected Setting button. Click the Duplicate Selected Setting button to duplicate the selected setting. Select the setting to be duplicated. A new setting appears in the Custom folder with the word Untitled appended before the original name. 3 Select the new setting in the Custom folder.
6 Click OK to save the changes, or click Revert to cancel the changes and return to the Inspector. See Assigning Settings to Source Media Files for information about assigning settings. Creating a Setting from Scratch If the preexisting settings are not sufficient for your transcoding needs or if you simply want additional settings, you can create your own. Note: The recommended procedure for creating custom settings is to duplicate a stock Apple setting and then adjust the copy to suit your needs.
2 Open the following Inspector panes to modify the following items: • The setting name and description: Change the name and description to make it easy to remember why you created this custom setting. • Encoder pane: Change the output format and video and audio codecs and their associated attributes here. • Frame Controls pane: Change any attribute in the Frame Controls pane. • Filters pane: Change any filter attributes here.
To view your setting in the Preview window 1 Apply the setting to a job in a batch. See Assigning Settings to Source Media Files for more information. 2 Select the target with the setting that you want to preview in the Batch window. Note: You may have to click the Batch window’s Preview button (or press Command-2) for the Preview window to appear. The opening frame of the selected source media file appears in the Preview window, and the title of the selected setting appears in the Batch Item pop-up menu.
3 Make any necessary adjustments to your setting while previewing the media file in the Preview window. Select the item you want to change. This half of the Preview window shows the effects of the Inspector window changes. Make adjustments while previewing the media file in the Preview window. Note: To preview the effect of the filters on your media file, you need to make sure that the checkbox for that particular filter is selected in the Filters list.
Creating Groups of Settings Creating a group of settings allows you to quickly assign multiple settings to a source media file. To create a group of settings 1 Click the Group button in the Settings tab. A folder called Untitled appears in the Settings tab with 0 Settings in the Description column. You cannot modify this field. It displays the number of settings the group contains. Click the Group button. Enter a name for the new group. A new untitled group with 0 settings is created.
Note: You can also create hierarchies of groups (groups within groups). Just drag a group folder into another group folder. This custom group contains three other custom groups, each with its own settings. The Description field displays the number of settings your group contains. Once you have at least one setting inside the group folder, you can click the disclosure triangle next to the group folder to show or hide the setting group details.
A quick and easy way to copy a settings file is to simply drag the setting from the Settings tab to your desktop or a Finder window. From there, you can attach it to an email or copy it to another folder or volume. µ To copy a setting directly from Compressor Drag one or more settings from the Settings tab to the Finder (to the desktop, for example). Conversely, you can add a setting to Compressor by simply dragging its file from the Finder.
2 Select the first of the new groups and, using the Inspector window, name it after the project. 3 Select the second of the new groups and name it Dailies. 4 Select the third of the new groups and name it Final Discs. 5 In the Settings tab, drag the Dailies and Final Discs groups up until a black box surrounds the group named after the project, and then release them. Note: You can select multiple groups or settings by holding down Shift while selecting them.
Finalizing Jobs and Submitting Batches 8 A job consists of a source media file with at least one target, composed of a setting and a destination, assigned to it. You created the jobs by importing the source media files. For a job to be complete, and thus ready to be submitted for transcoding, you need to add one or more targets to it.
Assigning Settings to Source Media Files You can use a variety of methods to assign settings to a job. Some methods, such as dragging the setting from the Settings tab, are better suited to working with one job. Other methods, such as using the shortcut menu, are better for assigning the same settings to a group of jobs. You can even assign settings by dragging (settings or Droplets) from the Finder.
A new target is created for each setting that you added to the batch’s job. New targets are added for each setting you drag to the job. Note: You can only apply the settings to a single job when you assign them by dragging. To assign a setting to a job using the Target menu 1 Select one or more jobs in the Batch window’s current batch. 2 Choose Target > Add Target With Setting. The settings selection dialog appears over the Batch window. Select the jobs in the Batch window.
2 Control-click one of the selected jobs and choose New Target With Setting from the shortcut menu. The shortcut menu lists the settings based on their groups. You cannot directly choose a group to be assigned, but each group contains an “All” item that selects all the group’s settings. Note: You cannot select multiple individual settings with this method. 3 Choose a setting or All to choose all settings in a group. The settings are applied to all selected jobs.
Modifying an Assigned Setting You can edit or change any component of a setting that has already been assigned to a source media file in the Batch window (identified as Selected Target in the Inspector window). To modify a setting already assigned to a source media file in the Batch window 1 Select the target in the batch with the setting that you want to change. The setting appears in the Inspector window with Selected Target in the Name field.
Assigning Destinations This section describes how you can set output destinations and output filenames. Assigning Destinations to Source Media Files When you assign settings to your targets, the default destination is automatically also assigned. You can set the default destination with Compressor preferences. (Choose Compressor > Preferences.) This can be one of those supplied with Compressor or a custom destination you have created. See Creating a Destination for details on working with destinations.
Using this dragging method, you can also create a new target (with an empty setting) by dragging the destination to an empty part of the job. To assign a destination using the Target or shortcut menu 1 Select all targets that you want to set the destination on. 2 Do one of the following: • Choose Target > Destination > [Destination]. • Control-click one of the targets and choose Destination > [Destination] from the shortcut menu.
µ To modify or enter a new output filename Click in the output filename area and edit the existing name, or triple-click the existing name to enter a new name. The output filename General Job and Target Information This section provides general information about jobs and targets. About Targets Targets contain three items: • The setting • The destination • The output filename Drag the dividers to expand a target’s section and make it easier to see the entry.
To add an empty target to a job Do one of the following: µ Select one or more jobs and choose Target > Add Target. This adds an empty target to the jobs. µ Select one or more jobs and Control-click in an empty area of one of them, then choose Target > Add Target. This adds an empty target to the jobs. µ Click the Add (+) button of an existing target. You can also copy one or more targets from one job to another. To copy targets to another job by dragging 1 Select the targets to copy.
To chain selected targets to new jobs 1 Select the targets whose outputs you want to chain to new jobs. 2 Do one of the following: • Choose Jobs > New Job With Target Output. • Control-click one of the targets and choose New Job With Target Output from the shortcut menu. New jobs are added to the batch with the chain thumbnail and the name of the output file of the targets they are chained to. The chained job’s source name is the output filename of the target it is chained to.
The submit dialog appears. 3 Check the Name field to confirm the batch name. You can change this name to something more meaningful about this batch. This is the name that is used for this submission in both Share Monitor and the History window. 4 Use the Cluster pop-up menu to do one of the following: Use the Cluster pop-up menu to choose which computer or cluster will process the batch.
Note: When submitting larger batches (for example, nine source media files with three settings assigned to each), there is about a 10-second delay after submitting the batch when nothing happens. Be patient. Compressor is preparing the large batch before it can be properly submitted for processing. If you are transcoding a large batch, you should turn off the screen saver application on your computer. This will improve the speed of your transcode because resources are not being diverted to the screen saver.
Test Transcode Tip Before committing to a long transcoding session, do a quick test with a small section of the source media file. If there is a problem (such as an incorrect setting or a reference file that can’t find the files it is referencing), you can make the correction without losing a lot of time. Such tests also allow you to preview Encoder pane and Frame Controls results that are not visible in the Preview window.
The History window can also show you the progress of a batch currently being transcoded. Click the disclosure triangle to see the details of each target of this submission. The name of this submission Click the Pause button to temporarily pause the transcode process. Click it again to resume transcoding. Click the Cancel button to end the transcode process. Note: If it is closed, the History window automatically opens when you submit a batch.
When you drag a batch from the History window to the Batch window, Compressor creates a new untitled tab in the Batch window for that batch. The batch appears in the new tab with all its original details (source media files, targets, assigned settings, destinations, output format, and batch name). You can now make any changes to the batch and resubmit it. Saving and Opening a Batch File There may be times when you configure a batch but are not able to submit it right away.
3 Add settings to each job. A unique identifier is applied to the output filename, so that you can easily identify each clip after it is transcoded. Unique file identifiers are automatically applied to each job. 4 Do one of the following to open the Preview window: • Choose Window > Preview (or press Command-2). • Click the Preview button in the Batch window. The Preview window opens. 5 Use the Batch Item selection buttons or pop-up menu to navigate to each media file you want to transcode.
See About the Preview Window for more information. Using Final Cut Pro and Motion with Compressor Final Cut Pro and Motion contain a Share menu with many commonly used transcoding options already configured. However, if you need a transcoding option not covered by the preconfigured Share items, or you need to customize one of the options, you can use the Send to Compressor options to open the project in Compressor where you can configure it as needed.
See the following sections for more information: • Assigning Settings to Source Media Files • Assigning Destinations to Source Media Files 5 Click the Submit button in the Batch window. Compressor begins transcoding the Final Cut Pro project. Note: Once the Final Cut Pro or Motion project opens in Compressor, you can continue working in Final Cut Pro or Motion on that project or a different project.
• Use Send to Compressor: Final Cut Pro and Motion include a Send to Compressor option in their Share menus. This option creates a new batch in Compressor using the project’s media, and can use the standard Compressor distributed processing options once the batch is submitted. This option requires Compressor to be installed on the same computer as Final Cut Pro or Motion. For details on using this option, see Submitting a Project for Transcoding.
Using Distributed Processing with Compressor You can increase speed and productivity by distributing processing across multiple computers. The Apple Qmaster features of Compressor subdivide the work for speed, route the work to the computers with the most available computing power, and direct the processing across designated computers. For complete instructions on setting up and managing an Apple Qmaster distributed processing network, see Apple Qmaster and Distributed Processing.
Note: The Allow Job Segmenting checkbox affects only the segmenting of individual jobs (source files). If you are submitting batches with multiple jobs, the distributed processing system will continue to speed up processing by distributing (unsegmented) jobs, even with job segmenting turned off. For more information on variable bit-rate encoding (VBR), see Quality Tab. For more information on the Apple Qmaster distributed processing system, see Apple Qmaster and Distributed Processing.
Creating AIFF Files 9 You can use Compressor to output audio in the AIFF format. This chapter covers the following: • Creating AIFF Output Files (p. 133) • About the AIFF Encoder Pane (p. 134) • About the Sound Settings Dialog (p. 134) • QuickTime Audio Sample Sizes and Rates (p. 135) • Choosing an Audio Codec for Distribution (p. 136) • Configuring AIFF Settings (p. 136) Creating AIFF Output Files The AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format) file format was developed by Apple for storing high-quality audio.
About the AIFF Encoder Pane The following options appear when you choose the AIFF output format from the File Format pop-up menu in the Encoder pane of the Inspector window. Choose AIFF. File Extension field Click to open the Sound Settings dialog. QuickTime AIFF Summary table • File Extension: This field displays the AIFF file extension (.aiff ) automatically after the AIFF output format is chosen from the File Format pop-up menu or the (+) pop-up menu in the Settings tab. Don’t alter this field.
If a particular audio setting cannot be changed, it remains dimmed. Some audio codecs allow you to configure additional settings, which appear in the lower half of the Sound Settings dialog. In some cases, an Options button becomes available. Click it to configure additional settings. Choose an audio codec. Choose the number of channels (the selection varies based on the codec). Choose a rate that provides the quality and file size required.
Choosing an Audio Codec for Distribution MPEG-4 Audio (AAC) is a good general-purpose audio delivery codec and is compatible with a wide variety of playback devices. For slower computers, less-compressed formats, such as IMA, or completely uncompressed formats, such as AIFF, may be better choices, because they are less processor intensive, thus allowing the computer to focus on the more challenging video stream.
Creating Common Audio Format Files 10 You can use this setting to easily output audio in several common audio formats. This chapter covers the following: • Creating Common Audio Format Files (p. 137) • About the Common Audio Formats Pane (p. 138) • Configuring Common Audio Formats Settings (p.
About the Common Audio Formats Pane The following options appear when you choose the Common Audio Formats output format from the File Format pop-up menu in the Encoder pane of the Inspector window. The Automatic button • Extension: This field displays the file extension after you select an audio format from the “File type” pop-up menu. • Allow Job Segmenting: This checkbox allows you to turn off job segmenting.
• Create a new setting by choosing Common Audio Formats from the “Create a new setting” (+) pop-up menu. 2 Choose an audio format from the “File type” pop-up menu in the Common Audio Formats Encoder pane. 3 Do one of the following: • Click to turn on the Automatic button and let Compressor configure the “Channel layout,” “Sample rate,” and “Sample size” pop-up menu settings.
Creating DV Stream Output Files 11 Compressor provides the tools you need to create DV files. Due to its low cost and wide availability, the DV video format is extremely popular for standard definition (SD) video capture and delivery. This chapter covers the following: • About the DV Stream Encoder Pane (p. 141) • DV Transcoding Workflow (p.
