Apple Compressor - 4.1 User Guide
Compressor
User Guide
K Apple Inc.
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Contents
5 Chapter 1: What’s new in Compressor?
5 What’s new in Compressor 4.1?
6 Chapter 2: Compressor basics
6 What is Compressor?
7 Compressor workow
8 Interface overview
11 Chapter 3: Simple transcoding
11 Simple transcoding overview
12 Transcode les
16 Built-in settings
17 Built-in destinations
18 Built-in locations
19 Chapter 4: Advanced adjustments
19 Advanced adjustments overview
20 Work with settings
20 View and modify a setting’s properties
21 Create custom settings
23 Remove a setting
23 About formats and settings
24 Setting properties
50 Work with destinations
50 View and modify a destination’s properties
51 Create custom destinations
52 Remove a destination
52 Work with locations
54 Work with jobs
54 Overview
54 View and modify job properties
55 Job properties
58 Work with job actions
61 Work with batches
62 Chapter 5: Advanced tasks
62 Advanced tasks overview
62 Work with image sequence les
62 Import image sequence les
64 Work with surround sound les
64 Import and modify surround sound les
67 About audio channels
3
69 Modify an output le’s frame size
69 Modify frame size overview
70 Crop or pad the video frame
71 Modify an output le’s frame rate
71 Frame rate options overview
71 Retime video and audio output
72 Modify timing and frame rate
73 About deinterlacing
74 About reverse telecine
76 Add video and audio eects
76 Add and remove eects
77 Video eects
79 Audio eects
80 Add metadata
81 Set a poster frame
82 Add markers
85 Limit time ranges when transcoding
86 Common transcoding workows
86 Example: Create a le with burned-in timecode
87 Example: Convert NTSC or PAL footage to 24p HD
88 Example: Create daily review copies of footage
91 Chapter 6: Work smarter
91 Work smarter overview
91 Compressor preferences
91 Compressor preferences overview
91 General
92 My Computer
92 Shared Computers
93 Advanced
94 Keyboard shortcuts
94 Built-in keyboard shortcuts
95 Customize keyboard shortcuts
98 Create and use droplets
100 Transcode Final Cut Pro and Motion projects using Compressor
100 Enable one or more instances of Compressor
101 Use distributed processing
101 Transcode batches using other computers
103 Manually congure le sharing
104 Use the command line to submit Compressor jobs
107 Glossary
Contents 4
What’s new in Compressor?
What’s new in Compressor 4.1?
Compressor 4.1 introduces a new design and various new features, detailed below.
New interface
The interface in Compressor 4.1 has been updated with the following new features:
•
A dark, neutral background—identical to the backgrounds in Final Cut Pro X and Motion 5—to
enhance color perception and put the focus on your media
•
Three dierent interface views:
•
Current view—the default view—where you prepare transcoding jobs and submit
batches. In Current view, you can access the Settings and Locations pane, which contains
precongured transcoding settings, destinations, and save locations that you can assign
to your media les. In Current view, you can also access the inspector pane, which displays
information about your transcoding settings and jobs.
•
Active view, which shows information about jobs currently being transcoded.
•
Completed view, which shows information about jobs that have been
successfully transcoded.
For more information, see Interface overview on page 8.
1
Basic transcoding workow
Compressor 4.1 oers a simplied transcoding workow that speeds up common tasks. For more
information, see Transcode les on page 12.
Destinations
Destinations are transcoding instructions combined with a scripted job action, such as burning
a DVD disc or uploading to a video-sharing website. You can choose from a number of built-in
destinations, or create your own destinations for custom transcoding tasks. In Compressor
4.1, destinations replicate much of the functionality previously available in batch templates
in Compressor 4.0. For more information, see View and modify a destination’s properties on
page 50.
Distributed transcoding
Compressor 4.1 simplies distributed processing—the act of sharing transcoding work among
multiple computers or computer processors.
•
What was previously referred to as a “cluster” in Compressor 4.0 is now called a “group” of
computers. To congure a group of computers and set up distributed processing, you turn
on access to your computer and then create a set of shared computers. If you can’t nd a
computer on your network, you can manually add it to the computer list.
•
Options for turning on access to your computer, as well as setting up a group of shared
computers, are located in Compressor preferences. For more information, see Transcode
batches using other computers on page 101.
For more help and information about new features in Compressor 4.1, see the white paper,
Transition to Compressor 4.1.
5
Compressor basics
2
What is Compressor?
Compressor is an application that transcodes media les into a variety of formats. You can use
Compressor to create les for many uses, including:
•
Viewing on Apple devices such as Apple TV, iPad, iPhone, iPod, or iTunes using high-denition
(HD) or standard-denition (SD) formats (including H.264)
•
Publishing to video-sharing websites including Facebook, Vimeo, and YouTube using
QuickTime
•
Burning to DVD or Blu-ray disc using H.264, MPEG-2 for DVD, and Dolby Digital formats
•
Podcasting using H.264, AAC, and MP3 formats
Compressor comes with built-in settings that you can use to transcode les into the most
common media formats. Compressor also provides precongured destinations that transcode
les and then perform actions on the transcoded les. For example, if you transcode a source
le using the built-in “Publish to Vimeo” destination, the destination outputs a high-quality
QuickTime movie le, and then automatically publishes the movie le to your Vimeo account.
In addition to transcoding source les, you can use Compressor to:
•
Create custom settings and destinations: You can use a variety of formats to build custom
settings and destinations tailored to your unique transcoding workows. For example, you can
create a custom setting with specic frame dimensions or with video and audio lters applied.
And when you create a destination, you can apply a job action that is performed after the le
is transcoded—such as sending an email message or running an Automator workow.
•
Create settings to transcode Final Cut Pro X and Motion projects: You can create a custom setting
in Compressor and then use it to transcode Final Cut Pro or Motion projects. For example, you
can create a setting that outputs a le with the bit rate of your choice.
