Apple Support - Most Recent Compressor Articles

Compressor: No audio when processing iPod Video on a Qmaster cluster.

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:41:21 -0500

If you submit a batch with the iPod Video setting applied to a Qmaster cluster there may be no audio in the resulting encoded movie file. This occurs when using Compressor 2.1 with QuickTime 7.1.3 installed.

Compressor 2: New and enhanced codecs

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:40:29 -0500

Compressor 2 offers full support of the new H.264 codec, as well as enhanced MPEG-2 options for high definition (HD) video.

Compressor: Error 0 when encoding from HD/HDV with less than 1GB of RAM

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:39:00 -0500

A minimum of one gigabyte (GB) of RAM is recommended for working in HD formats in Final Cut Studio. It's possible to run Final Cut Studio applications with only 512 MB of RAM, but you might encounter unexpected behaviors in some cases when working with HDV or other HD formats on a system that has less than 1 GB of RAM. For instance, if you're using Compressor to transcode a sequence from Final Cut Pro in an HD format, to an SD MPEG-2 for DVD, the operation might fail with a QuickTime Error 0.

Compressor 3 Distributed Processing: File may appear at destination before encoding is complete

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:37:47 -0500

Compressor batches can be submitted to a managed or unmanaged Qmaster cluster for distributed processing. In Compressor 3, when you submit a batch there is also an option to "Include unmanaged services on other computers" even if you have not selected a Qmaster cluster. If you utilize this option, a file may appear during the encoding process in the destination directory before the processing is completed.

Compressor 2: About distributed processing

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:32:36 -0500

Compressor 2 can accelerate processing by distributing the work to multiple computers. All you need is access to more than one computer and Compressor 2 installed with either DVD Studio Pro 4 or Final Cut Studio. In addition, Apple Qmaster Services needs to be installed. Apple Qmaster Services can be installed via the Apple QMaster Installer (go to the Custom Install window to install only Services), which is provided with Final Cut Studio 1.0, DVD Studio Pro 4.0.

Compressor 2: Includes AC-3 encoding

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:31:39 -0500

Compressor 2 now allows you to encode Dolby Digital AC-3 audio files. You can encode uncompressed audio assets, containing from 1 to 5.1 channels, using the Compressor batch and preset capabilities. In Compressor, choose Help > Compressor User Manual for more information.

Compressor 1 and Compressor 2.0 not compatible with Qmaster 2.1 (included with Shake 4.1)

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:52:27 -0500

If you have installed any version of Compressor other than 2.1 (part of Final Cut Studio 5.1), it is important to note that the Compressor software relies on the Qmaster software. Shake 4.1 includes Qmaster 2.1 (installed via the Node Installer), a later version of the Qmaster distributed processing technology, and does not work with Compressor 1.x or 2.0.x. In order to maintain compatibility with earlier versions of Compressor, Qmaster 2.1 should not be installed on the same startup volume with a Compressor 1.x or 2.0.x installation.

Compressor: Troubleshooting basics

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 21:09:40 -0500

If Compressor isn't starting up properly or performing normally, try these basic troubleshooting steps to remedy the situation. These steps are fundamental, basic things to try that are most effective in getting Compressor into good working order. This is the right place to start if you are attempting to to submit a batch and you see the following message: Unable to submit to queue. Please restart your computer or verify your Compressor installation is correct.

Motion: Aliased edges on some objects exported using Compressor

Fri, 9 May 2008 22:15:48 -0500

When you export from Motion with Compressor using the Apple ProRes 422 codec, some objects with diagonal lines may appear with aliased ("jagged") edges. The aliasing occurs on the edges of objects over a transparent background.

Compressor: Don't export from Final Cut Pro using a QuickCluster

Mon, 5 May 2008 18:22:24 -0500

You will not be able to successfully export from Final Cut Pro using Compressor if your computer is set up as a Compressor QuickCluster, or a "Virtual Cluster." If you attempt to send an item from Final Cut Pro to Compressor in such a case, some segments in the job may report "Failed" and processing of the batch will not complete successfully.

Compressor: Preview window may display blank space after updating or reinstalling

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 14:41:34 -0500

In some cases after updating or reinstalling Compressor 3, the Preview window may display a large blank space in the upper area of the window.