• Allow Job Segmenting: This checkbox allows you to turn off job segmenting. For more information, see Job Segmenting and Two-Pass or Multi-Pass Encoding. • Format: Choose either NTSC or PAL as the output video format. • Aspect Ratio: Choose either 16:9 or 4:3 as the output video aspect ratio. Note: The 16:9 aspect ratio uses anamorphic video. • Field Order: Choose Bottom field first (required for interlaced DV video) with interlaced sources or Progressive with progressive sources.
Creating Dolby Digital Professional Output Files 12 Compressor provides the tools you need to encode, and batch-encode, Dolby Digital Professional (AC-3) audio files. Dolby Digital Professional format (also known as AC-3) is a very common compressed audio format for DVD-Video discs. Compressor accepts multichannel sound files in a variety of formats and gives you complete control over the AC-3 encoding process. Dolby Digital programs can deliver 5.
About the Dolby Digital Professional Encoder Pane This section contains detailed information about the various tabs within the Dolby Digital Professional (AC-3) Encoder pane of the Inspector window. You make your Dolby Digital Professional settings using the tabs described below, by either modifying an existing setting or creating a new setting in the Settings tab. The Dolby Digital Professional pane opens with the default Audio tab on top.
Audio Tab Settings All the most important Dolby Digital Professional settings are accessible in the Audio tab. • Target System: Compressor limits available settings to those appropriate for the target system. If you’re encoding for use with DVD Studio Pro, choose DVD Video. Choose DVD Audio only if you are encoding for use in a DVD Audio authoring application. Choose Generic AC-3 to remove the setting limits. • Audio Coding Mode: Specifies the audio channels of the encoded stream.
For example, “3/2 (L, C, R, Ls, Rs)” means three front channels (left, center, right), and two rear channels (surround). “2/0 (L, R)” is essentially a standard stereo file. The audio coding mode affects settings such as the available bandwidth and surround channel preprocessing. If you click the Automatic button (next to the Audio Coding Mode pop-up menu), Compressor makes its best guess at the intended audio coding mode, based on available source audio files.
• Dialog Normalization: Specifies the average volume of the dialogue, using decibels of full scale (dBFS), in your sound files relative to full modulation. The playback device uses this information to maintain similar volume among different AC-3 streams. The goal is to make all AC-3 encoded audio files have the same listening level, regardless of the source file.
Bitstream Tab Settings These settings are stored in the finished stream for use by the playback device. Leave them at their default values unless you have a specific technical reason for changing them. • Center Downmix, Surround Downmix: If your encoded audio has these channels, but the player does not, the channels are mixed into the stereo output at the specified level. • Dolby Surround Mode: When encoding in 2/0 (stereo) mode, specifies whether the signal uses Dolby Surround (Pro Logic).
Preprocessing Tab Settings Preprocessing options are applied to the audio data before encoding. With the exception of the Compression Preset setting, leave these settings at their default values unless you have a specific technical reason for changing them. Compression Preset • Compression Preset: Specifies one of the dynamic range processing modes built in to the AC-3 format. The default of Film Standard Compression should only be used when you are encoding an original mix intended for cinema.
LFE Channel • Low-Pass Filter: Select this checkbox to apply a 120 Hz low-pass filter to the Low Frequency Effects (LFE) channel. Turn off this filter if the digital signal fed to the LFE’s input does not contain information above 120 Hz. Full Bandwidth Chan. • Low-Pass Filter: Select this checkbox to turn on a low-pass filter with a cutoff near the available audio bandwidth that is applied to the main input channels.
• AC-3 streams must have a multiple of 1536 samples. If the selected input files do not, Compressor adds digital silence to the end of the files. Note: Compressor can support any kind of source files that contain surround sound and high resolution audio up to 64 bits per sample (floating point) and sample rates up to 192 kHz. About Previewing the Encoder Settings The settings made in the Dolby Digital Professional encoder pane cannot be previewed.
• In the Batch window, Control-click in an empty part of the job, choose New Target With Setting from the shortcut menu, choose a setting, and click Add. • Drag a setting from the Settings tab to the source audio file’s job in the Batch window. 4 If you want, make any adjustments to the setting in the Encoder pane of the Inspector window (see About the Dolby Digital Professional Encoder Pane for more information). Note: Compressor will map channels intelligently.
The file is now assigned to the “L” (Left Front) Channel. 3 Repeat step 2 for each of the source audio files that you intend to include in the surround stream. Note: If you are creating Dolby Digital Professional (AC-3) surround sound streams, you will not use all the channels listed in the table at once. See Audio Tab Settings for a diagram of the Dolby audio coding modes. 4 When you have finished adding source audio files to the channel assignment interface, click OK.
The group of surround files appears as a single surround source media file job in the Batch window and the icons are also shown in the Inspector window. Click a channel’s icon to change the file assigned to that channel. Note: You can click a channel icon in the Inspector window to change the file assigned to it.
To combine a video file with surround audio files to make a single source media file 1 Follow steps 1-5 above to manually assign source audio files to channels of a surround sound stream. 2 Click the Add Video button and use the resulting Open window to choose the video file. Note: This feature supports QuickTime source media files only. Image sequences are not supported. 3 Make any necessary adjustments in the Inspector window and click Submit.
If the following conditions are met, Compressor automatically collapses the entire group of files into what appears as a single surround source media file in the Batch window: • The files in the group must be named correctly. (See the channel identifier codes listed above.) • The total number of files in the group must be fewer than seven. The Inspector window shows the audio files assigned to each channel. Click a channel’s icon to change the file assigned to that channel.
Assigning Files to Surround Sound Channels with Droplets You can further streamline the channel assignment process by encapsulating the “automatic” method described above in a Droplet. For more information about Droplets, see Using Droplets. Options for Spatial Mixing This section offers additional insights and suggestions for using the channels in a Dolby Digital Professional program. Using the Center Channel In a multichannel system, there are three ways to achieve a centrally placed sound image.
In most music productions (with such exceptions as the famous cannon shots in Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture”), the LFE channel is not necessary. The LFE signal is also discarded in the Dolby Digital Professional downmix process, so intense bass signals do not stress small stereo systems. Be sure not to include vital information in the LFE channel that would be missed in mono, stereo, or Pro Logic playback.
Creating H.264 for Apple Devices Output Files 13 Using Compressor, you can create iTunes-compliant H.264 files. These can be played in iTunes, on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod, or with Apple TV. The efficiency of the H.264 encoder makes it well suited to create media to use with iTunes and its related Apple devices. Compressor includes preconfigured settings that use the H.264 for Apple Devices Encoder pane to make it easy for you to create suitable media files. For information on creating H.
About the H.264 for Apple Devices Encoder Pane This section contains detailed information about the elements of the H.264 for Apple Devices Encoder pane in the Inspector window. You make your H.264 settings using this pane, by either modifying an existing setting or creating a new setting in the Settings tab. You make your H.
Tip: Place the pointer over the Device pop-up menu to see which Apple devices can play the selected option. Additionally, the Summary pane also lists the compatible Apple devices. • iPod/iPhone (VGA): This option creates video output files with a frame width of 640 pixels. • iPod/iPhone (Anamorphic): This option creates video output files with a frame width of 640 (anamorphic) pixels. • iPod/iPhone (QVGA): This option creates video output files with a frame width of 320 pixels.
Note: By default, the Frame Controls feature is set to Automatic. The Frame Controls Retiming Control will be engaged only if the source file is interlaced. • Frame Rate: Use this pop-up menu to choose from the options listed below. The Frame Rate setting also has an Automatic button. Clicking the Automatic button causes the encoder to choose the frame rate that matches the source video file. The Frame Rate Automatic button • 29.
• Frame Sync: Also known as the key frame interval, the Frame Sync value represents how often a key frame is inserted in the H.264 stream. The lower the number, the more smoothly the video can be manipulated (scrubbed) during playback (more frequent key frames). The higher the number, the more efficient the compression (less frequent key frames). The available range is from 2 to 10 seconds; the default is 5 seconds. The Frame Sync setting also has an Automatic checkbox.
You can also add podcast markers to the output file. Podcast markers are similar to chapter markers (they can have a URL and artwork assigned to them); however, they cannot be navigated to directly by the viewer. They are intended to provide a slideshow function to audio podcasts. For information about adding chapter and podcast markers, see Working with Markers and Poster Frames. Aspect Ratios for Apple Devices The choice you make with the Device pop-up menu defines the width of the encoded file.
H.264 Workflows for Apple Devices The efficiency and quality of H.264 creates a number of options for iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Apple TV video producers. When choosing a Device option, you can choose to create a file that plays on a wide variety of devices or to create a file targeted to a specific device, such as an iPhone 4. • Options that are compatible with all devices do not produce optimal results when played on higher resolution devices, such as an Apple TV.
Creating H.264 for Blu-ray Disc 14 Compressor includes the ability to easily create H.264 settings specifically configured for Blu-ray and AVCHD discs. Blu-ray, also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD), is a format that was developed to enable recording, rewriting, and playback of high definition (HD) video. The format offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25 GB on a single-layer disc and 50 GB on a dual-layer disc.
About the H.264 for Blu-ray Disc Encoder Pane This section contains detailed information about the elements of the H.264 for Blu-ray Disc Encoder pane in the Inspector window. You make your H.264 for Blu-ray Disc settings using this pane, by either modifying an existing setting or creating a new setting in the Settings tab. The H.264 for Blu-ray Disc pane contains the following items. • File Extension field: Displays the H.264 for Blu-ray file extension (.264) automatically after the H.
The Video Format setting also has an Automatic button. Clicking the Automatic button causes the encoder to choose the video format that matches the source video file. The Video Format Automatic button • NTSC: This format is referred to as 480p. It uses a 720 x 480 frame size with an anamorphic 16 x 9 format at 59.94 fps. • PAL: This format is referred to as 576p. It uses a 720 x 576 frame size with an anamorphic 16 x 9 format at 50 fps.
• Average Bit Rate slider and field: Choose an average bit rate to use for the output video with the slider, or enter a value directly. While the available range for a Blu-ray disc is between 5 Mbps and 30 Mbps, typical video bit rates with H.264 might range from 7 Mbps to 15 Mbps, depending on your DVD bit budget and the nature of your source media files. The available range for AVCHD discs is 5 Mbps to 15 Mbps.
Creating Image Sequence Files 15 You can use Compressor to output an image sequence for use by compositing applications. This chapter discusses the image sequences that Compressor can output from your source media files. This chapter covers the following: • Creating Image Sequence Output Files (p. 171) • About the Image Sequence Encoder Pane (p. 172) • Configuring Image Sequence Settings (p.
• OpenEXR: OpenEXR is a high dynamic-range (HDR) image file format developed by Industrial Light & Magic for use in computer imaging applications. About the Image Sequence Encoder Pane This section contains detailed information about the elements of the Image Sequence Encoder pane in the Inspector window. You make your image sequence settings using this pane, by either modifying an existing setting or creating a new setting in the Settings tab. Choose Image Sequence. Choose an image type.
• Frame Rate (fps): Use this field and pop-up menu to enter the frame rate at which you want the still images to be created. The higher the frame rate, the greater the number of still images created and the larger the output file. For example, if you choose 30 fps, Compressor creates 30 still images for every second of the video clip you are transcoding. If you choose 8 fps, Compressor creates only 8 still images per second.
4 In the Inspector, click the Encoder tab, then choose Image Sequence from the File Format pop-up menu. The Image Sequence Encoder pane appears. 5 Use the Image Type pop-up menu to choose one of the following image sequence types for the output media. For descriptions of these output types, see Creating Image Sequence Output Files. • TIFF • TARGA • DPX • IFF • JPEG • openEXR 6 Enter a number in the Frame Rate (fps) field, choose a frame rate from the pop-up menu, or click the Automatic button.
See About the Image Sequence Encoder Pane for more information about the Image Sequence Encoder pane. See About the Geometry Pane for more information about the Geometry pane. Note: You can see the current contents of your setting by viewing the Summary pane of the Inspector window.
Creating MP3 Output Files 16 Compressor provides the tools you need to create exceptional MP3 files. MP3 is a specific type of MPEG encoding known formally as MPEG audio layer 3. MP3 uses perceptual audio coding and psychoacoustic compression to remove all superfluous information (specifically the redundant and irrelevant parts of a sound signal that the human ear doesn’t hear anyway). The result is that MP3 encoding shrinks the original sound data from a CD (with a data rate of 1411.
Podcasts The MP3 format’s wide range of supported bit rates makes it ideal for delivering podcasts at a variety of quality levels, making it possible for users to choose a file size and quality level they are comfortable with. Note: For the most options when creating enhanced audio podcasts, use the MPEG-4 output format. You are able to add chapter and podcast markers with URLs and artwork to the output file. See Creating MPEG-4 Output Files for more information.
Some example settings and uses include: • 32 kbps: AM radio quality, suitable for medium-quality speech • 96 kbps: FM radio quality, suitable for high-quality speech or medium-quality music • 128 kbps: Suitable for good-quality music • 256 kbps and 320 kbps: Suitable for music that is near CD quality • Use Variable Bit Rate Encoding (VBR): This setting varies the number of bits used to store the music depending on the complexity of the music. This can help keep file size to a minimum.