•
Transcode les using a network of shared computers: If you need more processing power and
shorter transcoding times, you can create a group of shared computers to distribute and
speed the transcoding process.
•
Create Compressor droplets: If you need to provide a very simple workow for yourself or other
users, you can create a Compressor droplet, a standalone application that lets you transcode
media les in the Finder, by dragging and dropping.
6
Compressor workow
The basic process of transcoding les in Compressor is described below.
Import your media into Compressor
The rst step in the transcoding process is to add one or more media source les to Compressor.
You can add media les from your computer or a connected hard disk. Each media source le
in Compressor is called a job. Each transcoding session, containing one or more jobs, is called
a batch.
Apply transcoding instructions
After you add a source le, apply one or more transcoding instructions to it. Compressor provides
a variety of precongured transcoding instructions called settings, which you can use to convert
les to the most common media formats. If you want, you can modify the setting’s properties to
meet your requirements.
Compressor also provides a number of precongured destinations, which combine settings and a
post-transcoding action, such as uploading your le to YouTube or burning a Blu-ray disc.
Choose an output location
Designate a location on your computer or on a connected hard disk where you want to save the
transcoded media le. You can choose any of several precongured locations, including your
computer desktop, your Movies folder, or the source folder of the original media. You can also
choose a custom location.
Submit your media for transcoding
After you assign settings or a destination and specify an output location, click the Start Batch
button to begin the transcoding process. You can monitor the progress of the transcoding in
the Active view. After transcoding is complete, you can see information about the settings or
destinations you used in the Completed view.
Chapter 2 Compressor basics 7
Interface overview
Preview area
The Compressor window has three views: Current, Active, and Completed. You can switch
between these views by clicking a view button at the top of the window.
Current view
Current view is the default view in Compressor. Current view is where you prepare transcoding
jobs and then submit your batch. When you open Compressor for the rst time, Current view
displays two basic areas:
Batch area
•
Batch area: When you add source les to Compressor, they are displayed in jobs in the lower
half of the main window. Each job in the batch area displays information about the source
le, the job’s transcoding instructions (setting, output location, and output lename), and any
post-transcoding actions that have been added (or that are part of the destination assigned to
the job).
•
Preview area: Above the batch area, the preview area shows how your media le will look and
sound after transcoding. Here you can also add metadata and markers to be included in the
transcoded le.
Chapter 2 Compressor basics 8
You can expand the Current view to display additional areas:
Settings/Locations pane
Inspector pane
•
Settings and Locations pane: Click the Settings & Locations button at the top-left corner of
the Compressor window to expand this area, and then click Settings or Locations to display
the individual panes. The Settings pane provides quick access to all the built-in destinations
and settings, as well as to any custom destinations or settings that you created. Likewise, the
Locations pane provides quick access to all the built-in save locations, and to any custom
save locations that you created. You can add settings, destinations, and locations to a job by
dragging an item from these panes to the job in the batch area.
•
Inspector pane: Click the Inspector button in the upper-right corner of the Compressor
window to expand this area. The inspector pane has several views that change, depending on
the item that is selected. When you select a batch (by clicking the background of the batch
area), the Batch inspector appears, displaying basic information about the current batch.
When you select a job in the batch area, the Job inspector appears, displaying a summary of
the job’s transcoding instructions as well as controls for adding metadata and modifying job
actions. When you select a specic transcoding instruction in the batch area (one of the rows
under the job), the General, Video, and Audio inspectors appear. These three panes contain
adjustable properties that you can use to customize the setting or destination.
Chapter 2 Compressor basics 9
Active view
In Active view, the Compressor window displays status information about batches (and their
constituent jobs) currently being transcoded. In this view, you can monitor progress bars as well
as pause or cancel the transcoding process.
Completed view
In Completed view, you can view information about batches and jobs that have been
successfully transcoded, as well as information about items that failed to transcode.
A list of batches is shown on the left side of the window. Click a disclosure triangle beside a
batch to see its constituent jobs and output les. Select a batch, job, or output le in the list to
see additional information in the inspector pane (on the right).
Chapter 2 Compressor basics 10
Source file
Location
Settings
Job action
Job
Simple transcoding
3
Simple transcoding overview
When you add a source le to Compressor and apply output instructions (all done in Current
view), you create a transcoding job. You can add more jobs to the batch, and then submit the
batch for transcoding.
Each job in a batch has has several parts:
•
Source le: The media le that you want to transcode.
•
Setting: The transcoding instructions that specify how the le will be processed. Compressor
provides a variety of built-in settings that you can use to output les in common media
formats. Additionally, Compressor provides a number of precongured destinations—one or
more settings combined with an automated action that is performed after transcoding. For
example, if you use the Publish to Facebook destination to transcode a source le, Compressor
outputs a high-quality QuickTime movie le. Then the destination’s job action publishes the
transcoded le to your Facebook account.
•
Location: The place where the transcoded le will be saved. You can use one of the built-in
locations, or specify a new location.
•
Filename: The title of the transcoded le. You can use the default lename (the name of the
source le) or type a custom lename.
•
Job action: Optionally, you can add a post-transcoding action to a job, such as burning a DVD,
uploading to Vimeo or YouTube, and so on. Each of the built-in destinations already contains a
job action.
In the example below, two jobs make up the batch:
The rst job uses the built-in Create DVD destination to output a Dolby Digital audio le and an
MPEG-2 video le. The transcoded les will be saved to the source folder (the folder where the
source media is stored), and after the les are transcoded, they’ll be burned to a DVD (using the
Create DVD job action).
11
The second job uses two built-in settings (Small and HD 720p) to create a small QuickTime le and
a high-denition (HD) QuickTime le. The transcoded les will be saved to the desktop. Because
there’s no job action, the user will have to manually move or otherwise distribute each le.