Motion: Compressor does not start after using earlier Motion Content installer

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:55:10 -0500

If you installed Motion Content using an earlier version of the Motion Content installer, unexpected results may occur with Final Cut Studio applications, including an issue in which Compressor 3 may not open. Note: Motion 3 is included as a part of Final Cut Studio 2. Also included with Final Cut Studio 2 is a Motion Content disc, which can be used to install several gigabytes (GB) of content for use with Motion 3.

Compressor: Some characters in a computer's Host Name may cause inaccessibility to local clusters

Wed, 9 Jan 2008 15:30:53 -0600

Using special characters within your computer's host name may prevent you from being able to see local Qmaster clusters.

Final Cut Studio: Color space settings for REDCODE to ProRes transcoding

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 02:42:38 -0600

When using Compressor 3.0.2 to transcode clips from REDCODE Raw codec to Apple ProRes, it's important to choose the correct color space settings for the best image quality.

Compressor/Apple Qmaster versions 2.3 and earlier and version 3.0 not supported on Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard

Thu, 6 Dec 2007 20:50:55 -0600

Issue or symptom

Compressor/Apple Qmaster versions 2.3 and earlier and version 3.0 are not supported on Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.

Products affected

Compressor 2.3 and earlier versions and version 3.0
Apple Qmaster 2.3 and earlier versions and version 3.0

Solution

Compressor and Apple Qmaster 2.3.1 and later or version 3.0.1 or later are supported on Mac OS 10.5 Leopard. Use Software Update to ensure you have the latest updates.

Final Cut Studio: Third-party appearance themes may cause issues

Thu, 31 May 2007 21:34:31 -0500

Issue

If you have installed third-party appearance modifications or other software designed to supersede the Mac OS X user interface, Final Cut Studio's window contents and other graphic elements may become corrupted or may display artifacts or distortion.

Solution

Disable or remove the third-party appearance modifications if they interfere with the display or functionality of Final Cut Studio applications.

Important: Information about products not manufactured by Apple is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute Apple's recommendation or endorsement. Please contact the vendor for additional information.

Pro Apps Update 2006-02

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 13:19:06 -0500

Pro Applications Update 2006-02 addresses several issues with underlying frameworks and shared components for Apple's professional applications and is strongly recommended for all users of Final Cut Studio 5.1, Final Cut Pro 5.1, Motion 2.1, Soundtrack Pro 1.1, DVD Studio Pro 4.1, LiveType 2.1, Compressor 2.3, Apple Qmaster 2.3, and Final Cut Express HD 3.5.

Pro Application Update 2006-02 updates the following components

HDVCodec

HDVCodec addresses performance fixes with certain decks and also improves video quality specifically superblack preservation.

This update is required for customers using Final Cut Pro 5.1 and above.

DVCProHDCodec

DVCProHDCodec addresses performance and stability issues.

This update is required for customers

Some Xsan configurations will cause an error when using Distributed Processing for Compressor

Tue, 29 Aug 2006 16:53:28 -0500

Symptom or Issue

If you submit a Compressor batch to a QMaster cluster, the batch may not get processed and you'll get the following error instead:

NewMovieFromFile failed -2048.

This issue is caused by some Xsan volume configurations and affects the following products:

Compressor 2.x
QMaster 2.x
Xsan 1.x

Pro Applications Update 2006-01

Thu, 22 Jun 2006 13:04:01 -0500

Pro Applications Update 2006-01 address several issues with underlying frameworks and shared components for the following professional applications, and is strongly recommended for all users of Final Cut Studio 5.1, Final Cut Pro 5.1, Motion 2.1, Soundtrack Pro 1.1, Apple Qmaster 2.1, Compressor 2.1, DVD Studio Pro 4.1, LiveType 2.1, Shake 4.1, and Final Cut Express HD 3.5.

Pro Application Update 2006-01 updates the following components

HDVCodec

HDVCodec addresses compatibility issues with Sony's XDCAM-HD 1080p24 25 Mbps CBR format and playback for the XDCAM-HD 540-line VFR formats.

Final Cut Studio Resources

Thu, 27 Apr 2006 09:09:03 -0500

Support
In the United States and Canada, all new registered users of Final Cut Studio receive 90 days of complimentary software support via telephone from the date of purchase. In addition,