Stage 3: Adding Annotations (If Needed) If you intend to play the MP3 files with a device or application, such as iTunes, you can add a variety of annotations, such as artist, album, title, and so on, that can be read and displayed. See Additional Information Tab for more information. Stage 4: Adding Targets with an MP3 Setting to Each of the Jobs Each of the jobs requires at least one target—in this case the jobs need targets with an MP3 setting.
Creating MPEG-1 Output Files 17 Compressor provides the tools you need to create exceptional MPEG-1 transcoded files. MPEG-1 is an internationally accepted compression standard developed by the Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG). MPEG-1 allows you to create VHS-quality video files and was designed to support SIF (Standard Interface Format) resolution noninterlaced (progressive) video using relatively low bit rates (Compressor supports 0.5 Mbps to 2 Mbps).
DVD, VCD, and CD-ROM MPEG-1 is the video compression format used for video CD (VCD) titles and is compatible for use on DVD titles since all DVD players contain the hardware required for MPEG-1 playback. MPEG-1 is commonly used in videos distributed on CD-ROM. Its low bit rate and small file sizes are useful when you must fit multiple hours of video onto a DVD and do not require the broadcast quality of MPEG-2 encoding. A DVD can contain a mix of MPEG-2 and MPEG-1 video.
• GOP length: 15 frames for NTSC; 12 frames for PAL These settings are fixed and apply to all Compressor MPEG-1 video output files. See GOP Tab for information about Group of Pictures (GOP) settings. See Quality Tab for information on the encoding mode. The MPEG-1 output files can have I-frames forced on specific frames by placing compression markers on them. These markers can be added to the source media file using Final Cut Pro or can be added manually in the Preview window.
• Video and Audio tabs: These buttons open the Video and Audio tabs described next. About the MPEG-1 Video Tab You use the Video tab to make settings related to the video format. The Automatic button • Enabled checkbox: Make sure this checkbox is selected if you want the MPEG-1 output format to include the Video tab settings. • Frame Rate pop-up menu: Choose the frame rate of the video you are encoding. • With Purpose set to Web: The choices are 23.976, 25 (PAL frame rate), 29.
• Bit Rate: Use this slider to choose the bit rate to use for the output video, or enter a number directly in the text field. While the available range is from 0.5 Mbps to 2.0 Mbps, the actual setting you should use depends on how the output is to be used. Higher bit rates produce better picture quality, but they also produce larger output files. • For web projects: Choose a bit rate that best balances the picture quality with file size and download expectations.
• Bit Rate pop-up menu: Choose the bit rate to use for the output audio. Choices are 64 kbps, 128 kbps, 192 kbps, 224 kbps, and 384 kbps. Higher bit rates produce higher quality audio, but they also produce larger output files. Note: The 224 kbps and 384 kbps settings are not available when Channels is set to Mono. About System and Elementary Streams You can use Compressor to create system or elementary MPEG-1 streams.
• Channels: Stereo with two-channel sources; Mono with one-channel sources • Bit rate: As low as you can set it and get acceptable audio quality; use higher bit rates when encoding stereo audio Encoding for DVD Use the following settings to configure two settings when encoding MPEG-1 elementary streams for DVD authoring. Video elementary stream setting (Video tab): • Frame rate: 29.97 for NTSC or 25 for PAL • Purpose: DVD • Bit rate: 1.
2 Name the new setting “MPEG-1 for Web.” Select to enable the Video tab. Click the Automatic button or choose a frame rate. Select Web to set the resolution to 320 x 240. Choose the bit rate. 3 Select the Enabled checkbox. 4 Click the Automatic button next to the Frame Rate pop-up menu. You can also choose 23.976, 29.97, or 25 from the Frame Rate pop-up menu if you know the frame rate of the source video. 5 Select the Web button. This sets the resolution of the output to 320 x 240.
2 Select the Enabled checkbox. 3 Choose 44.1 kHz from the Sample Rate pop-up menu. 4 Select Stereo when using two-channel audio sources, or Mono when using one-channel audio sources. 5 Choose the bit rate to use from the Bit Rate pop-up menu. 6 Click the Save button (in the lower-right corner of the Inspector) to save this setting. Configuring the MPEG-1 File Format for DVD Use The following sections guide you through configuring the MPEG-1 output file format for DVD use.
2 Name the new setting “MPEG-1 Video for DVD.” See Creating a Setting from Scratch for more information. Stage 2: Configuring the Video Settings This section describes configuring MPEG-1 video settings for DVD use. To open the MPEG-1 Encoder pane and configure the Video settings for DVD 1 Click the Encoder tab and choose MPEG-1 from the File Format pop-up menu. 2 Click the Video button in the MPEG-1 Encoder pane to open the Video tab. Select to enable the Video tab. The file extension changes to .
This ensures that this setting (preset) will only create an elementary video stream and sets the file extension to .m1v. Deselect to disable the Audio tab. 3 Click the Save button (in the lower-right corner of the Inspector) to save this setting. This saves the “MPEG-1 Video for DVD” setting. Creating the MPEG-1 Audio for DVD Setting The following sections create the setting for an MPEG-1 elementary audio output file suitable for DVD.
2 Click the Video button in the MPEG-1 Encoder pane to open the Video tab. The file extension changes to .m1a once the Video tab is disabled. Deselect to disable the Video tab. 3 Deselect the Enabled checkbox. This ensures that this preset will only create an elementary audio stream and sets the file extension to .m1a. Stage 3: Configuring the Audio Settings Use the following settings to create an MPEG-1 audio file for DVD.
The typical values used for DVD projects are 192 kbps and 224 kbps. 6 Click the Save button (in the lower-right corner of the Inspector) to save this setting. This saves the “MPEG-1 Audio for DVD” preset. Optional—Creating an MPEG-1 for DVD Group and Destination To make it easy to use these two MPEG-1 presets with a source, you can create an “MPEG-1 for DVD” preset group using them. See Creating Groups of Settings for more information.
Creating MPEG-2 Output Files 18 Compressor provides the tools you need to create exceptional MPEG-2 transcoded files. MPEG-2 is an internationally accepted compression standard developed by the Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG). MPEG-2 allows you to create broadcast-quality video files and was designed to support high-resolution, high bit-rate video. It is the video compression format used for high-quality video titles on DVD, HD broadcast, and home satellite dish systems.
The Compressor MPEG-2 encoder can create MPEG-2 video streams for the DVD-Video format. To create DVD-Video discs, you can use a DVD authoring application in conjunction with Compressor, or you can use the Create DVD job action, which is part of the Create DVD template. See About Job Actions and About the Batch Template Chooser for more information.
• Transport streams: These streams can contain several MPEG-2 content channels and associated audio. All the channels are multiplexed together, allowing the receiver to choose which to play back. Compressor supports creating single-channel transport streams that can optionally include associated audio. Transport streams can also recover from interruptions during playback, making them ideally suited for broadcast and streaming applications where noise or network congestion can lead to interruptions.
MPEG-2 Encoder Pane Basic Settings The MPEG-2 pane opens with the default Video Format tab on top and contains the following items. • Extension field: Displays the MPEG-2 file extension (.m2v) automatically after the MPEG-2 output format is chosen from the File Format pop-up menu. • Allow Job Segmenting: This checkbox allows you to turn off job segmenting. It is relevant only if you are using Compressor with distributed processing and with multi-pass encoding.
Video Format Tab You use the Video Format tab to make settings related to video formats, frame rates, aspect ratio, field dominance, and timecode. All of these, except the timecode setting, can be set to automatically configure themselves based on the video being encoded. The Video Format tab contains the following controls. • Video Format pop-up menu: Choose your output video file format as NTSC, PAL, 720p, HD 1440x1080, HD 1920x1080, or a variety of versions of 640 width formats.
Note: Since MPEG-2 uses fixed video frame sizes (see MPEG-2 Video Frame Sizes and Formats), Compressor enters the output frame size in the fields in the Geometry pane based on your video format selection. The video format you choose determines the options for the associated characteristics such as frame size and rate, aspect ratio, and field dominance. Note: The normal frame dimensions of standard definition (SD) NTSC digital video are 720 x 486.
• Field Dominance pop-up menu: Choose whether the top field or the bottom field of your interlaced source media file will be the dominant (first) field in the output MPEG-2 video file. If you choose Automatic (the default), Compressor analyzes the source video and attempts to determine field dominance automatically. The bottom field is dominant for DV source video. This setting does not pertain to the 720p video format, since that format must be progressive.
The Quality tab contains the following controls: Mode pop-up menu Motion Estimation pop-up menu Time estimate for a 4.7 GB disc with a stereo AIFF audio stream • Mode pop-up menu: Allows you to choose one of the following MPEG-2 encoding modes. High Definition (HD) quality modes will be “One pass VBR Best” or “Two pass VBR Best.” • One pass CBR: Using this mode, the output MPEG-2 video stream’s bit rate is held approximately constant from one GOP to the next.
• One pass VBR Best: This is similar to one-pass VBR, but with this mode, Compressor applies greater effort to its internal decision-making processes. Although one-pass VBR Best transcodes slower than one-pass VBR, it provides excellent to outstanding SD video quality at bit rates of 3 to 3.5 Mbps and above. Bit rates for HD MPEG-2 can range from 10–29 Mbps average, 12–29 Mbps maximum. Compared to one-pass VBR, one-pass VBR Best provides higher quality, especially for difficult material at low bit rates.
• Maximum Bit Rate slider and field: Choose the maximum bit rate by dragging the slider or entering a number into the accompanying field. See About Choosing the Bit Rates for more information. The range available to you depends on the Stream Usage setting. See Stream Usage for more information. Note: This slider is only available with the VBR modes and cannot be set lower than the average bit rate. It is also not available if the Automatic button is active.
Note: If you choose any of the HD video formats in the Video Format tab, the settings in the GOP tab cannot be changed and default to a closed IBBP GOP structure with a size of 12 (for PAL) or 15 (for NTSC). • GOP Structure pop-up menu: Choose an option from this pop-up menu to specify whether there will be two, one, or no B-frames between the reference frames within a GOP.
• Open and Closed buttons: Closed GOPs do not contain any frame that refers to a frame in the previous or next GOP, while open GOPs begin with one or more B-frames that reference the last P-frame of the previous GOP. Closed GOPs created by the Compressor MPEG-2 encoder begin with an I-frame. Select your GOP type (open or closed) based on whether and how you create chapter markers for DVD authoring and whether you intend to use multiple video angles in your title.
Extras Tab You use the Extras tab to control the inclusion or exclusion of specific MPEG-2 authoring information. The Extras tab contains the following controls. • Add DVD Studio Pro metadata: Selecting this checkbox allows Compressor to parse specific MPEG-2 authoring information during the transcoding process to accelerate the import process into DVD Studio Pro. However, these MPEG-2 files will be incompatible with versions of DVD Studio Pro 1.5 or earlier.
Important: Generic is the only Stream Usage setting that supports transport and program streams. Selecting the Multiplexed MPEG-1/Layer 2 Audio checkbox sets your stream usage to Generic if it is currently anything else. MPEG-2 Reference Information The following sections contain useful information for creating MPEG-2 output media files.
Video format Frame size (pixels) HD 1440 x 1080 Frame rate (fps) Aspect ratio Scanning method 1440 x 1080 23.98 (progressive only), 25, 29.97 16:9 Interlaced, progressive HD 1920 x 1080 1920 x 1080 23.98 (progressive only), 25, 29.97 16:9 Interlaced, progressive 640 x 480 (1.33) 640 x 480 23.98, 25, 29.97 4:3 or 16:9 Interlaced, progressive 640 x 360 (1.78) 640 x 360 23.98, 25, 29.97 4:3 or 16:9 Interlaced, progressive 640 x 352 (1.82) 640 x 352 23.98, 25, 29.
GOP Structure This setting specifies whether there will be two, one, or no B-frames between the reference frames within a GOP. GOP structure, along with GOP size, determines the number of I-, P-, and B-frames that will be used during transcoding. The GOP structure you choose depends on how far apart P-frames should be spaced.
By definition, closed GOPs cannot contain any frame that refers to a frame in the previous or next GOP. In contrast, open GOPs begin with one or more B-frames that reference the last P-frame of the previous GOP. Closed GOPs created by Compressor always begin with an I-frame. Open GOPs generally provide slightly better compression than do closed GOPs of the same structure and size. The illustration above shows that a closed GOP contains one more P-frame than does an open GOP of the same length.
Note: If your source video has a frame rate of 24.00 fps rather than 23.98 fps, Compressor skips one out of every 1000 source frames. If the 24p source video is 23.98 fps, Compressor transcodes all source frames, without skipping (or repeating) any of them. MPEG-2 Transcoding Workflow This section includes step-by-step instructions for setting your MPEG-2 attributes prior to creating MPEG-2 output files with Compressor.
