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, based on the setting chosen in the “Encoder type” pop-up menu, described below.

• Allow job segmenting: This option is not available for the default encoder types that are included with Compressor. It may be available for other encoders.

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

• Encoder type: Use this pop-up menu to choose from the available export component output formats (plug-ins). For some encoder types, you can customize the plug-in via the Settings property, described below.

• Settings: You can modify the export component output format that you selected in the Encoder type pop-up menu by clicking the Configure button and adjusting the format’s properties in the window that appears.

  Important: Use the third-party export module user interface to explicitly enter the image size and frame rate for the output file. Do not leave the Image Size and Frame Rate settings in the third-party user interface at their default values.

Video properties

The properties in this section are set based on the file format assigned to the setting. You can change the file format in the General pane of the inspector; for more information, see the Settings property in the “General properties” section, above.

• Frame size: For settings that use the QuickTime Export Component format, this property is set to Automatic.

• Pixel aspect ratio: For settings that use the QuickTime Export Component format, this property is set to Square. You can also modify the aspect ratio of the output file using cropping and padding properties; for more information, see Modify frame size overview.

• 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 QuickTime Export Component format, the field order is set automatically.

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: For settings that use the QuickTime Export Component format, the Padding property is not available.

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.