Compressor: Late Breaking News

Late-Breaking News About Compressor

For the latest information about product updates, tips and techniques, and qualified third-party devices, visit the Compressor website at http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/compressor.html.

Circular Watermarks Look Elliptical With MPEG-2 Presets
If you have an image of a circle that you want to use as a watermark, it may end up looking elliptical. This is caused by a conflict between different pixel types-square and non-square- that are used between the source and output formats. To avoid this, when making the circle image, reshape it to approximate an ellipse. It will then be reshaped back into a circle.

Some Letters Appear Distorted When Using the Text Overlay Filter With MPEG-2 Presets
When using the Text Overlay filter with MPEG-2 presets, some letters-such as P and L-may not look correct. This is caused by a conflict between different pixel types-square and non-square- used between the source a
nd output formats. There is currently no work around for this situation.

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.

Remote Destination User Names
If you are creating a remote destination, be sure to use UNIX-acceptable characters. User names containing characters inadmissible in UNIX filenames will not be recognized by Compressor.

Presets and Preset Groups Must Be Deleted One at a Time
Compressor only allows you to delete one preset or preset group at one time. If you select more than one preset or preset group, the Remove button becomes dimmed.

Presets Can Only Be Added to a Preset Group One at a Time
If you want multiple presets in a preset group, you must drag them from the Presets table to the preset group one at a time.

Presets Can Only Be Duplicated One at a Time
You cannot select multiple presets and duplicate them at the same time; the Duplicate button becomes dimmed. You must duplicate presets one at a time.

Presets Cannot Be Dragged Out of Preset Groups
Once you have dragged a preset into a preset group, you cannot drag it out again; however, you can drag it to another preset group. You can delete a preset from any group using the Remove button or Delete key.

No Notification Notice Is Given Before Deleting Presets or Preset Groups
There is no confirmation message when deleting a preset or preset group after you click the Remove button or press the Delete key.

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.

Output Filename Identifiers in Droplets Appear in Symbol Format
Unlike the plain English filename identifier format used in the Destinations window, the Droplet window uses the % symbol followed by a letter to create filename identifiers.

The following symbols are listed with their identifiers:

• %B: Source file name
• %T: Preset file name
• %D: Date
• %E: Source file extension

iDisk Cannot Be Used as a Destination
If you want to save the output media file to a mounted iDisk volume, first save it to another destination, and then drag it to the mounted iDisk volume after it has been transcoded.


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.

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 the following 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.

Reduced Bit Rate Recommended When Transcoding Certain Source Media Files
When transcoding MPEG-2 files using source media files at or near 120 minutes in duration as well as using AIFF to transcode audio, it is recommended that you reduce the bit rate of the 120-minute MPEG-2 presets slightly. Reducing the bit rate to 3.3 Mbps is recommended.

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). Autodetection 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.

Changes in Network State May Affect Compressor's Ability to Submit Batches
If you change your network state while Compressor is running, you may find the Batch Window Submit button becomes disabled after the network state has changed. For example, moving your PowerBook from a corporate Ethernet network to a wireless network, or unplugging your laptop from a network to take it on the road, may result in this issue. This is easily resolved by quitting Compressor and reopening the application. If the problem persists, it is recommended that you restart your computer.

Copyright 2003 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, DVD Studio Pro, Final Cut, Final Cut Pro, PowerBook and QuickTime are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.