The MPEG-2 Encoder pane opens in the Inspector window with the default Video Format tab displayed. Choose the type of MPEG-2 stream to create. Select the Automatic buttons to have the encoder match the source media file. Manually configure these settings if you do not intend to match the source media file. 2 Choose the setting from the Stream Usage pop-up menu that matches how you intend to use the encoded video.
4 Choose an aspect ratio from the Aspect Ratio pop-up menu or select its Automatic button. You must determine whether the intended shape of your source video is 4:3 (normal) or 16:9 (widescreen) before you can choose your aspect ratio. 5 Choose a field dominance setting based on your source media type from the Field Dominance pop-up menu. For example, for DV choose Bottom First. Or choose the Field Dominance Automatic button to let Compressor determine the correct setting.
3 Choose an average bit rate using the Average Bit Rate slider or field or click the Automatic button. Choose an appropriate bit rate based on the content and length of your source video and the intended size (in bytes) of your output file. In DVD authoring, the entire video must fit on the DVD disc—the lower the bit rate, the more data you can store. However, the higher the bit rate, the better the image quality will be.
Note: When “One pass VBR or “One pass VBR Best” is chosen for very short clips (less than a minute or two in length), the resulting MPEG-2 output file size may not accurately reflect the average bit rate you specified. If the MPEG-2 output media file is larger than you want, you can try transcoding it again at a lower average bit rate. Stage 3: Choosing GOP Settings Select a suitable GOP structure and size and decide whether you want the GOPs to be open or closed.
Working with MPEG-2 I-Frames The Compressor Preview window offers additional MPEG-2 transcoding flexibility by allowing you to manually insert I-frames into your output MPEG-2 file at any frame location, regardless of your chosen GOP pattern and size. These are known as forced I-frames, and may be useful for improving the quality of the MPEG-2 file in the vicinity of the scene change. See Understanding GOPs and Frame Types for more information on I-frames.
Example MPEG-2 Settings The following MPEG-2 settings can be used for most general MPEG-2 encoding situations. Open the MPEG-2 Encoder pane and click the appropriate buttons to access these tabs. Note: Be aware that many of the settings shown in this example are not suitable for all video input formats, nor for all encoding situations. Some alternative settings are shown in parentheses where appropriate. See the sections at the beginning of this chapter for details on how and when to use other settings.
Creating MPEG-4 Output Files 19 Compressor provides the tools you need to create exceptional MPEG-4 transcoded files. MPEG-4 Part 2 (known as MPEG-4 video in QuickTime 6) plays an important role in the evolution of standards for the Internet and wireless multimedia industries, where it has been widely adopted.
• High-quality video: A versatile transcoder that can be set to a target data rate and—using one-pass variable bit rate (VBR)—can maximize the highest-quality output or speed for the fastest possible transcode. • Advanced Audio Coding (AAC): MPEG-4 audio accommodates a wide variety of source audio, and brings true variable bit rate (VBR) audio transcoding to QuickTime.
• Allow Job Segmenting: This checkbox allows you to turn off job segmenting. It is relevant only if you are using Compressor with distributed processing and with multi-pass encoding. Since the MPEG-4 Part 2 format uses single-pass VBR, you can leave this checkbox selected in all cases for added speed gains with distributed processing. For more information, see Job Segmenting and Two-Pass or Multi-Pass Encoding.
• Frame Rate (fps) pop-up menu and field: Choose or enter a number to set the overall frame rate of your output media file, or click the Automatic button to have Compressor choose the frame rate.
• Medium: The audio quality is better than Low, but this takes longer to transcode. • High: This is the best audio quality setting available. Use this setting when the audio quality is important for the output media file and you don’t mind how long it takes to transcode. • Bit Rate slider and field: Move the slider to set the overall audio bit rate for your output media file between the range of 16 kbps (2 KB/sec.) and 320 kbps (40 KB/sec.), or enter a specific number in the accompanying field.
Using Default MPEG-4 Part 2 Settings If you don’t need to customize the video and audio settings of your MPEG-4 Part 2 file, you can use the “quick-and-easy” method to transcode your source media files. This consists of accepting the default MPEG-4 Part 2 output format settings. Default Video Pane Settings These are the default video settings for MPEG-4 Part 2 output media files. • Video Enabled: Selected • Video compression: H.264 baseline profile • Frame Rate: 29.
Default Streaming Pane Settings These are the default streaming settings for MPEG-4 Part 2 output media files. • Streaming hints enabled: Selected • Packet Maximum Size: 1,450 bytes • Packet Maximum Duration: 100 milliseconds See Streaming Pane for more information. If these settings are acceptable to you, there is nothing further that you need to do, and you can begin transcoding source media files immediately.
The MPEG-4 Encoder pane opens, displaying mp4 in the File Extension field, and the default Video pane. 2 Adjust the MPEG-4 video settings using the available controls. Note: Make sure the Video Enabled checkbox is selected. See Video Pane for details about MPEG-4 Part 2 video settings. If you don’t want to edit any other attributes, your MPEG-4 setting can be assigned to any source media file in the usual way. See Preparing Compressor for Transcoding with Custom Settings for more information.
If you don’t want to edit any other attributes, your MPEG-4 setting can be assigned to any source media file in the usual way. See Preparing Compressor for Transcoding with Custom Settings for more information. Otherwise, go to the next stage to edit streaming settings. Stage 3: Editing MPEG-4 Streaming Settings You edit MPEG-4 streaming settings in the Streaming pane. To open the Streaming pane and edit the streaming settings 1 Click the Streaming button to open the Streaming pane.
Stage 1: Configuring the MPEG-4 Output for Audio-Only Output Follow the steps below to configure MPEG-4 settings for audio-only output (such as podcasts). To open the MPEG-4 Encoder pane and configure it for audio-only output media files 1 In the Inspector window, click the Encoder pane and choose MPEG-4 from the File Format pop-up menu. 2 Click the Video button to open the Video pane. 3 Deselect the Video Enabled checkbox. 4 Click the Audio button to open the Audio pane.
This checkbox is available only when you have deselected Video Enabled in the Video pane. Selecting this checkbox ensures that any annotations you add, as well as any chapter and podcast markers with their artwork and URLs, are embedded with the output media file. 2 Save the setting so that you can apply it to a source media file’s target.
The item appears in the Annotation column. 5 Double-click the item’s Value column to type in the text annotation. 6 Repeat this for each annotation item you want to add to the output media file. See Using the Inspector with Source Media Files for more information. While you have the job selected, you can optionally use the Job Action tab to have the output media file automatically added to a playlist in the iTunes library. For more information, see Adding Actions and About Job Actions.
Creating QuickTime Export Component Files 20 You can use Compressor to output a variety of additional formats using the QuickTime component plug-in feature. This chapter discusses how to take advantage of the QuickTime component plug-in feature, which opens up a wide variety of additional file formats that Compressor can output from your source media files. This chapter covers the following: • Creating QuickTime Export Component Output Files (p. 231) • Installing QuickTime Export Component Plug-ins (p.
Installing QuickTime Export Component Plug-ins With no additional third-party software, Compressor currently supports transcoding to 3G, AVI, and iPod. The export component feature in Compressor was developed to make it possible to add additional export plug-ins in the future. You would simply install the third-party software and then choose the corresponding output file format from the Encoder Type pop-up menu in the QuickTime Export Components Encoder pane of the Inspector window.
About the QuickTime Export Components Encoder Pane The following options appear when you choose the QuickTime Export Components output format from the File Format pop-up menu in the Encoder pane of the Inspector window: Choose QuickTime Export Components. File Extension field Choose an encoder plug-in. Click to see the options for the encoder plug-in. • File Extension: This field indicates the file extension for the output format selected from the Encoder Type menu.
3 Click the Options button (if active) in the Encoder pane. The Settings window for that particular output file format opens. Configure settings for the QuickTime export component. Important: Use the third-party export module user interface to explicitly enter the width, height, and frame rate for the output file. Do not leave the width, height, and frame rate fields in the third-party user interface at their default (“current”) values. 4 Click OK to save your settings and close this dialog.
Creating QuickTime Movie Output Files 21 Compressor provides the tools you need to create QuickTime media files. QuickTime is cross-platform multimedia technology and allows Mac OS applications to capture and play back video, audio, and still-image files. QuickTime supports a wide variety of codecs and can also be extended to accommodate additional codec options and third-party codecs. See Creating QuickTime Export Component Output Files for more information about additional QuickTime export options.
QuickTime Media Files for the Web You can play your output media files over the web with QuickTime, once they are compressed to a data rate appropriate for the bandwidth you expect the users to have. You can do this by making your output media files either QuickTime Fast Start movies (pre-buffered download) or QuickTime Streaming movies. Compressor allows you to choose different streaming options via the Streaming pop-up menu in the QuickTime Encoder pane.
• Video Settings and Audio Settings: These buttons open the QuickTime Compression Settings and Sound Settings dialogs. Use these dialogs to select suitable codecs and change other video or audio compression settings. See About the Sound Settings Dialog and About the Compression Settings Dialog for more information on these dialogs. • Enabled/Disabled/Pass-through: Use these pop-up menus to enable or disable Video and Audio settings.
Note: This checkbox does not affect the actual pixels in the output file—it only controls whether information is added to the file that a player can use to hide the edges of the picture. • If the checkbox is selected: Information is added to the output file that defines how many pixels to hide to ensure that no undesirable artifacts appear along the edges. When the output file is played using QuickTime Player, this setting can result in the pixel aspect ratio being slightly altered.
All codecs are compatible with QuickTime, but if you intend to play back the output media file using QuickTime Player, the following delivery codecs are recommended: • AAC • IMA 4:1 See QuickTime Audio Codecs for more information about audio codecs. Chapter and Podcast Markers for QuickTime Output Chapter markers created in Final Cut Pro are passed through (transferred) to other output files that can be recognized by QuickTime Player, iTunes (.m4v files), and Final Cut Pro.
Compression Selection The compression selection, located at the top of the window, defines which settings are active in the rest of the window. • Compression Type: Use this pop-up menu to choose the video codec you want to add to your preset. Motion Area The Motion area settings are only active for some codecs. • Frame Rate: With this pop-up menu, you can reduce the frame rate of your original file to reduce the size of the compressed file.
Compressor Area The Compressor area changes based on the codec chosen with the Compression Type pop-up menu. • Options button: This button remains dimmed unless the codec you selected from the Compression type pop-up menu offers options. It is recommended that you contact the manufacturers of these codecs directly for more information about the additional options they offer. Preview Area The Preview area is not used.
• Show Advanced Settings: This checkbox remains dimmed unless the codec you selected from the Format pop-up menu offers options. It is recommended that you contact the manufacturers of these codecs directly for more information about the additional options they offer. QuickTime Audio Sample Sizes and Rates If you have the disk space and bandwidth, it is best to leave your audio uncompressed. Uncompressed audio normally uses 8-bit (phone quality) or 16-bit (CD quality) samples.
The default QuickTime Encoder pane appears, containing the Video and Audio Settings buttons, Enable pop-up menus, the Streaming pop-up menu, the Options button (dimmed), and the Summary table. See About the QuickTime Movie Encoder Pane for more information. Note: Make sure that the Enable pop-up menus next to the Settings buttons are set to Enabled if you want those settings included in the transcoding.
The Compression Settings dialog opens. Choose a video codec from the Compression Type pop-up menu. 2 Choose a video codec from the Compression Type pop-up menu and either accept its defaults or customize the other settings (in the Motion, Data Rate, and Compressor areas). See any of the following for more information about video codecs: • Video Codec Settings • About the Compression Settings Dialog • QuickTime Video Codecs Note: You can see the current contents of your setting by viewing the Summary table.
The Sound Settings dialog opens. Choose an audio codec from the Format pop-up menu. 2 Choose an audio codec from the Format pop-up menu and either accept its defaults or customize the other audio codec settings (Format, Channels, Rate, and Options, if available).
Understanding Codecs Codec stands for compressor (CO)/decompressor (DEC) pairs. You use different codecs for different playback methods (such as the web or DVD). Once you know the playback method of your target audience, you can pick a suitable codec. To decide which codec is right for your needs, you must choose the necessary level of compression to meet your data rate limits and the level of quality you want. The following sections discuss issues to be aware of when selecting a video or audio codec.
• Lossy codecs: In comparison to lossless codecs, lossy codecs return only an approximation of the data and are usually used to deliver finalized video to an end user. The level of approximation is determined by the quality of the codec. Typically there is a tradeoff between the output quality of the codec and its achievable level of compression. With some codecs, a compression ratio of at least 5:1 can be reached without visible degradation. An example of a lossy codec is the Photo-JPEG codec.
Sound Sample Size The sound sample size determines the dynamic range of the sound. 8-bit sound provides for 256 possible values, whereas 16-bit sound allows for more than 65,000 possible values. Choose 16-bit sound for music that has both soft and loud sections, such as orchestral music. For spoken voice or music that has a more or less constant volume level, choosing 8-bit sound can still yield good results. If you need to shrink your media file, you can reduce the sample size from 16 bits to 8 bits.