Transcode les
This job will transcode the source
The easiest way to transcode media les in Compressor is to use or one or more built-in settings
or to use a built-in destination (settings that are combined with a post-transcoding job action,
such as uploading to Facebook or burning a Blu-ray disc).
Set up the rst transcoding job in a batch
1 Click the Add File button in the batch area.
Batch area
Add File button
2 In the le window that appears, select a media le and then click Add.
3 In the Settings window that appears, do the following:
a Select one or more transcode settings or a destination from the list.
The settings list contains basic settings, as well as destinations, grouped by category. To
choose a specic setting, click the disclosure triangle beside a destination or a setting group
(Podcasting, for example), and then select one or more settings.
Important: For destinations, always select the destination name. If you select a setting that’s in
the destination, the destination’s job action will not be used when processing the job.
b Choose a save location from the pop-up menu.
4 When you’re satised with your setting and location choices, click OK.
The new job is displayed in the batch area. The job includes a thumbnail of the source le and
the transcoding output instructions (setting, location, and lename). If you chose multiple
settings, or a destination with multiple outputs, each output appears in a separate row. If you
chose a destination, its job action appears in the upper-right corner of the job area.
To learn more about the built-in destinations and settings, see Built-in settings on page 16 and
Built-in destinations on page 17.
file “Office02.mov” using the built-in
HD 720p setting.
Chapter 3 Simple transcoding 12
Add additional jobs to a batch
If you want to, you can add additional source les to a batch.
1 Choose Add File from the Add pop-up menu under the batch area.
You can also add a set of image sequence les or surround sound les. For more information,
see Import image sequence les on page 62 and Import and modify surround sound les on
page 64.
Add pop-up menu
2 In the le window that appears, select one or more media les, and then click Add.
Shift-click to select consecutive les. Control-click to select nonconsecutive les.
A new job for each of the source les is displayed in the batch area. The job includes a thumbnail
of the source le.
3 Click the Add Outputs button inside the job in the batch area.
4 In the Settings window that appears, select one or more settings or destinations, choose a save
location, and then click OK.
Tip: Shift-click to select consecutive settings; Command-click to select nonconsecutive settings.
The output instructions that you specied appear in the job. If you chose multiple settings
or a destination with multiple outputs, each output appears in a separate row. If you chose a
destination, its job action appears in the upper-right corner of the job area.
Chapter 3 Simple transcoding 13
5 To change the name of a le to be output, double-click its name in the Filename column, and
then enter a new name.
The default name assigned to each transcoded le is the source lename appended with the
extension of the format used during transcoding (.mov or .mp4, for example).
Note: If you see an alert icon to the left of the lename, the lename assigned to that output
row has already been used.
6 To view the properties of a setting, select an output row, and then open the inspector by clicking
the Inspector button in the upper-right corner of the Compressor window.
Depending on the setting you're viewing, general, video, and audio properties are displayed in
the inspector. For information about modifying these properties, see View and modify a setting’s
properties on page 20.
Add and remove job outputs
You can add additional transcoding instructions to a job by adding one or more output rows.
You can also remove output rows.
Do one of the following:
m To add an output row: Position your cursor over an output row in the job, and then click the Add
button that appears at the end of the row. Then, in the window that appears, select one or
more settings, choose a location, and click OK.
m To remove an output row: Position your cursor over the output row that you want to remove, and
then click the Remove button that appears at the end of the row.
Chapter 3 Simple transcoding 14
Preview how a transcoded le will look and sound
After you’ve set up a job, you can preview how your source le will look and sound after it has
been transcoded.
Note: Retiming and interlacing property adjustments (that you make in the Video tab of the
inspector) are not displayed in the transcoding preview.
1 In a job, select the output row that includes the setting you want to preview.
2 If the Comparison button in the preview area isn’t already selected (highlighted blue), click it
to turn on comparison previewing.
3 Click the Play button .
The source le video plays on the left side of the preview area, and a preview of the transcoded
le plays on the right side. The transcoded audio plays through your computer speakers (or
through connected speakers).
In the preview area, you can also add add markers, set a poster frame, or identify a portion of the
source le to transcode.
Transcode a batch
After you’ve congured the jobs in your batch using the tasks above, you can transcode
the batch.
m Click the Start Batch button in the lower-right corner of the batch area.
The Compressor window switches to Active view, where you can monitor the transcoding process.
View information about completed jobs
In Completed view, you can see how a le was transcoded.
1 Click the Completed button at the top of the Compressor window.
2 Select a batch, job, or transcoded le and, if necessary, click the Inspector button .
In the inspector (on the right), you can view information about the batch or job, or view the
general, video, or audio properties for the setting used to transcode the le.
3 To view the output le, click the Show in Finder button .
Chapter 3 Simple transcoding 15
Create a new job from a completed job
m In Completed view, click a job’s Reuse button .
All of the job’s information is copied to Active view, where you can modify the job’s setting
properties and other information as necessary, and then transcode the new job.
Built-in settings
Use the built-in settings, grouped by category in the Settings pane, to convert any le from its
source format to other commonly used formats.
