Setting summary

Displays the setting name and transcoding format, as well as an estimated output file 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 file (.264).

• Allow job segmenting: This checkbox is dimmed because job segmenting is not available for this setting.

• Default location: Select an item from the pop-up menu to set the default save location for transcoded files.

• Stream Usage: Use the pop-up menu to set whether the output file is transcoded for Blu-ray Disc or AVCHD.

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: Modifies the output clip’s speed by a percentage of the source clip’s speed. Enter a value in the percentage field 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 field 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 effect unless the “Frame rate” value in the Video inspector is different than the source file’s frame rate. For example, if you add a 10-second source file with a frame rate of 24 fps to Compressor, set the “Frame rate” property in the Video inspector to 25 fps, 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.

Video properties

• Frame size: Use the pop-up menu to set the frame size (resolution) for the output file. For more information, see Modify frame size overview.

• 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 file. For more information, see Frame rate options overview.

• Field order: For settings that use the H.264 format, the field order is set to Progressive (complete frames are scanned).

• Automatically select bit-rate: Select this checkbox to have Compressor automatically compute the best bit rate for the output file, based on the duration of the source file. If the checkbox is not selected, you can set the average and maximum bit rates by dragging the “Average bit rate” and “Maximum bit rate” sliders or entering values in the text fields.

• Multi-pass: Select this checkbox to turn on multi-pass encoding that uses additional analysis of video frames to produce a high-quality output file. For faster (single-pass) transcoding, turn this feature off by deselecting the checkbox.

Cropping and padding

Customize the final 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.

• Cropping: This pop-up menu sets the dimension of the output image. The custom option allows you to enter your own image dimensions in the fields; other options use predetermined sizes. The Letterbox Area of Source option 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 file.

• Padding: This pop-up menu sets 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 fields; other options use predetermined dimensions.

Quality

The following properties set the processing algorithm used during the transcoding process. For more information about using these controls, see Retime video and audio and Modify timing and frame rate.

• Resize filter: 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-off 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 fill the new in-between frames.

  • Better (Motion Adaptive): Uses deinterlacing on areas of the source file that contain movement to produce good-quality output.

  • Best (Motion Compensated): Uses deinterlacing on areas of the source file that contain movement to produce high-quality output.

  • Reverse Telecine: Removes the extra fields added during the telecine process to convert the film’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.

• 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 effects

For a list of available video effects and instructions on how to add a video effect to a setting, see Add and remove effects.