Adding Filters to a Setting 22 Compressor comes with a variety of filters (such as color correction and noise removal filters) that you can use to adjust the details of your transcoding projects. This chapter covers the following: • Working with Filters (p. 249) • About the Filters Pane (p. 251) • Video Filters Tab (p. 252) • Audio Filters Tab (p. 259) • Color Tab (p. 261) • Adding Filters to a Setting (p.
Previewing Filters You can preview a clip containing your current filter settings by clicking the target in the Batch window to open it in the Preview window. The Preview screen is split into original and transcoded versions of your media file so that you can see or hear the effects of your filter settings before processing the batch (as long as the checkbox for that particular filter is selected). Adjustments you make can be viewed in the Preview window.
Color Spaces Compressor supports the following color spaces: YUV (R408), 2VUY, RGBA, ARGB, and YUV (v210). Some filters require a color space conversion and some filters can handle various color spaces. For each media file, Compressor chooses the most suitable color space to provide the best output and performance results based on the color space of three attributes: the source media format, the output file format, and chosen filters.
Note: Once you make any adjustment to a filter, its checkbox is automatically selected. If you decide that you no longer want to use that filter, be sure to deselect that particular filter’s checkbox before transcoding. • Filters list: Select the checkbox next to the filters you want to add to your presets. Filter settings you select appear in the Summary table in the Summary pane. You can reorder filters by dragging them up or down in the Filters list.
Brightness and Contrast Alters the overall color and luminance values of your output media file to a brighter or darker level. Some QuickTime codecs darken your video file, so you can use this filter to compensate for that. Choose any number between –100 and 100, but avoid the extreme settings as they give a very washed-out quality. • Brightness: Adjusts brightness to any number between –100 and 100. • Contrast: Adjusts contrast to any number between –100 and 100.
The following (legacy) deinterlacing methods are available in the Algorithm pop-up menu. • Algorithm: Choose from one of four deinterlacing methods. • Blur: Blends the odd and even fields together. This setting gives more importance to temporal data and preserves motion better, but because individual frames consist of a composite of both frames, they don’t look good when you pause playback. • Even: Keeps the even fields and ignores the odd fields, avoiding motion blur.
Gamma Correction Controls the overall brightness of an image as displayed on a monitor by changing the gamma amount of the media file. This filter can be used to remove detail from an underexposed clip or reduce an overexposed clip’s saturation to an acceptable level without washing out the image too much. Computers using different operating systems have different monitor settings. For cross-platform viewing, correcting the gamma will improve the image for all platforms.
• Background color well: Sets the letterbox color. Click this box to choose a background color from the color picker. Noise Removal Reduces random flecks of noise from the image. Some codecs introduce noise into the video file, which can be softened with the Noise Removal filter. You can improve image quality and spatially compress your material more efficiently by reducing its fine detail. The noise reduction filter allows you to blur areas of low contrast while leaving high-contrast edges sharp.
Sharpen Edge Enhances the image contrast around object edges. Some codecs blur the video image, so this filter can counteract the softening effect of noise removal or blurred source material and increase the perception of sharpness in the image. When used to an extreme, the output media file can look grainy. Choose any number between 0 and 100. • Amount: Sets a sharpen setting between 0.0 and 100.0. Text Overlay Superimposes text onto the image.
Timecode Generator Superimposes the clip’s timecode text onto the image. You can also add a label to the timecode text. • Position: Positions timecode text in the image clip. Choose from 1 of 13 positions such as Center, Lower Left, Lower Left - Title Safe, and so on. • Alpha: This slider sets the timecode text opacity. Choose between 0 and 1. A value of 0 makes the text completely transparent, while a value of 1 makes it completely opaque.
• Alpha: This slider sets the watermark image opacity. Choose between 0 and 1. A value of 0 makes the watermark image completely transparent, while a value of 1 makes it completely opaque. • Repeat checkbox: Used when you choose a clip as the watermark, this checkbox allows you to have the watermark clip loop its playback. If you don’t select this checkbox, the watermark clip plays until its end and then disappears.
Apple: AUGraphicEQ Allows you to use the Apple AUGraphicEQ to shape a wide variety of frequencies throughout the audible frequency range. You have the choice of a 31-band or a 10-band version. • Options button: Opens the Apple: AUGraphicEQ interface. • Apple: AUGraphicEQ: You can use a pop-up menu in the equalizer’s interface to choose to use the 31-band or 10-band version of the equalizer.
Note: When using the Fade In/Out and Dynamic Range filters at the same time, be sure to have the Dynamic Range filter ahead of the Fade In/Out filter in the filter list. • Fade In Duration: Sets the duration of the mix from the gain value to the clip’s normal audio level at the start of the clip. • Fade Out Duration: Sets the duration of the mix from the clip’s normal audio level to the gain value at the end of the clip. • Fade In Gain: Sets the level that the mix starts with. A value of –100.
Adding Filters to a Setting You use the Filters pane in the Inspector window to add filters to your settings. To add filters to a setting 1 Open the Settings tab. 2 Select the setting in the Settings tab that you want to modify. (Or select a setting already applied to a source media file in the Batch window. This way, you can open the Preview window and see the effects of your filter adjustments.) 3 Click the Filters pane in the Inspector.
Because these filters are processed one by one during transcoding—starting with the first item in the list—it is important that your filters be organized in the order you want them. For example, it is sensible to place your text overlay filter last, so that the text color you selected doesn’t get modified by some other filter. If you move a filter, be sure to select the checkbox so that Compressor knows to apply the filter to that setting.
Working with Frame Controls 23 Frame controls use advanced image analysis for retiming, resizing, and other sophisticated video effects. Through frame controls, Compressor offers high-quality transcoding from many different source formats to many different target formats using advanced image analysis. This chapter covers the following: • About the Frame Controls Pane (p. 265) • Adding Frame Controls to a Setting (p. 270) • About Deinterlacing (p. 271) • About Reverse Telecine (p.
Important: Frame Controls settings cannot be previewed in the Preview window. To preview Frame Controls settings, do a test transcode of a small section of your source media file. (See Transcoding a Portion of the Clip with the Preview Window for more information.) Use the following features in the Frame Controls pane of the Inspector to select and adjust frame controls attributes that you want to assign to your settings.
• Transcoding from interlaced sources to H.264 for Apple Devices (progressive) output files Resizing Controls Area Use the controls in this area to choose the algorithm with which frames are resized. • Resize Filter: Use this pop-up menu to choose from the following resizing options. This decision is a trade-off between faster processing time and higher output quality in projects that involve a change in resolution. • Fast (Nearest pixel): This option provides the fastest processing time.
For general information about deinterlacing, see About Deinterlacing. Important: Using all Best settings may result in unexpectedly long processing times. If you are reducing the frame size in addition to deinterlacing the frame, Fast or Better will likely provide sufficiently high quality, depending on the amount of downward resizing. Note: While the Deinterlace pop-up menu is always active, Compressor only deinterlaces jobs that need it.
• Details Level: Use this slider to set a level (from 0 to 100) to preserve sharp edges. This is a sharpening control that lets you add detail back to an image being enlarged. Unlike other sharpening operations, the Details Level setting is able to distinguish between noise and feature details, and generally doesn’t increase unwanted grain. Increasing this parameter may introduce jagged edges, however, which can be eliminated by increasing the Anti-alias level.
• Set Duration to: Use this to choose one of three methods to convert the clip’s duration to a new duration. Selection pop-up menu • Percent of source: Use this to enter a percentage value to modify the clip’s speed or choose a specific situation from the pop-up menu. For more information about the options in this radio button, see Entering a Percentage. • Total duration: Use this to choose a duration for the clip. For more information about the options in this radio button, see Entering a Duration.
2 Select the setting in the Settings tab that you want to modify. (Or select a setting already applied to a source media file in the Batch window.) 3 Click the Frame Controls tab in the Inspector window. 4 Choose On from the Frame Controls pop-up menu. Choosing On allows you to manually adjust all the attributes in the Frame Controls pane. Note: If the Automatic button is active, you will first need to click it to turn it off. 5 Make changes to any of the controls in the Frame Controls pane.
Because interlacing creates two fields for each frame, areas with fast movement within the field become separated into alternating jagged lines. You can view your source media one frame at a time and check for horizontal stripes along the leading and trailing edges of moving objects. If you find these, you need to deinterlace your source media to convert it to a frame-based format. Interlacing creates a “comb” effect that should be removed.
About Reverse Telecine The most common approach to distributing film’s 24 fps among NTSC video’s 29.97 fps is to perform a 3:2 pull-down (also known as a 2:3:2:3 pull-down). If you alternate recording two fields of one film frame and then three fields of the next, the 24 frames in 1 second of film end up filling the 30 frames in 1 second of video. A B A A B B Field Field Field 1 2 1 Field 2 C B C C D D D D Field Field Field Field Field Field 1 2 1 2 1 2 3:2 Pull-Down Before (23.
The lower frame rate also has the advantage of requiring fewer frames per second of video, leading to smaller file sizes. The reverse telecine feature makes it easy to do this. 3:2 Pull-Down Removal One second Before (29.97 fps) A A B B B C C DDD A A B B B C C D DD A A B B B C C DD D A A B B B C C DD D A A B B B C CDDD A A B B B C CDDD After (23.
About Reverse Telecine and Segmented Encoding Because of the unpredictable nature of the processing when reversing the telecine, segmented encoding does not work as efficiently as it does when reverse telecine is not being used. About Pausing the Transcode Process If you pause the transcode process, the transcode must start from the beginning when you restart it. Creating PAL Video During the Reverse Telecine Process It is a common practice to convert 23.
Important: If you are using retiming controls on a setting using the QuickTime Movie output format and choose “Pass-through” for the audio setting, the audio does not have its speed changed and will not maintain sync with the video. See About the QuickTime Movie Encoder Pane for more information. Converting Video to a New Speed The retiming controls give you three options for determining the playback speed.
• 24 @ 23.98: Use this setting when you have 24 fps video and want to convert it to 23.98 fps for NTSC DVD distribution. With all these options, no intermediate video frames are required—the existing frames are just set to play back faster or slower. Entering a Duration The duration field shows the clip’s current duration. As you change the duration, the percentage value changes to reflect that change.
Adding Geometry Settings 24 You can make advanced adjustments to your settings with the Geometry pane of the Inspector window. This chapter covers the following: • Working with Cropping, Scaling, and Padding (p. 279) • About the Geometry Pane (p. 281) • Making Geometry Adjustments to a Setting (p. 285) Working with Cropping, Scaling, and Padding The Geometry pane provides three different methods you can use to affect the output image. Cropping When you crop an image, you are removing video content.
The cropping settings are in the Source Inset (Cropping) section of the Geometry pane. Scaling Scaling provides a way to alter the output video file’s frame size without removing any of the source image. Most often, scaling involves shrinking your output media image size to save storage space or reduce the bit rate. Compressor offers four basic methods for scaling the image size of an output media file.
There are also several common padding settings you can choose from, such as 16 x 9 and Panavision. These make it easy to have Compressor automatically enter padding values to ensure the source image retains its original aspect ratio. The padding settings are in the Output Image Inset (Padding) section of the Geometry pane. About the Geometry Pane You use the Geometry pane to choose cropping and sizing settings, output media file sizes, and the aspect ratio (the ratio between image frame width and height).
Note: If you want to transcode a normal size standard definition (SD) source media file (720 x 486) using an MPEG-2 NTSC setting, your output media file will be automatically cropped (two pixels from the top and four from the bottom) to achieve the MPEG-2 required dimensions of 720 x 480, unless you already specified cropping attributes. This crop attribute is only temporary and is not saved in the setting.
Dimensions (Encoded Pixels) Settings The settings in the Dimensions section are only active when using the MPEG- 4, QuickTime Movie, and Image Sequence output encoding formats. For other formats, the settings are dimmed but show the settings that will be used when the batch is submitted. • Frame Size Width and Height fields: These text fields and associated pop-up menus allow you to customize the frame size and aspect ratio of your output media file.
• 1280x720: Defines an output dimension of exactly 1280 x 720. • 1920x1080: Defines an output dimension of exactly 1920 x 1080. • Custom: This is a manually created setting. Enter whichever dimensions suit your needs in the Width and Height fields. This setting has no constraint on the aspect ratio. • Custom (4:3): This manual setting is constrained to the 4:3 aspect ratio. Enter a value in either the Width or the Height field, and the other value is entered automatically.
Output Image Inset (Padding) Settings Use the following settings to apply and adjust padding. • Padding pop-up menu: Use this pop-up menu to choose one of the following options. • Custom: Allows you to manually enter values in the Left, Right, Top, and Bottom fields. • Preserve source aspect ratio: Pads the image so that the original aspect ratio is maintained. • 4x3 1.33:1: Uses a 4 x 3 aspect ratio. • 16x9 1.78:1: Uses a 16 x 9 aspect ratio. • 4x3 1.33:1: Uses a 4 x 3 aspect ratio. • Panavision 2.