Built-in setting group Contains Use to
•
Apple Devices
Audio Formats
Motion Graphics
MPEG Files
Podcasting
ProRes
Uncompressed
Video Sharing Services
Apple Devices HD (Best Quality)
•
Apple Devices HD (Most
Compatible)
•
SD for Apple Devices
•
AAC File
•
AC3 File
•
AIFF File
•
CAF File
•
EC3 File
•
MP3 File
•
WAVE File
•
Open EXR Image Sequence
•
QuickTime Animation
•
QuickTime ProRes with Alpha
•
TIFF Image Sequence
•
MPEG-2 422 Program stream,
15 Mbps
•
MPEG-2 Program stream,
15 Mbps
•
MPEG-2 Transport stream,
15 Mbps
•
AAC for Audio Podcasting
•
H.264 for Video Podcasting
•
MP3 for Audio Podcasting
•
Apple ProRes 422
•
Apple ProRes 422 (HQ)
•
Apple ProRes 422 (Proxy)
•
Apple ProRes 4444
•
Uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2
•
Uncompressed 8-bit 4:2:2
•
4K
•
HD 1080p
•
HD 720p
•
Large 540p
•
SD 480p
•
Small
Create iTunes-compliant H.264
les for distribution, including les
that can be used for streaming
high-denition (HD) video and
standard-denition (SD) video.
Create audio les in the most
commonly used formats.
Create les for use with motion
graphics applications.
Create broadcast-quality, high-
resolution, high bit rate video les.
Create les for audio and video
podcasting.
Create high-quality, high-
performance les for use with
Final Cut Pro and post-production
workows.
Create uncompressed 10-bit and
8-bit 4:2:2 QuickTime movies.
Create QuickTime les for
publishing to video-sharing
websites like YouTube and Vimeo.
Includes large and small HD and
SD settings.
Chapter 3 Simple transcoding 16
You can also customize a built-in setting or create your own custom setting from scratch. For
example, you can create a custom setting to convert progressive video to interlaced video,
or to convert 29.97-fps video to 23.98 fps video. Before you create a custom setting, view the
related built-in settings to see if any of those meet your needs. If one does, or if it comes close,
duplicate that setting, and then modify any properties that you need to change. The advantage
of duplicating a setting, rather than creating a new setting from scratch, is that many of the
properties are already congured, and thus, you’ll need to make fewer adjustments to the
setting. For more information, see Create custom settings on page 21.
Built-in destinations
Destinations, available in the Settings pane, combine one or more settings and a post-encode
job action, which automates tasks such as emailing, copying, and moving transcoded les.
Built-in destination Contains Use to
Add to iTunes Library Setting:
•
Apple Devices HD (Best Quality)
Job action:
•
Add to iTunes Library
Create Blu-ray Settings:
•
Dolby Digital
•
H.264 for Blu-ray
Job action:
•
Create Blu-ray disc
Create DVD Settings:
•
Dolby Digital
•
MPEG-2 for DVD
Job action:
•
Create DVD
Prepare for HTTP Live Streaming Settings:
•
Audio for HTTP Live Streaming
•
Broadband High
•
Broadband Low
•
Cellular High
•
Cellular Low
•
Wi-Fi High
•
Wi-Fi Low
Job action:
•
Prepare for HTTP Live Streaming
Publish to Facebook Setting:
•
HD 720p
Job action:
•
Publish to Facebook
Create an Apple device-compatible
H.264 le, and then automatically
add the le to your iTunes library.
Create an H.264 elementary stream
and a Dolby Digital audio le, and
then automatically burn the les to
a Blu-ray disc.
Create an MPEG-2 elementary
stream and a Dolby Digital audio
le, and then automatically burn
the les to a DVD.
Create a set of MPEG-4 les, and
then process your transcoded les
and upload them to the server you
specify. The les are compatible
with a variety of devices, such as
smartphones and media players.
Create an H.264 le, and then
automatically publish it to your
Facebook account.
Chapter 3 Simple transcoding 17
Built-in destination Contains Use to
Publish to Vimeo Setting:
•
HD 720p
Job action:
•
Publish to Vimeo
Publish to YouTube Setting:
•
HD 720p
Job action:
•
Publish to YouTube
Create an H.264 le, and then
automatically publish it to your
Vimeo account.
Create an H.264 le, and then
automatically publish it to your
YouTube account.
You can also create a custom destination either by duplicating an existing destination or creating
a new destination. For example, you can modify the built-in Publish to Vimeo destination to
output a larger or smaller frame size. For more information, see Create custom destinations on
page 51.
Built-in locations
Use the following built-in locations, available in the Locations pane, to specify the save location
of a transcoded le.
Built-in location Use to
Desktop Save the transcoded le on the user’s desktop.
Movies Save the transcoded le in the user’s Movies folder.
Source Save the transcoded le in the same location as the
source media le.
You can also create a custom location, either by duplicating an existing location or by creating
a new location. When you create a custom location, you can also specify a lename format for
transcoded les. For more information, see Work with locations on page 52.
Chapter 3 Simple transcoding 18
Advanced adjustments
4
Advanced adjustments overview
For basic transcoding jobs, you can use the built-in settings and destinations that come with
Compressor. However, if you have complex or custom transcoding specications, you can make
adjustments to the built-in settings and destinations in a number of ways:
•
For a custom transcoding job that you will use only once, apply a built-in setting or
destination and then modify its properties in the inspector. See View and modify a setting’s
properties on page 20 and View and modify a destination’s properties on page 50.
•
For a custom transcoding job that you will use more than once, create a custom setting or
destination (by duplicating and modifying a built-in setting or destination). See Create custom
settings on page 21 and Create custom destinations on page 51.
You can also customize the various other components of a Compressor batch, including save
locations, job properties, job actions, and batch properties. See Work with locations on page 52,
View and modify job properties on page 54, and Work with batches on page 61.
19
Work with settings
Setting name
View and modify a setting’s properties
When you select a built-in setting in the Settings pane, or an applied setting in the batch area, its
properties are shown in the inspector. General properties are displayed in the General inspector,
and video and audio properties are displayed in the Video inspector and the Audio inspector.
View a setting’s general, video, and audio properties
1 Select a setting by doing one of the following:
•
For a setting that has not been applied, click a built-in setting in the Settings pane. (If the
Settings pane is hidden, click the Settings & Locations button at the top-left corner of the
Compressor window, and then click Settings at the top of the pane.)
