Compressor 1.2: Late-Breaking News

Read the following points for compatibility information about Compressor 1.2.

• Compressor 1.2 is strongly recommended for all users of any previous Compressor versions.
• Compressor 1.2 requires Mac OS X version 10.3.
• Final Cut Pro must be updated to version 4.1 for its Export Using Compressor feature to work with Compressor 1.2.
• Because Shake Qmaster and Compressor share the same Batch Monitor feature when both are installed on the same computer, you must update Shake Qmaster to version 1. 2 when you update Compressor to version 1.2. You can update Shake Qmaster using Software Update.

New Presets Included

Compressor 1.2 includes new presets designed to be used with high definition (HD) sources and with the new MPEG-1 encoder.

The new presets are automatically available in new Compressor 1.2 installations. If you are updating an earlier version of Compressor, you must remove the existing presets before Compressor will update to the new ones.

To update the presets of an earlier version of Compressor:

1. Quit Compressor.
2. Update to Compressor 1.2.
3. Locate the folder containing the current presets. It is in your home folder at /Library/Application Support/Compressor. You must remove all of the presets in this folder or Compressor will not replace them with the updated versions.
4. Copy any custom presets you want to save to a different folder or to your desktop. These include those presets you have created as well as presets included with Compressor that you have customized.
5. Delete all existing presets (all files and folders) from the /Library/Application Support/ Compressor folder.
6. Open Compressor. The new presets are added to the /Library/Application Support/Compressor folder.
7. Copy the custom presets you saved back into the /Library/Application Support/ Compressor folder.
8. To make these custom presets available to the updated version of Compressor, quit and reopen Compressor.

Incorrect Preset Names Appear for Source Media Files Dragged From the
History Drawer

If you drag a submitted job from the History drawer to the Batch table for resubmission, the Preset column displays the output filename of the media file as well as the preset name. This applies to presets for all encoders, but it has no impact on the resulting output media file.

Media File Codecs May Be Unrecognized When Working With Third-Party
Codecs

Compressor supports any of the QuickTime codecs. However, if you attempt to transcode a file whose codec is not installed, you may see strange drawing behavior throughout the application. Typically, parts of your monitor are drawn in black, and movies don't appear in the Preview window. Make sure you have the proper codec installed for your source media file.

To see which codec was used to create your source media file:

1. Open your source media file in QuickTime Player.
2. Choose Window > Show Movie Info.
3. Click the More Info disclosure triangle and view the Format line. The Format line displays the codec name as well as the original frame size and depth format. Once you see which codec is used by your source media file, you can check to see if Compressor will recognize it.

To see whether Compressor will recognize your source media file's codec:

1. Open Compressor.
2. Either select an existing QuickTime preset or create a QuickTime preset.
3. Click the Video Settings button in the QuickTime Encoder pane to open the Compression Settings dialog.
4. Open the Codec pop-up menu at the top of the dialog and view the codecs listed. If you don't see your source media file's codec listed, Compressor will not recognize your source media file.

Some Final Cut Pro Output Media Files Are Saved to the Root Boot Partition

If you are using Compressor to transcode a Final Cut Pro project and you choose Source as your destination, your resulting file(s) are saved to the root boot partition of your computer rather than to the source location.

Important Information Regarding MPEG-2 Files Generated by Compressor and DVD Studio Pro

Timecode
DVD Studio Pro 1.5.2 doesn't recognize imported MPEG-2 files generated from Compressor when the timecode wraps in the following way for the following broadcast formats:

• NTSC: From 23:59:59:29 to 00:00:00:00
• PAL: From 23:59:59:24 to 00:00:00:00
• 24P: From 23:59:59:23 to 00:00:00:00

If your source media file is of a duration that you know will cause a timecode wrap to 00:00:00:00 and you intend to export the MPEG-2 output media file to DVD Studio Pro 1.5.2, select the "Choose start timecode" checkbox in the MPEG-2 Encoder Video Format pane in the Presets window, and enter the timecode 00:00:00:00 in the related "Choose start timecode" field.

To view Final Cut Pro video output on the main computer display connected to your computer:

1. Choose Final Cut Pro > A/V Settings.
2. Click the A/V Devices tab.
3. Choose the Desktop Cinema Display - Full Screen [Main] option from the Playback Output Video pop-up menu.
4. Choose View > External > All Frames or press Command-F12.

Chapter Markers
Chapter markers set in Final Cut Pro and transcoded in Compressor, or set directly in Compressor, will not be present in the imported MPEG-2 data in versions earlier than DVD Studio Pro 2. However, I-frames will be set where chapter markers were named. If you are using a version earlier than DVD Studio Pro 2, you have several options.

Final Cut Pro native projects
You have the following options for Final Cut Pro native projects:

• Export QuickTime Movie: To preserve chapter markers, choose File > Export > QuickTime Export, and choose Compression Markers from the pop-up menu. You will not get the high quality and encoding options that Compressor provides, but you will keep your chapter markers.
• Export Using Compressor: If quality and encoder controls are important to your project, choose File > Export > Using Compressor to export your MPEG-2 media file. If you are using a version earlier than DVD Studio Pro 2, you can manually set the chapter markers directly in DVD Studio Pro.

Compressor native projects
You can set chapter markers using the Compressor Preview window, but they will not be preserved when exported to versions earlier than DVD Studio Pro 2. I-frames will be preserved. If you are using a version prior to DVD Studio Pro 2, you can manually set the chapter markers directly in DVD Studio Pro.

• Add DVD Studio Pro meta-data checkbox: 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 2. However, these MPEG-2 files will be incompatible with DVD Studio Pro 1.5 or earlier. Leaving the checkbox unselected means the information will be parsed later in DVD Studio Pro.

Note: MPEG-2 streams with additional DVD Studio Pro meta-data are only compatible with DVD Studio Pro 2 (or later). MPEG-2 streams processed with this checkbox selected will not be compatible with versions prior to DVD Studio Pro 2.

MPEG-2 Automatic Field Dominance Ordering Inconsistent If you are using the Automatic Field Dominance setting in the MPEG-2 Video Format pane, the auto-detection mechanism sometimes picks the wrong field order (top or bottom). Auto-detection chooses the correct field order when the source media file is using the DV codec, but with many other codecs it chooses the wrong field order (all of the Compressor default MPEG-2 settings use Automatic Field Dominance).

To correct this inconsistency, create a new preset or duplicate an existing one, and set the field dominance to either "Top first" or "Bottom first" (rather than Automatic) to correspond to the field dominance of the source media file you want to transcode.

Transcoding With Compressor in Final Cut Pro When you submit a Final Cut Pro project for transcoding, Final Cut Pro begins to render and transcode frames via Compressor. You have the option to pause or cancel this process in Final Cut Pro. The recommended method for pausing a Final Cut Pro to Compressor job is to use the Stop button in the Batch Monitor toolbar. The recommended method for stopping a Final Cut Pro to Compressor job is to use the Delete button in the Batch Monitor toolbar.