2 Select the setting in the Settings tab that you want to modify. (Or select a setting already applied to a source media file in the Batch window.) 3 Click the Geometry tab in the Inspector. 4 Enter your source inset (cropping) settings, choose output size dimensions from the Frame Size pop-up menu, and choose padding settings from the output image inset section. You can see all changes you make to your setting by viewing the Summary table in the Summary pane.
Note: There are two ways to adjust frame size. You can either enter numbers in the cropping fields or drag the red frame bars in the Preview window. Using the latter method, the resulting numbers dynamically appear in the cropping fields so that you can see a numerical representation of your frame cropping. Hold down the Shift key to constrain the crop to either the source aspect ratio, the source height, or the source width.
Adding Actions 25 You can create automatic post-transcoding actions and apply them to jobs and settings (and thereby also individual targets). Post-transcoding actions simplify and accelerate your day-to-day workflow and make it easy to share your work with others. You can quickly create and deliver output media files for the iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, the web, and YouTube without having to open any additional applications.
About the Actions Pane You can use the Actions pane in the Inspector to set options related to transcode completion notification emails and default destinations. The Actions pane contains the following items. • Email Notification to: If you want to be notified when a particular transcoding job has been completed, select this checkbox and enter the appropriate email address in the text field. (You can enter only one email address.
3 Select the “Email Notification to” checkbox and enter the relevant email address in the accompanying field. Note: To enable this email feature, you must first enter an email address and outgoing mail server in Compressor preferences. (Choose Compressor > Preferences. You may need to close and reopen Compressor for any email preference changes to function.) 4 Optionally, you can click Save or Save As to save this email configuration to this setting.
3 Click the Job Action tab to open it. The Job Action tab consists of a single “When job completes” pop-up menu. The list below details the purpose of each option in this pop-up menu. For a detailed description of the user interface for each option, see About Job Actions. • “When job completes” pop-up menu: Use this pop-up menu to select and apply a post-transcoding action for a job selected in the Batch window. • Do Nothing: Choose this option to disable the Job Action tab.
• Publish to Facebook: Compressor will create a video file suitable for viewing on Facebook and upload it to a Facebook account. • Publish to Vimeo: Compressor will create a video file suitable for viewing on Vimeo and upload it to a Vimeo account. • Publish to CNN iReport: Compressor will create a video file suitable for viewing on CNN iReport and upload it to a CNN iReport account. • Send Email: Compressor will send an email using the information you enter.
Create DVD Use this form to enter information and settings for the DVD you want to burn. • Output Device pop-up menu: Use this pop-up menu to choose the device to format to. The pop-up menu displays a list of your system’s suitable output devices, including optical drives and the computer’s hard disk. Choose Hard Drive to create a disk image (.img) file that you can burn to DVD media at a later time using the Disk Utility application (available in the Utilities folder).
• Title field: Use this field to enter a name for the program on the DVD. • When Disc Loads pop-up menu: Use this pop-up menu to choose what happens when the disc loads in the player. • Show Menu: Choose this option to show the menu. • Play Movie: Choose this option to play the movie. • Use Chapter Marker Text as Subtitles checkbox: Select this checkbox to have marker text appear as subtitles. This is particularly useful for creating DVD dailies.
You choose whether to burn a Blu-ray disc or an AVCHD disc by your choice in the Output Device pop-up menu. The setting descriptions below identify which items do not apply to AVCHD discs. • Output Device pop-up menu: Use this pop-up menu to choose the device to format to. The pop-up menu displays a list of your system’s suitable output devices, including optical drives and the computer’s hard disk. Each device also includes the words Blu-ray or AVCHD to indicate which type of disc it creates.
• Dual-layer: Use this to identify the disc as a dual-layer disc. You can use this to force the disk image to be formatted for a dual-layer disc when you choose Hard Drive as your output device. Selecting “Dual-layer” when using a single-layer disc may result in an error while burning the disc, depending on the project’s length. • Disc Template pop-up menu: Use this pop-up menu to choose a menu template for the Blu-ray disc. • Title field: Use this field to enter a name for the program on the Blu-ray disc.
Create Web Reference Movie Use this form to create a reference movie that enables a web browser and a server to automatically select the right movie for any device or connection speed, without requiring the viewer to make a choice. • Web reference movie destination field and button: Use this field and the associated Choose button to define a destination folder for the output web reference movie. Click the button to open a dialog for locating and selecting the folder.
Open with Application Use this form to specify an application to open the output media file. • Open With pop-up menu: Use this menu to either confirm or select the application that will open the output media file. Prepare for HTTP Live streaming Use this form to create a set of files you can use to stream audio and video to iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, and Mac, using an ordinary web server.
• Segment Duration number field: Enter a value (in seconds) to define the segment lengths for the media. This value defines how the video streams are split into chunks. This segmentation defines when the web server can switch between the various video formats while streaming to a device with varying network connection speeds. A smaller value allows the server to respond more quickly to changing connection speeds.
Note: To upload multiple YouTube output media files in one batch, create a separate job for each output media file. Important: You must complete all fields for successful uploading. • Username: Use this field to enter a YouTube username. • Password: Use this field to enter a YouTube password. • Title: Use this field to enter the name of the movie you are publishing. • Description: Use this field to enter a description of the movie you are publishing.
Note: To upload multiple Facebook output media files in one batch, create a separate job for each output media file. Important: You must complete all fields for successful uploading. • Email: Use this field to enter the email address for a Facebook account. • Password: Use this field to enter a Facebook password. • Title: Use this field to enter the name of the movie you are publishing. • Description: Use this field to enter a description of the movie you are publishing.
Note: To upload multiple Vimeo output media files in one batch, create a separate job for each output media file. Important: You must complete all fields for successful uploading. • Email: Use this field to enter the email address for a Vimeo account. • Password: Use this field to enter a Vimeo password. • Title: Use this field to enter the name of the movie you are publishing. • Description: Use this field to enter a description of the movie you are publishing.
Note: To upload multiple CNN iReport output media files in one batch, create a separate job for each output media file. Important: You must complete all fields for successful uploading. • Email: Use this field to enter the email address for a CNN iReport account. • Password: Use this field to enter a CNN iReport password. • Subject: Use this field to enter the name of the movie you are publishing. • Body: Use this field to enter a description of the movie you are publishing.
Send Email Use this form to enter information for an email that is composed when the job completes. This email contains the actual output file and opens in Mail so that you can further edit the email’s contents and other settings. Once you are done editing the email, you can click Send. • Send To: Enter the email address to where you want the email to be sent. You can enter multiple email addresses, separated by a comma. • Send From: Enter the email address you want the email to be sent from.
Note: Before you can publish to Podcast Producer, you or your server administrator need to first set up a podcast server. • Account Configure button: Click this button to identify the server and enter your name and password. • Workflow pop-up menu: Choose an option from the Workflow pop-up menu. The actual workflow options depend on how Podcast Producer is configured on its server. • Title: Type the movie title you want viewers to see. • Description: Type the movie description you want viewers to see.
Using the Preview Window 26 The Preview window has two main roles. You can use it to play your source media file in its original format, or you can preview your source media file with whichever settings have been assigned to it. This chapter covers the following: • About the Preview Window (p. 307) • Previewing a Clip (p. 313) • Transcoding a Portion of the Clip with the Preview Window (p. 318) • Working with Markers and Poster Frames (p. 319) • About the Preview Window Keyboard Shortcuts (p.
You can also use the Preview window to enlarge the Preview screen size, manually add I-frames (MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 only), and designate a portion of your media file for transcoding using the In and Out markers. The Preview window allows you to play batch items before submitting them for transcoding and allows you to compare versions of your clip to ensure that the quality of the output media file is acceptable.
Batch Item Selection Control Area You can use the batch item selection area to choose specific items from the Batch window to show in the Preview window. Batch Item selection buttons Batch Item pop-up menu • Batch Item selection buttons: Use these buttons to click backward or forward through the list of source media files and clips with settings available for previewing. As you click through the list, the selected batch item appears in the Batch Item pop-up menu.
Preview Screen Area The Preview screen area displays the currently selected batch item. Split screen slider Cropping dimensions (also seen in Source Inset fields in the Geometry pane) Cropping boundary Cropping handle for the lower-right corner The Preview screen also contains the following items. • Split screen slider: Drag the split screen slider any distance across the top of the Preview screen to get a comparison view between the source media file (left side) and output media file (right side).
Note: If your source media file has a timecode track with a specific timecode, the timecode of the clip will appear in the playback timecode field. For everything else, the timecode will start with 00:00:00:00. • In and Out points: Use these if you want to transcode only a section of your source media file, rather than the whole thing. Drag the points to indicate the Start and End points within the source media file that you want to transcode.
Transport Controls These move the playhead backward or forward to the exact position of the next marker or In and Out point, making it easy to navigate quickly between existing markers. You can also use these buttons to quickly move the playhead to the start or end of the clip. Play/Pause Move to next marker Move to previous marker Playback Loop button Fast Backward Fast Forward • Play/Pause button: Starts or stops playback of the clip.
• Add/Remove marker: Actual state depends on whether or not the playhead is positioned on a marker. • When the playhead is not positioned on a marker: Choosing “Add marker” places a new marker on the timeline at the playhead’s current position. • When the playhead is positioned on a marker: Choosing “Remove marker” deletes the current marker. • Edit: Available only when the playhead is positioned on a marker. Choosing Edit opens a dialog for configuring the marker.
Note: You can open your file into the Preview window in one step by double-clicking the source media file in its job in the Batch window. 2 Do one of the following: • Choose a source media file from the Batch Item pop-up menu (identified by its filename). Selects the default color bars image. The original source media file “Nancy at table CU 5.” A setting applied to the source media file “Nancy at table CU 5.” The checkmark indicates that this is currently being viewed in the Preview window.
2 Do one of the following: • Choose a setting from the Batch Item pop-up menu (the indented setting names, not the source filenames). • Click the Batch Item selection buttons until the clip with a setting appears in the pop-up menu. • Select the clip’s setting in its job in the Batch window. Both Source and Setting (Output) View buttons are active so you can switch between these two views. Because you selected a setting, you can use the split screen slider and cropping boundary in the Preview window.
Note: The more you reduce the clip image by cropping it, the larger the scale factor of the output image will be (as the framing geometry conforms to the settings of the output size ratio rather than to the source file settings). This effect is similar to zooming in on an image, which results in larger pixels and overall image degradation. So make sure that you don’t crop in so far that the image is enlarged past its original size relative to the original size of the frame.
9 If you want to make the display frame size of your output media file different from that of your source media file, open the Geometry pane in the Inspector window and choose a preexisting value from the Frame Size pop-up menu or enter different output size values in the relevant fields. Note: MPEG-2 is limited to preestablished display frame sizes based on MPEG-2 specifications. In this instance, all output size items are unavailable.
Playing Dolby Digital Professional (AC-3) Files in the Preview Window You can use the Preview window to play back Dolby Digital Professional (AC-3) files. Compressor includes a Dolby Digital decoder so that when you add an AC-3 source media file to a batch and play it, you are able to hear it using your computer’s current speakers.
• Drag the playhead to where you want transcoding to begin and click the Set In Point button. In point Playhead Out point Set In Point button Set Out Point button 4 Do one of the following: • Drag the Out point to the appropriate location. • Drag the playhead to where you want transcoding to end and click the Set Out Point button. The only segment of the media file that will be transcoded is between the two points that you set. The rest of the clip will not be transcoded.
• QuickTime Movies • H.264 for Apple Devices You can set and configure markers for other output file formats, but they will not be included in the encoded output file. Types of Markers Compressor can import and create the following types of markers. • Chapter markers: Chapter markers allow easy access to index points throughout a DVD, QuickTime movie, or video podcast. QuickTime Player can interpret any text track containing time stamps as a chapter track.
2 Choose the Show Chapter/Podcast Markers item from the Marker pop-up menu, so that there is a checkmark by it. 3 Choose a clip from the Batch Item pop-up menu or click the Batch Item selection button until the clip you want appears in the pop-up menu. 4 Do one of the following to determine where the marker is to be placed: • Drag the playhead where you want to add a marker. • Enter a timecode value in the playhead timecode field.
7 Enter a name for the chapter marker in the Name field. For chapter markers, this name appears in the output media file where it can be seen with QuickTime Player and in playback devices. 8 If you want to assign an image to the chapter marker, choose one of the following from the Image pop-up menu: • None: No image is associated with the marker. • Frame in source: By default, the frame displayed is the frame on which the marker is placed.
3 Choose Import Chapter List from the Marker pop-up menu. A file selection dialog opens so that you can locate and select the chapter marker file for that source media file. 4 Select the chapter marker file and click Open. The markers are imported and added to the Preview window timeline. Note: While all markers imported by using a chapter marker list are configured as chapter markers, you can use the marker edit dialog to change them to podcast or compression markers.