•
For a setting that has already been applied to a source le, select the output row of a job in
the batch area.
2 If necessary, click the Inspector button in the upper-right corner of the Compressor window
to reveal the inspector pane.
The inspector pane is divided into three subpanes: General, Video, and Audio. At the top of each
subpane is a summary of the transcoding instructions of the selected setting, including the
name of the setting, the transcoding format, and the estimated size of the output le.
The setting is based
on this format.
Chapter 4 Advanced adjustments 20
3 To view general, video, or audio properties of the selected setting, click General, Video, or Audio
at the top of the inspector pane.
Every setting has a General inspector that displays basic properties, including setting name,
description, output extension, and so on. Video settings have a Video inspector and, if the
transcoding format encodes audio, an Audio inspector. Audio settings have an Audio inspector,
but no Video inspector.
To learn more about a setting’s properties, see About formats and settings on page 23.
Modify a setting’s properties
After you apply a setting to a source le, you can modify its properties in the inspector.
1 Select the output row of a job in the batch area.
The properties of the selected setting are displayed in the inspector.
2 To view general, video, or audio properties, click General, Video, or Audio in the inspector.
3 To modify a property, adjust its control in the inspector.
To learn more about a setting’s properties, see About formats and settings on page 23.
The type of setting you modify determines whether or not the setting will be saved.
•
If you modify the properties of a custom setting, the changes are saved automatically.
•
If you modify the properties of a built-in setting, the changes are not saved.
In this case, if you want to save your changes, you can create a custom setting. For more
information, see Create custom settings on page 21.
Create custom settings
You can create your own custom settings, either based on an existing built-in or custom setting,
or from scratch. You can also create groups of settings.
Create a custom setting by duplicating an existing setting
To save a modied setting for future use, you must create a custom setting. The easiest way to do
this is to duplicate a built-in setting and then modify its properties in the inspector.
1 In the Settings pane (press Shift-Command-1 if it’s hidden), select the setting that you want to
duplicate.
To reveal individual settings in a setting category, click the disclosure triangle next to the
category name.
2 Choose Duplicate from the Action pop-up menu at the bottom of the pane.
A copy of the setting (appended with the word, “copy”) appears in the Custom area of the
Settings pane.
3 To modify the properties of your new custom setting, adjust the controls in the General, Video,
and Audio inspectors.
If the inspector is hidden, click the Inspector button in the upper-right corner of the
Compressor window.
For example, you can change a setting’s frame controls or add a video or audio eect to the
output le.
To learn more a setting’s properties, see About formats and settings on page 23.
Chapter 4 Advanced adjustments 21
Create a custom setting from scratch
You can also create a custom setting without duplicating a built-in setting. Because it’s easy to
accidentally introduce transcoding errors, this method is recommended for advanced users only.
1 In the Settings pane (press Shift-Command-1 if it’s hidden), choose New Setting from the Add
pop-up menu .
2 In the dialog that appears, choose a transcoding format from the pop-up menu, enter a name
and description for the setting, and then click OK.
The new setting appears in the Custom area of the Settings pane.
3 To modify the properties of your new custom setting, adjust the controls in the General, Video,
and Audio inspectors.
If the inspector is hidden, click the Inspector button in the upper-right corner of the
Compressor window. For example, you can change a setting’s frame controls or add a video or
audio eect to the output le.
To learn more a setting’s properties, see About formats and settings on page 23.
Create a group of custom settings
If you want to organize your custom settings, you can create a setting group. For example, if you
want to quickly add several settings at the same time, you can apply a setting group to a job.
1 In the Settings pane (press Shift-Command-1 if it’s hidden), choose New Group from the Add
pop-up menu .
The group appears in the Custom area of the settings pane and is selected by default.
2 In the dialog that appears, type a name for the group and click OK.
3 Drag custom settings into your new group in the Custom area of the Settings pane.
Tip: If you want to add a built-in setting to the group, you must duplicate the setting (as
described in “Create a custom setting by duplicating an existing setting” above) and then add the
duplicated setting to your group.
Rename a custom setting
You cannot rename a built-in setting; however, you can duplicate a built-in setting and name
your new custom setting as you choose.
Do one of the following:
m In the Settings pane, double-click a custom setting and type a new name.
m Select a custom setting in the Settings pane. Then, in the General inspector, type a new name in
the Name eld. (If the inspector is hidden, press Command-4.)
Chapter 4 Advanced adjustments 22
Remove a setting
Setting name
You can delete any custom setting.
Delete a custom setting
m Select a custom setting in the Settings pane, and then press Delete.
About formats and settings
Compressor provides a variety of transcoding formats to create les playable on a variety of
media platforms—from Apple devices to Blu-ray discs to websites, and so on. Each of the built-in
settings in the Settings pane uses a specic transcoding format compatible with the following
industry-standard platforms.
You can see which format a setting is based on by looking at the summary information at the
top of the inspector.
The setting is based
on this format.
Platform and/or use Use video settings based on
these formats
Devices like Apple TV, iPad, iPhone,
and iPod touch; and iTunes
Web delivery, including YouTube,
Facebook, and Vimeo
Blu-ray discs H.264 for Blu-ray: See H.264 for
High-denition (HD) DVD MPEG-2: See MPEG-2
Standard-denition (SD) DVD MPEG-2: See MPEG-2
Audio CDs AIFF: See Common Audio
HTTP Live Streaming MPEG-4: See MPEG-4
Motion graphics applications QuickTime Movie, Image Sequence:
H.264 for Apple Devices: See H.264
for Apple Devices
QuickTime Movie: See QuickTime
on page 47.
Movie
on page 31.
Blu-ray
See QuickTime Movie
and Image Sequence
on page 28.
on page 37. AC-3 (Dolby Digital Professional):
on page 37. AC-3 (Dolby Digital Professional):
on page 42.
on page 47
on page 33.
