Work with metadata annotations in Compressor
You can embed metadata into files transcoded using the Apple Devices, Apple ProRes, MP3, MPEG-4, and QuickTime presets. Use metadata to annotate a media file with information that’s important for your workflow or for the person viewing your output file. You can add any of the annotation fields provided in Compressor, import metadata that’s used in another media file (like a QuickTime movie), or pass through existing metadata.
Manually add annotations to a media file
In the Compressor batch area, select the job that contains the media file you want to annotate.
Tip: To select the job, rather than an output row under the job, click the source filename at the top of the job area.
In the Job Annotations area of the Job inspector, click the Fields pop-up menu, choose an annotation type, then enter text in the field that appears.
Repeat step 2 for each annotation type you want to add.
The annotations you added are shown in fields below the pop-up menu.
Note: If you see the message “Some source file annotations cannot be displayed,” your job contains metadata—lyrics, for example—that Compressor cannot display. See Modify pass-through metadata.
Import annotations from an external file
You can import metadata annotations into Compressor from an external QuickTime movie or from an XML dictionary property list, a text file used in macOS, iOS, and iPadOS programming frameworks to store metadata categories and values (keys and strings). For detailed information about XML property lists, see the Apple Developer document What Is a Property List?
In the Compressor batch area, select the job that contains the media file you want to annotate.
Tip: To select the job, rather than an output row under the job, click the source filename at the top of the job area.
In the Job Annotations area of the Job inspector, click the Fields pop-up menu, choose Import, select a QuickTime movie or XML property list file that contains annotations, then click Open.
Metadata values in the QuickTime movie or XML file that correspond to the metadata categories in Compressor are added to the fields below the pop-up menu, overwriting any existing metadata values.
Compressor recognizes the following metadata categories in QuickTime movie files and XML property list files:
com.apple.quicktime.albumcom.apple.quicktime.artistcom.apple.quicktime.authorcom.apple.quicktime.commentcom.apple.quicktime.copyrightcom.apple.quicktime.creationdatecom.apple.quicktime.descriptioncom.apple.quicktime.directorcom.apple.quicktime.displaynamecom.apple.quicktime.genrecom.apple.quicktime.informationcom.apple.quicktime.keywordscom.apple.quicktime.location.ISO6709com.apple.quicktime.producercom.apple.quicktime.publishercom.apple.proapps.reelcom.apple.quicktime.softwarecom.apple.quicktime.titlecom.apple.quicktime.collection.usercom.apple.quicktime.rating.usercom.apple.quicktime.yearNote: If you see the message “Some source file annotations cannot be displayed,” your job contains metadata—lyrics, for example—that Compressor cannot display. See Modify pass-through metadata.
Modify pass-through metadata
You can choose how to handle metadata in your transcodes.
In the Compressor batch area, select an applied preset.
In the General inspector, choose an option:
Use Job Annotations: Includes the metadata from the Job Annotations listed in the Job Inspector. This is the default preset.
Pass through source file metadata: Passes the existing metadata from the source file to the transcode. Ignores Job Annotations listed in the Job Inspector.
Remove all metadata and annotations: Passes no metadata to the source file.
Include metadata from the source file that cannot be displayed as a job annotation: Available when Use Job Annotations is selected. Includes the metadata from the Job Annotations listed in the Job Inspector and passes the existing metadata from the source file to the transcode.
Click Start Batch to export your file.
View annotations after transcoding
After Compressor transcodes a media file that has metadata, there are several ways to see the annotations:
In the Finder, select the transcoded media file, choose File > Get Info, then in the info window click the disclosure triangle next to More Info.
Open the media file in QuickTime Player, then choose Window > Show Movie Inspector.
QuickTime Player displays several (but not all) categories of Compressor metadata at the top of the inspector.
After importing the media file into Final Cut Pro, select the clip and open the Info inspector.
In third-party apps and utilities, see the product documentation for details about viewing metadata.
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