A dialog for editing the marker appears. 5 Choose Compression or Podcast from the Type pop-up menu. 6 Enter a name for the marker in the Name field. For podcast markers, this name does not appear to the viewer. 7 Optionally, enter a URL in the URL field. This URL applies only to podcasts. The marker’s name appears over the artwork where the viewer can click it to open a web browser to the URL’s website.
Creating Plain Text Chapter Marker Lists You can create a list of timecode points that Compressor can import to create markers. The timecode values need to match the timecode of the track’s video clip. The list of timecode values must be a plain text file; you can create it with TextEdit (as long as you save the file as plain text). If you create the list with a more advanced word-processing application, be sure to save the file as a plain ASCII text file with no formatting.
About the Preview Window Keyboard Shortcuts For a complete list of Preview window keyboard shortcuts, see Preview Window Keyboard Shortcuts in the Keyboard Shortcuts chapter.
Creating and Changing Destinations 27 Compressor allows you to choose where to save your transcoded files. Without a selected destination, the output file is saved to the same folder as the source media file. This may be satisfactory for your needs, but if there are various remote uploading servers, or if you just want a specific type of output file to end up in a specific location, you must assign that destination.
About the Destinations Tab You use the Destinations tab together with the Inspector window to create, modify, or remove your destination settings and add file identifiers to your output media filename. Duplicate button Default destinations Add and Remove buttons Default filename identifiers Filename Template pop-up menu Sample filename line Custom destinations The Destinations tab contains the following items. • Destinations list: This lists destination names and pathnames.
• Remove (-): Removes a selected custom destination from the Destinations tab immediately. You are not asked for confirmation, so be sure you want to remove the destination before clicking this button. Note: You cannot remove the destinations from the Apple folder. About the Remote Destination Dialog If you click the Add (+) button and choose Remote from the pop-up menu to add a remote destination, the Remote destination dialog appears. Host Name is required. File Path is required.
• Host Name: (Required) Name of the host server. Compressor assumes that the URL scheme being used is ftp, so you don’t need to enter this or any other URL scheme. For example, a valid host name for this field would be da0101wa-dhcp191.lemur.com/ or an IP Address, such as 192.168.001.010. • File Path: (Required) Specifies the path on the host where the output media file will be stored. For example: /Volumes/Movies/OutputMedia. Only enter the path to the location where the output media file will be stored.
• Sample From Defined Template: Displays a sample of what the output filename will look like with any file identifiers you have added. You cannot edit the Sample line, but it changes dynamically based on the file identifiers you add or delete. • Path: Displays the path to the destination folder. Creating a Destination You use the Destinations tab with the Inspector window to create and assign a destination and to add file identifiers to your output file.
The Destination Selection dialog appears. 3 Navigate to your chosen destination folder or open mounted volume, then click Open. A new destination with the folder’s name appears in the Custom folder of the Destinations tab along with the path to the folder you just assigned. 4 Double-click the new destination in the Destinations tab. The Inspector window opens, showing relevant information for the new destination.
3 Enter information in the relevant fields, as necessary. 4 Click OK. Once you have at least one destination in the Destinations tab other than Source, you can set a new default destination. To change the default destination 1 Choose Compressor > Preferences. 2 Use the Default Destination pop-up menu to choose from the list of existing destination presets. The destination you choose appears as the default destination when you import a new source file in the Batch window.
Deleting and Duplicating a Destination You can manage destinations by deleting those you no longer need and creating new ones based on existing destinations. To delete a destination 1 Open the Destinations tab. 2 In the Destinations tab, select the destination you want to remove, then click the Remove (–) button, or press Delete. Important: There is no confirmation step in this process, so you need to be sure you want to remove the destination before clicking the button.
2 In the Destinations tab, select the destination you want to copy, then click the Duplicate button. Duplicate button A new entry appears in the Destinations tab with _copy appended to its name. This destination is identical in all other ways. Rename the duplicate destination as appropriate.
Using Droplets 28 Compressor allows you to save one or more settings or groups of settings into a Droplet. A Droplet is a standalone preset created by Compressor, packaged into a drag-and-drop application and saved as an icon. When you drag source media files to a Droplet icon, they are automatically submitted for transcoding using the specified embedded settings. The transcoding process begins, whether or not Compressor is open. Drag selected source media files to a Droplet to transcode them.
Creating Droplets Droplets are easy to create, and once created, allow you to quickly and easily submit source media files for transcoding. Compressor offers two methods for creating Droplets, each with its own advantages. In the Settings tab, you can use the “Save Selection as Droplet” button. And, in the File menu, you can choose the Create Droplet item.
You can only select destinations that have already been created using the Destinations tab. If no custom destinations have been created, only four default Apple destinations appear in the Choose Destination pop-up menu. See Creating a Destination for more information about destinations. 5 Click Save. Your newly created Droplet appears as an icon at whatever location you selected. You are now ready to use it for transcoding.
You can only select destinations that have already been created using the Destinations tab. If no custom destinations have been created, only four default Apple destinations appear in the Choose Destination pop-up menu. See Creating a Destination for more information about destinations. 5 Click Save. Your newly created Droplet appears as an icon at whatever location you selected. You are now ready to use it for transcoding. Drag selected source media files to a Droplet to transcode them.
See About the Destinations Tab for more information on using file identifiers. Destination pop-up field Source files table Individual jobs Jobs table Submit button “Show window on startup” checkbox Job Type Filename Template Show Info button Add Output and Remove Output buttons Action checkbox (only present for some job types) Job type identifier The Droplet window contains the following items. • Destination: This field displays the destination for the output media file.
• Jobs table: Each job in this table represents a separate media file that will be generated from each item in the Source files list. • Filename Template: Compressor automatically enters a filename in this field for the output media file. The first part of the filename is based on the source file name. Compressor also automatically appends an output type identifier (such as “iPod” or “YouTube”) at the end of the filename. You can manually edit any portion of the filename by double-clicking it.
If this checkbox is not selected, double-click the Droplet icon to open its window and see the settings. Show Details button “Show window on startup” button See About the Droplet Window for more information about Droplet settings. Show/Hide Details Button Use this button to open or close the action drawer for any particular job. You can use the action drawer to apply and adjust job actions. For more information about post-transcoding actions, see Adding Job Actions.
Info Button Click the Info button on any job to get detailed information about the resulting output media file. “Show info for” pop-up menu Note: If you are transcoding multiple source files, you can use the “Show info for” pop-up menu in the Info dialog to choose which particular source media file will have its details displayed. Using a Droplet to Transcode Source Media Files Once you have created a Droplet, you can transcode source media files by dragging them to the Droplet icon.
• If the “Show window on startup” checkbox is selected: The Droplet window opens with the source media files displayed in the Droplet Source Files table. Proceed to step 2 to submit your batch. If the Droplet window opens, you can view its full details as well as add, remove, and modify settings and source media files. You can also modify the filenames for the output media files using the Filename field and change the destination folder for the output media files that the Droplet will create.
If a Droplet window is open, you can drag your source media files directly to the Source Files table and submit them for transcoding. To transcode source media files using an open Droplet 1 Double-click the Droplet icon to open it. 2 Using the Finder, locate the source media files and drag them into the Droplet’s Source Files table. 3 Modify your Droplet settings as necessary, then click Submit.
Droplet Tips Here are some additional tips on using Droplets to transcode source media files. Droplets and Compressor Processing Services If you drag files to a Droplet icon without first opening the application or opening a Droplet, Compressor may display an alert message (“This computer is unavailable”), indicating that Compressor processing services have not yet started up in the background. Click Submit at the bottom of the Droplet window.
Apple Qmaster and Distributed Processing 29 Transcoding or processing a series of large files on one desktop computer is processor intensive and time-consuming. You can increase speed and productivity by distributing processing across multiple computers. This chapter covers the following: • Distributed Processing Basics (p. 349) • Basic Components of the Apple Qmaster Distributed Processing System (p. 351) • Getting Started Quickly Using This Computer Plus (p.
Computers that submit batches to the Apple Qmaster distributed processing system are called clients. A job is a processing task such as a Compressor preset-source pair, or a Shake file, or other files or commands that use UNIX commands to specify settings such as rendering instructions and file locations and destinations. Network Batch of processing jobs Client computer Jobs are submitted. Processed files Apple Qmaster cluster Processing is performed by cluster.
• Manually create a cluster: Large installations can manually create managed clusters for use by their clients. For more information, see Creating Clusters with Apple Qadministrator. Important: When using distributed processing (This Computer Plus, QuickClusters, and managed clusters), you may be asked to authenticate yourself. This is because Apple Qmaster must share a folder, using NFS sharing, with links to the media files so that the processing computers can access the media files.
• Cluster controller: The software, enabled on a computer by means of the Apple Qmaster Sharing window of Compressor, that divides up batches, determines which service nodes to send work to, and generally tracks and directs the processes.
Clusters When a client sends batches to the Apple Qmaster distributed processing system, all the processing and subsequent moving of any output files is performed by a group of Apple Qmaster–configured computers called a cluster. You can create one or more clusters of service nodes, with one cluster controller included in each cluster. Each computer in the cluster is connected to the other computers in the cluster through a network connection.
Examples of a Distributed Processing Network A very small distributed processing setup could include as few as two computers: • One computer connected to the client and configured to act as both the service node and the cluster controller • One client computer Minimum setup for distributed processing Client Service node with cluster controller enabled Though simple, this setup is useful in a small-scale environment because it allows the client computer to offload a lot of processing work.
The following setup is for an environment that uses desktop computers. It is called “part-time” processing because each computer acts as someone’s workstation, but at the same time is also part of the distributed processing cluster. The bulk of the processing jobs can be submitted with Compressor or Apple Qmaster at the end of the day, so that the computers are busy processing a large queue of distributed processing batches after everyone has gone home.
For more powerful rendering, a network might include a number of client computers on a LAN, connected to a cluster using a high-speed switch. A rack of servers plus a shared storage device, acting as the cluster, would be an extremely strong rendering engine. The service nodes would each have a local copy of the relevant client application software so that they could process the rendering jobs.
Batches can be distributed to a cluster by the cluster controller in one or both of the following ways. (Apple Qmaster determines which way is the most efficient for specific batches, depending on the circumstances.) • The batch is subdivided into data segments: For example, for a render batch, the cluster controller could divide the frames into groups (segments). Each segment would be processed in parallel on the service nodes in the cluster.
Other Possible Components of a Distributed Processing Network A distributed processing network can consist of as few as one or two computers, whereas a high-volume network may include many computers, an Xserve system and Xserve cluster nodes in a rack, and high-speed networking infrastructures. You can scale up a distributed processing system as your workload demands by adding features and devices to the network that supports it.
Using This Computer Plus is a two-step process: • Creating Apple Qmaster service nodes in Compressor on your networked computers • Selecting This Computer Plus when you submit a Compressor batch for processing These two steps let you harness the processing power of any number of computers on your network without any additional effort or knowledge on your part. Note: Within a distributed processing system, the Compressor, QuickTime, and Mac OS versions must all be identical.
Stage 2: Submitting Compressor Batches for Processing When you submit a Compressor batch for processing, a dialog appears that allows you to name the batch and select the computers to process the batch. At this point, you can harness the processing power of all the computers you set up as service nodes in stage 1 to complete the batch. To process the batch using This Computer Plus 1 Leave the Cluster pop-up menu set to the default selection (This Computer). 2 Select the This Computer Plus checkbox.
Stage 1: Installing the Software Install Compressor on the computers you want to include in your distributed processing network. To install the software 1 Install Compressor for use as a client on at least one computer in your network. In order to submit jobs and batches to the distributed processing system, you need to use client (submission) software (Compressor, Apple Qmaster, Final Cut Pro, or Motion). 2 Install Compressor on each computer you want to use for distributed processing.
This creates a QuickCluster with this computer as its controller and one instance of processing services. For information about multiple service instances, see Using Virtual Clusters to Make the Most of Multicore Computers. Stage 3: Adding Service Nodes to a Cluster Do the following on each computer that you would like to make an unmanaged service node on your cluster. To add a service node to a cluster 1 In Compressor, choose Apple Qmaster > Share This Computer. The Apple Qmaster Sharing pane appears.
The distributed processing system processes the batch. You can also select the cluster in the Advanced area of the Final Cut Pro and Motion Share option windows. The Interfaces in the Apple Qmaster Distributed Processing System The Apple Qmaster system is a suite of applications that work together to provide maximum power and flexibility for distributed processing. The elements of the system can be combined in a variety of ways to suit your needs.
In general, you use the Apple Qmaster Sharing window in Compressor to configure service nodes and cluster controllers and to create service nodes for This Computer Plus clusters and QuickClusters, which provide what most users need. System administrators use Apple Qadministrator for advanced cluster creation and control. Client users use Compressor, Apple Qmaster, Final Cut Pro, or Motion to submit batches of jobs for processing.