Use audio settings based on
these formats
AAC: See MPEG-4
WAVE: See Common Audio
Formats
on page 24.
QuickTime Movie: See QuickTime
Movie on page 47.
AC-3 (Dolby Digital Professional):
See Dolby Digital on page 25.
See Dolby Digital
See Dolby Digital
on page 24.
Formats
MP3: See MP3
WAVE: See Common Audio
Formats
on page 24.
on page 42.
on page 25.
on page 25.
on page 36.
Chapter 4 Advanced adjustments 23
Setting properties
Common Audio Formats
The built-in AIFF File, CAF File, and WAVE File settings use the Common Audio Formats
transcoding format. This format encodes AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format), CAF (Apple Core
Audio Format), or WAVE (Waveform Audio File Format) les. You can also create custom settings
that use the Common Audio Formats transcoding format.
The properties of built-in and custom settings that use this transcoding format are located in the
General inspector and Audio inspector. These properties are described below.
Important: When you add a setting (or a destination that includes settings) to a job, Compressor
analyzes the source media and then automatically assigns the most appropriate setting
properties (based on the setting’s transcoding format and the characteristics of your source
media le). It’s recommended that you use the automatically assigned setting properties.
Setting summary
Displays the setting name and transcoding format, as well as an estimated output le
size. When you add a setting to a job or change the setting’s properties, this summary
automatically updates.
General properties
•
Name: Displays the name of the setting.
•
Description: Displays the description of the setting.
•
Extension: Displays the extension of the output le.
Tip: To output a le with a dierent extension, change the value in the “File type” pop-up
menu, described below.
•
Allow job segmenting: Job segmenting is not available for settings that output only an audio le.
•
Default location: Choose an item from the pop-up menu to set the default save location for
transcoded les.
•
File type: Choose a le type from the pop-up menu—AIFF, CAF, or WAVE.
Retiming
This section contains one property:
•
Set duration to: Sets the processing algorithm used to adjust the frame rate during transcoding.
Select either of the following options:
•
[Percentage] of source: Modies the output clip’s speed by a percentage of the source clip’s
speed. Enter a value in the percentage eld or choose a preset value from the adjacent
pop-up menu (with a downward arrow).
•
[Total duration]: Sets the duration of the clip. Enter a timecode duration in the eld or click
the arrows to increase or decrease the time.
For more information, see Retime video and audio output on page 71.
Chapter 4 Advanced adjustments 24
Audio properties
•
Channel layout: Use the pop-up menu to manually set the type of audio channel layout. For
more information about audio channel layouts, including the surround sound channel layout,
see About audio channels on page 67.
•
Sample rate: Use this pop-up menu to set the number of times per second that music
waveforms (samples) are captured digitally. The higher the sample rate, the higher the audio
quality and the larger the le size.
•
Sample size: Use the pop-up menu to manually set the sample size of the audio signal.
Audio eects
For a list of available audio eects and instructions on how to add an audio eect to a setting,
see Add and remove eects on page 76.
Dolby Digital
The built-in Dolby Digital settings (in the Create Blu-ray and Create DVD destinations, as well as
the built-in AC-3 and EC-3 audio settings) use the Dolby Digital transcoding format. This format
encodes Dolby Digital (AC-3) and Dolby Digital Plus (EC-3) audio les that contain multiple audio
channels, including 5.1 surround sound. You can also create custom settings that use the Dolby
Digital transcoding format.
The properties of built-in and custom settings that use this transcoding format are located in the
General inspector and Audio inspector. These properties are described below.
Important: When you add a setting (or a destination that includes settings) to a job, Compressor
analyzes the source media and then automatically assigns the most appropriate setting
properties (based on the setting’s transcoding format and the characteristics of your source
media le). It’s recommended that you use the automatically assigned setting properties.
Setting summary
Displays the setting name and transcoding format, as well as an estimated output le
size. When you add a setting to a job or change the setting’s properties, this summary
automatically updates.
General properties
•
Name: Displays the name of the setting.
•
Description: Displays the description of the setting.
•
Extension: Displays the extension of the output le.
•
Allow job segmenting: Job segmenting is not available for settings that output only an
audio le.
•
Default location: Select an item from the pop-up menu to set the default save location for
transcoded les.
•
File type: Select a le type from the pop-up menu—Dolby Digital or Dolby Digital Plus, an
enhanced version of the Dolby Digital audio compression technology.
Chapter 4 Advanced adjustments 25
Retiming
This section contains one property:
•
Set duration to: Sets the processing algorithm used to adjust the frame rate during transcoding.
Select either of the following options:
•
[Percentage] of source: Modies the output clip’s speed by a percentage of the source clip’s
speed. Enter a value in the percentage eld or choose a preset value from the adjacent
pop-up menu (with a downward arrow).
•
[Total duration]: Sets the duration of the clip. Enter a timecode duration in the eld or click
the arrows to increase or decrease the time.
For more information, see Retime video and audio output on page 71.
Audio properties
•
Channel layout: Use the pop-up menu to manually set the type of audio channel layout. For
more information about audio channel layouts, including the surround sound channel layout,
see About audio channels on page 67.
•
Sample rate: Use this pop-up menu to set the number of times per second that music
waveforms (samples) are captured digitally. The higher the sample rate, the higher the audio
quality and the larger the le size.
Note: All les intended for video and audio DVD authoring must have a 48 kHz sample rate as
required by the DVD specication.
•
Target system: Use this pop-up menu to identify the system on which you are going to play the
output le. Compressor limits options in other related properties to those appropriate for the
target system.
•
DVD Video: Choose this option if you’re encoding for use in a DVD video authoring application.
•
DVD Audio: Choose this option if you’re encoding for use in a DVD audio authoring application.
•
Generic AC-3: Choose this option to remove the target system setting limit (the most
generic choice).
•
Data rate: Use this pop-up menu to set the number of kilobits per second (kbps) required to
deliver your audio le. Using a higher rate will produce a higher-quality audio le.
Tip: For stereo encoding, rates of 192 kbps and 224 kbps are typical and will produce good
results. For Dolby Digital 5.1 encoding, a rate of 384 kbps is recommended. For 5.1 Dolby Digital
Plus encoding, a rate of 192 kbps is recommended.
•
Bit stream mode: Use this pop-up menu to dene the audio service contained within the Dolby
Digital or Dolby Digital Plus bitstream.
•
Surround mode: When using a Mono or Stereo (L R) channel layout, this property tells the
playback device whether the two-channel encoded bitstream contains a Dolby Surround (Lt/
Rt) program that requires Dolby Pro Logic decoding. There are three menu options:
•
Not Indicated: Does not send the playback device information about whether the bitstream
was encoded in Dolby Surround.
•
Not Encoded: Tells the playback device that the bitstream contains information not encoded
in Dolby Surround.
•
Surround Encoded: Tells the playback device that the bitstream contains information encoded
in Dolby Surround.
Chapter 4 Advanced adjustments 26
•
Surround EX Mode: When using a 5.1 (L R C LFE Ls Rs), 5.0 (L R C Ls Rs), 4.1 (L R LFE Ls Rs), or 4.0
(L R Ls Rs) layout, this property tells the playback device whether the audio has been encoded
in Dolby Digital Surround EX. There are three menu options:
•
Not Indicated: Does not send the playback device information about whether the bitstream
was encoded in Dolby Digital Surround EX.
•
Not Encoded: Tells the playback device that the bitstream was not encoded in Dolby Digital
Surround EX.
•
Surround Encoded: Tells the playback device that the bitstream was encoded in Dolby Digital
Surround EX.
•
Stereo downmix: Use this pop-up menu to set how to downmix a surround signal to a stereo
signal. For more information, see About audio channels on page 67.
Important: The LFE signal may be discarded by the Dolby Digital downmix process.
•
Lo/Ro center, Lo/Ro surround, Lt/Rt center, Lt/Rt surround (for surround sound output): Use
these pop-up menus to set the decibel level at which the surround and center channels are
downmixed. Properties are enabled or disabled based on the channel layout you choose.
•
DRC line mode: Use this pop-up menu to set the dynamic range compression processing mode.
The default setting, Film Standard, is recommended for all use cases.
•
DRC RF mode: Use this pop-up menu to set the dynamic range compression processing mode
for RF (TV sets, cable set top boxes, or other devices that have RF connections).
•
LFE low-pass lter: Select this checkbox to apply a 120 Hz low-pass lter to the low-frequency
eects (LFE) channel during output.
•
DC lter: Select this checkbox to apply a DC (direct current) high-pass lter to all input
channels. Although this lter provides a simple way to remove DC osets, note that most
mixed audio material is already free of DC osets.
•
Surround channels: 90 phase-shift: This property, which applies a 90-degree phase shift to the
surround channels, is selected by default. The shift in phase decorrelates the front and back
channels and prevents the L and Ls signals from canceling each other out if a surround-
compatible downmix is later applied to the decoded signal.
•
Surround channels: 3dB attenuation: Select this checkbox to apply a 3 dB cut to the surround
channels during output. This option is intended for multichannel output (like a lm
soundtrack) that is being transferred to a consumer home theater format. Cinema surround
channels are mixed 3 dB “hot” (higher) relative to the front channels to account for cinema
amplier gains.
•
Dialog normalization: Enter a value in the eld to set the loudness of the program in your
sound les relative to full modulation. The playback device uses this information to maintain
similar loudness among dierent AC-3 streams. The goal is to give all AC-3–encoded audio les
the same listening level, regardless of the source le.
Audio eects
For a list of available audio eects and instructions on how to add an audio eect to a setting,
see Add and remove eects on page 76.
Chapter 4 Advanced adjustments 27
H.264 for Apple Devices
The built-in Apple Devices settings use the H.264 for Apple Devices transcoding format. You can
also create custom settings that use the H.264 for Apple Devices transcoding format.
The properties of built-in and custom settings that use this transcoding format are located in the
General, Video, and Audio inspectors. These properties are described below.
Important: When you add a setting (or a destination that includes settings) to a job, Compressor
analyzes the source media and then automatically assigns the most appropriate setting
properties (based on the setting’s transcoding format and the characteristics of your source
media le). It’s recommended that you use the automatically assigned setting properties.
Setting summary
Displays the setting name and transcoding format, as well as an estimated output le
size. When you add a setting to a job or change the setting’s properties, this summary
automatically updates.
General properties
•
Name: Displays the name of the setting.
•
Description: Displays the description of the setting.
•
Extension: Displays the extension of the output le (.m4v).
•
Allow job segmenting: If you’ve set up distributed processing, select this checkbox to have
Compressor process the output le using your shared computer group. For more information,
see Transcode batches using other computers on page 101.
•
Default location: Choose an item from the pop-up menu to set the default save location for
transcoded les.
•
Format: Use this pop-up menu to set whether the output includes video and audio, or
video only.
Retiming
This section contains one property:
•
Set duration to: Sets the processing algorithm used to adjust the frame rate during transcoding.
Select one of the following options:
•
[Percentage] of source: Modies the output clip’s speed by a percentage of the source clip’s
speed. Enter a value in the percentage eld or choose a preset value from the adjacent
pop-up menu (with a downward arrow).
•
[Total duration]: Sets the duration of the clip. Enter a timecode duration in the eld or click
the arrows to increase or decrease the time.