Apple Qadministrator Use the Apple Qadministrator application to manually create and modify Apple Qmaster clusters. Apple Qadministrator can be used on any computer that is on the same network as the cluster you want to administer. With the administrator password (if one was created), you can also use Apple Qadministrator to see and modify existing clusters on the network.
The Apple Qadministrator window appears. If a password was created for the currently selected cluster, you will not be able to see or modify the cluster until you click the Lock button and then enter the password in the dialog that appears.
Compressor and Apple Qmaster as Client Interfaces Client computer users use either Compressor or Apple Qmaster to submit batches for processing. Batch Use Compressor to submit a batch to a cluster: Batch Cluster A Batch Use Apple Qmaster to submit a batch to a cluster: Batch Network Cluster B Using Compressor Use the Cluster pop-up menu in the Compressor Batch window to choose a cluster for any given batch. For more information on submitting batches with Compressor, see Submitting a Batch.
Using Apple Qmaster The Apple Qmaster application is the application that you use to submit distributed processing jobs from digital visual effects software packages such as Shake, Autodesk Maya, and any UNIX command-line program. You can use any of the following workflows in Apple Qmaster: • For Shake processing batches, you can drag Shake files into the Apple Qmaster window. A default script for submitting the jobs is automatically created.
Share Monitor As an administrator, you can use Share Monitor to track the progress of all the batch activity for all the clusters on your network. You can see how close to completion each job is, along with other details, and you can cancel, pause, and resume batches as well. If you are a client user, you can use Share Monitor to view and manage your own batches.
Share Monitor opens. Apple Qmaster Sharing Window of Compressor Use the Apple Qmaster Sharing window of Compressor to activate, create, or make changes to Apple Qmaster cluster-controlling and processing services (including passwords and scratch storage locations).
2 Choose Apple Qmaster > Share This Computer. The Apple Qmaster Sharing window appears. After you configure the Setup and Advanced panes, click OK to apply the settings. Important: If you are making changes to existing settings and this computer is already providing processing services, clicking OK immediately resets this computer’s services. If this computer is also the cluster controller, any current jobs are terminated.
Services Settings • Rendering: Use this checkbox to enable or disable the Rendering service. Click its Options button to open a dialog in which you can adjust the number of instances of a processing service. For more information, see Using Virtual Clusters to Make the Most of Multicore Computers. • Compressor: Use this checkbox to enable or disable the Compressor service. Click its Options button to open a dialog in which you can adjust the number of instances of a processing service.
About Advanced Settings in the Apple Qmaster Sharing Window You can use the Advanced pane within the Apple Qmaster Sharing window to further configure your distributed processing system. Advanced Service Settings Use these features to schedule service restarts and service availability. • Restart all services every 24 hours: Selecting the “Restart all services every 24 hours” checkbox ensures a robust distributed processing system.
Network Use these features to configure network settings. • Allow discovery via Bonjour: By default, this checkbox is selected to have the Apple Qmaster distributed processing system use the Bonjour networking technology. You can deselect the “Allow discovery via Bonjour” checkbox for enhanced security. This will prevent detection of your computer over a Bonjour network. This feature requires Mac OS X v10.4 or later.
Note: All three approaches also produce either service nodes (used by the This Computer Plus option in the Final Cut Pro and Motion Share menu items) or clusters that the Final Cut Pro and Motion Share function can use to process output files. • Use This Computer Plus: Using This Computer Plus to create a cluster is the easiest approach you can take to create a distributed processing system. You simply install Compressor, configured as a service node, on any computers you want to perform processing duties.
µ To enter a name for a QuickCluster Enter the new name for the cluster in the “Identify this QuickCluster as” field. To enter a name for a cluster controller for use with Apple Qadministrator 1 Click Advanced to open the Advanced pane. 2 Enter the new name in the “Identify this computer to Apple Qadministrator as” field. Unmanaged Services You can enable unmanaged services for a QuickCluster. For more information, see Managed vs. Unmanaged Services.
Unmanaged Services Unmanaged services automatically assign themselves to the first available This Computer Plus cluster or QuickCluster with enabled unmanaged service support. QuickClusters listen for unmanaged service advertisements and may mark or remember any of them for later use. An unmanaged service remains dedicated to its This Computer Plus cluster or QuickCluster only long enough to finish the current job.
Managing Processing Services Follow the instructions below to manage the processing services on a computer in a cluster. Important: If you are making changes to existing settings and this computer is already providing processing services, clicking OK immediately resets this computer’s services. If this computer is also the cluster controller, any current jobs are terminated. To set managed processing services 1 In Compressor, choose Apple Qmaster > Share This Computer.
The cluster is enabled, making this computer a cluster controller. To turn off cluster controller services 1 In Compressor, choose Apple Qmaster > Share This Computer to open the Apple Qmaster Sharing window. 2 Deselect the “Share this computer” checkbox and click OK. Important: If you are making changes to existing settings and this computer is already providing processing services, clicking OK immediately resets this computer’s services.
3 In the dialog that appears, choose the number of instances from the pop-up menu and click OK. Choose the number of instances from the pop-up menu. 4 Click OK in the Apple Qmaster Sharing window. Note: The Service Options dialog is also used to add extended nodes to a cluster, as described in the Apple Qmaster User Manual.
4 Click OK in the Apple Qmaster Sharing window to apply this change. Important: If you are making changes to existing settings and this computer is already providing processing services, clicking OK immediately resets this computer’s services. If this computer is also the cluster controller, any current jobs are terminated.
To schedule service availability 1 In the Advanced Service Settings area of the Advanced pane within the Apple Qmaster preferences pane, click Set. The work schedule dialog appears. 2 To constrain the availability of the services, choose one of the options from the pop-up menu next to a particular day of the week. See Scheduling Service Availability for details. 3 Enter any constraining time periods in the appropriate start time and end time fields. Note: You must enter valid days and times.
3 Configure the following optional settings: • To change the cluster storage location: Click the “Storage location” Set button, then navigate to the folder in the dialog and click Choose. Note: If you are using the default This Computer setting in the Cluster pop-up menu in the Compressor Batch window and you choose Cluster Storage as the destination, the output file will be copied to the Source location.
Cleaning Up Cluster Storage If you are using cluster storage and an error occurs, partial files may be left on the designated cluster storage location. Check the designated cluster storage location to make sure no partial media files are left there. If you find partial media files, delete them and submit the job again.
If a Batch Is Interrupted When a service stops suddenly while in the middle of processing an Apple Qmaster batch, the cluster controller resubmits the interrupted batch in a way that prevents the reprocessing of any batch segments that were complete before the service stopped. The cluster controller delays resuming the batch for about a minute from the time it loses contact with the service. If a Batch Fails When the service is running, but one batch fails to process, a service exception occurs.
There are two basic steps to creating a managed cluster with Apple Qadministrator. First, you create a new cluster and choose the cluster controller. Then, you add service nodes to the cluster. • Stage 1: Creating a New Cluster • Stage 2: Assigning Service Nodes Stage 1: Creating a New Cluster Use the following steps to create a cluster with Apple Qadministrator. For more information, see the Apple Qadministrator User Manual.
3 Optionally, create cluster passwords by clicking the Security tab and selecting and entering the passwords you want. • Administrator Password: If you create this password, administrators will need to know it in order to modify this cluster and to view this cluster’s batches in Share Monitor. • User Password: If you create this password, users will need to know it in order to submit batches to this cluster and to view those batches in Share Monitor.
Service nodes that are already assigned to another cluster are not shown. Drag nodes to this list from the Service Browser list. Clicking this disclosure triangle displays each instance of the services set in the Apple Qmaster Sharing window for this node. Note: The computer names you see at the top level of the Name columns may appear in one of three formats, depending on your configuration: the computer name (for example, Lemur node), the Apple networking name (for example, Lemur-node.
• Stage 5: Specifying Media File and Script Locations Stage 1: Turning Off the Shake UNC Setting To make sharing and volume mounting work smoothly in this setup, you need to turn off the Shake UNC setting on each computer. The UNC setting uses the entire file pathname, with the network address, in a convention that starts with //ComputerName/DriveName/path. You don’t want Shake to use this filenaming convention because it conflicts with the file sharing and volume mounting used in this setup.
4 Choose the associated media volume as the volume you want to mount. 5 Repeat steps 1 through 4 until all the computers are mounting all the media volumes in the cluster. Stage 4: Submitting Processing Jobs in the Sample Part-Time Distributed Processing Setup After you finish Stage 3: Mounting the Media Storage Volumes, each one of these computers can be used to submit jobs for distributed processing.
A Appendix Keyboard Shortcuts Compressor keyboard shortcuts can maximize your efficiency with Compressor. This appendix covers the following: • General Compressor Keyboard Shortcuts (p. 391) • Preview Window Keyboard Shortcuts (p. 392) General Compressor Keyboard Shortcuts Keyboard shortcut Function Brings the History window to the front. 1 Brings the Preview window to the front. 2 Brings the Settings tab to the front. 3 Brings the Destinations tab to the front.
Keyboard shortcut Function Opens a saved batch. O Closes the current batch tab. W S option Saves the current batch as a new template. Imports a source asset to create a new job in the batch. I shift I control I option I Opens dialog to replace the source of the current job. Creates a new surround sound group job in the batch. Creates a new image sequence job in the batch. Submits a batch from an open Droplet. return Removes a selected item from the Batch, Preview, or Destinations window.
Keyboard shortcut E I O Appendix A Keyboard Shortcuts Function When the playhead is positioned on a marker, opens the Edit Marker dialog. Sets an In point for the clip. Sets an Out point for the clip.
B Appendix Solving Problems If you are having trouble working with Compressor, look here for answers to your questions. This appendix covers the following: • Resources for Solving Problems (p. 395) • Solutions to Common Problems (p. 395) • Contacting AppleCare Support (p. 397) Resources for Solving Problems If you run into problems while working with Compressor, there are several resources you can use to find a solution.
QuickTime Reference Movies If you submit a reference movie for distributed processing, the Apple Qmaster distributed processing system will automatically copy the appropriate media files to the processing cluster. For the best performance, you can avoid this file transfer step by making sure that the media files specified in the reference movie are available to each node of the Apple Qmaster cluster.
4 Select “Share this computer,” select either “as QuickCluster with services” or “as Services and cluster controller,” then click OK in the Apple Qmaster Sharing window to restart the controller. Xsan Compatibility Xsan 1.3 is not compatible with Compressor and the Apple Qmaster distributed processing system when Xsan media drives are used for cluster (scratch) storage. To use Xsan with Apple Qmaster 2.3, update to Xsan 1.4. µ To download and install Xsan 1.4 Go to http://www.apple.com/support/xsan.
• Any third-party plug-ins or other software installed along with Compressor. • Have your computer serial number available when contacting support; the support advisor will need your computer serial number to view your system profile. This information can be viewed by choosing About This Mac from the Apple menu and clicking More Info. Choose Send to Apple from the File menu in System Profiler to make this information available to Apple. AppleCare Support can be reached online at http://www.apple.
C Appendix Using the Command Line If you are accustomed to doing your work from Terminal shells, and you need or prefer to run Compressor from the command line with minimal use of application interfaces, this appendix is for you. This appendix covers the following: • Shell Commands for Submitting Compressor Jobs (p.
Compressor -clustername "This Computer" -batchfilepath "/Volumes/Hermione/SavedCompressorBatches/FreeChampagne.compressor" Once the job is submitted successfully, this command displays the batch ID (identifier) and job ID (identifier) in the shell, and you can monitor the progress of a batch in Share Monitor. Command Options This table provides information about each of the command options for submitting jobs.
Submission command option Description -show Shows the ID information for the cluster specified with -clustername or -clusterid, or for all clusters if no cluster is specified. -help Displays information regarding the required parameters for the Compressor command. Example of Compressor Commands Following are examples of code for submitting common Compressor commands. Cluster Names and IDs on a Local Network The following command lists all of the cluster names and IDs on the local network.
Submit a Job with a Password The following submits a job to a cluster identified by a name that does have a password. "/Applications/Final Cut Pro/Compressor.app/Contents/MacOS/Compressor" -clustername MyCluster -password testpassword -batchname "My First Batch" -jobpath ~/Movies/MySource.mov -settingpath ~/Library/Application\ Support/Compressor/Settings/MPEG-4.setting -destinationpath ~/Movies/MyOutput.mp4 -timeout 5 This command has the following elements: • Identifies where Compressor is located.
Submit a Job Using a Cluster ID and an Inline Password The following submits a job to a cluster identified by an IP address, with a user name and an inline password. "/Applications/Final Cut Pro/Compressor.app/Contents/MacOS/Compressor" -clusterid "tcp://username:testpassword@192.168.1.148:62995" -batchname "My First Batch" -jobpath ~/Movies/MySource.mov -settingpath ~/Library/Application\ Support/Compressor/Settings/MPEG-4.setting -destinationpath ~/Movies/MyOutput.