•
So source frames play at [frame rate] fps: Nondestructively changes the playback speed of the
clip, without discarding frames or creating new frames. This setting has no eect unless the
“Frame rate” value in the Video inspector is dierent than the source le’s frame rate. For
example, if you add a 10-second source le with a frame rate of 24 fps to Compressor, set the
“Frame rate” property in the Video inspector to 25 fps, and then select “So source frames play
at 25 fps” in the General inspector, the duration of the transcoded clip (at 25 fps) is 9 seconds
and 15 frames.
For more information, see Retime video and audio output on page 71.
Chapter 4 Advanced adjustments 28
Video properties
•
Frame size: Use the pop-up menu to set an automatically calculated frame size (resolution)
range for the output le. For more information, see Modify frame size overview on page 69.
•
Pixel aspect ratio: For settings that use the H.264 format, the pixel aspect ratio is set to Square.
•
Frame rate: Use this pop-up menu to set the playback rate (the number of images displayed
per second) for the output le. For more information, see Frame rate options overview on
page 71.
•
Field order: For settings that use the H.264 format, the eld order is set to Progressive
(complete frames are scanned).
•
Multi-pass: Select this checkbox to turn on multi-pass encoding that uses additional analysis
of video frames to produce a high-quality output le. For faster (single-pass) transcoding, turn
this feature o by deselecting the checkbox.
•
Bit rate: Select the Automatic checkbox to have Compressor calculate the appropriate bit rate
for the output le, based on the frame size of the source le and device compatibility. If the
checkbox is not selected, you can set the bit rate by dragging the slider or entering a value in
the text eld.
•
Frame sync: Select the Automatic checkbox to have Compressor calculate the key frame
interval rate.
Note: When Frame sync is turned on, the value in the seconds eld is zero (.0). However, the
actual value is determined during the encoding process.
If the checkbox is not selected, you can drag the slider or enter a value in the text eld to
set the key frame interval (number of frames) at which you want key frames created in your
output le.
•
Encode for: Select a button to have Compressor transcode the output le at either the best
quality (so that the le will play back on newer devices) or at a lesser quality (so that as many
devices as possible will play the le).
•
Compatible with: This list shows devices that will play the transcoded le (compatible
device types are marked with a green circle that contains a checkmark ). When you
change the setting’s properties (frame size, frame rate, and so on), the compatibility list
automatically updates.
Cropping and padding
Customize the nal cropping, sizing, and aspect ratio using the Cropping & Padding properties.
Cropping removes video content from an image. Padding scales the image to a smaller size while
retaining the output image’s frame size. For more information about these properties, see Modify
frame size overview on page 69.
•
Cropping: Use this pop-up menu to set the dimension of the output image. The custom option
allows you to enter your own image dimensions in the elds; other options use predetermined
sizes. The Letterbox Area of Source menu item detects image edges and automatically enters
crop values to match them. This is useful if you want to crop out the letterbox area (the black
bars above and below a widescreen image) of a source media le.
•
Padding: Use this pop-up menu to set the scaling of the output image while retaining
the output image’s frame size. The custom option allows you to enter your own scaling
dimensions in the elds; other options use predetermined dimensions.
Chapter 4 Advanced adjustments 29
Quality
The following properties provide instructions for image analysis, including frame resizing, clip
retiming, and deinterlacing.
•
Resize lter: This pop-up menu sets the resizing method. There are three options:
•
Fast (Nearest Pixel): Provides the fastest processing time.
•
Better (Linear Filter): Provides a medium trade-o between processing time and
output quality.
•
Best (Statistical Prediction): Provides the highest output quality, but takes longer.
•
Retiming Quality: This pop-up menu sets the retiming method. There are four options:
•
Fast (Nearest Frame): Uses a copy of the nearest available frame to ll the new
in-between frames.
•
Better (Motion Adaptive): Uses deinterlacing on areas of the source le that contain
movement to produce good-quality output.
•
Best (Motion Compensated): Uses deinterlacing on areas of the source le that contain
movement to produce high-quality output.
•
Reverse Telecine: Removes the extra elds added during the telecine process to convert the
lm’s 24 fps to NTSC’s 29.97 fps. Choosing this item disables all the other Quality controls. For
more information, see About reverse telecine on page 74.
•
Adaptive details: Select this checkbox to use advanced image analysis to distinguish between
noise and edge areas during output.
•
Anti-aliasing level: Sets the softness level in the output image. Double-click the value and
then manually enter a new value or drag the slider to the right to increase softness. This
property improves the quality of conversions when you’re scaling media up. For example,
when transcoding SD video to HD, anti-aliasing smooths jagged edges that might appear in
the image.
•
Details level: Sets the amount of detail in the output image. Double-click the value and then
manually enter a new value or drag the slider to set the value. This sharpening control lets you
add detail back to an image being enlarged. Unlike other sharpening operations, the “Details
level” property distinguishes between noise and feature details, and generally doesn’t increase
unwanted grain. Increasing this value may introduce jagged edges, however, which can be
eliminated by increasing the “Anti-aliasing level” slider.
Video eects
For a list of available video eects and instructions on how to add a video eect to a setting, see
Add and remove eects on page 76.
Audio properties
•
Channel layout: Use the pop-up menu to set the audio channel layout.
•
Sample rate: Use this pop-up menu to set the number of times per second that music
waveforms (samples) are captured digitally. The higher the sample rate, the higher the audio
quality and the larger the le size.
•
Bit rate: Use the pop-up menu to set the bit rate to use for the output audio.
•
Include Dolby 5.1 Audio Track: Select the checkbox to add surround sound as a Dolby Digital
audio track for playback on Apple TV.
Audio eects
For a list of available audio eects and instructions on how to add an audio eect to a setting,
see Add and remove eects on page 76.
Chapter 4 Advanced adjustments 30
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