QuickTime Movie settings in Compressor

Setting summary

Displays the setting name and transcoding format used by Compressor, as well as an estimated output file size. When you add a setting to a job or change the setting’s properties, this summary is automatically updated.

General properties

• Name: Displays the name of the setting.

• Description: Displays the description of the setting.

• Extension: Displays the extension of the output file (.mov).

• Allow job segmenting: If you’ve set up distributed processing, select this checkbox to have Compressor process the output file using your shared computer group. See Transcode batches with multiple computers using Compressor.

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

• Format: Use the pop-up menu to set whether the output includes video and audio, video only, or audio only.

• Optimize for network use: Select this checkbox to create a file that will start playing after only a small portion of the file has been downloaded from the network.

Retiming

Sets the processing algorithm used to adjust the frame rate during transcoding. Select one of the following options:

• Set to percent of source using: 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 down arrow).

• Set to: 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 property has no effect unless the “Frame rate” value in the Video inspector is different from 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, and then select “So source frames play at 25 fps” in the General inspector, the resulting duration of the transcoded clip (at 25 fps) will be 9 seconds and 15 frames.

For more information, see Retime video and audio using Compressor.

Captions

The captions area contains a single property, the “Embed CEA-608 captions” checkbox. Select the checkbox if you’ve added CEA-608 closed captions to a job and you want the captions inserted into the output video file. See Intro to supporting captions in Compressor.

Metadata

Specifies how metadata is embedded in the transcode. See Work with metadata annotations in Compressor.

• Use Job Annotations: Includes the metadata from the Job Annotations listed in the Job inspector. This is the default setting.

• 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.

Video properties

• Enable video pass-through: Select this checkbox to copy the source video unmodified to the destination file. When this checkbox is selected, all the other settings in the video properties area are disabled.

• Frame size: Use this pop-up menu to set the frame size (resolution) for the output file. See Intro to modifying frame size in Compressor. There are four categories to choose from:

  • Automatic: Adjusts the output based on the size of the input, and can be constrained “up to” a maximum resolution.

  • Percentage: Adjusts the output based on a percentage of the input’s size.

  • Manual: Forces the output to a specific resolution.

  • Constrained: Constrains the output to a specific aspect ratio.

• Pixel aspect ratio: Use this pop-up menu to set the pixel aspect ratio (the ratio between the encoded width and the display width).

  Note: This property can be set when “Frame size” is set to a manual or constrained setting.

• Frame rate: Use this pop-up menu to set the playback rate (the number of images displayed per second) for the output file. See Retiming options in Compressor.

• Field order: Use this pop-up menu to set the output scanning method (either the field dominance or a conversion to progressive scanning). There are four options:

  • Automatic: Selects the most appropriate field order, based on the field order of the source and the capabilities of the selected codec.

  • Progressive: The video is displayed in complete frames with all lines sampled at the same instant in time.

  • Top First: The video is interlaced and displayed as two separate interleaved fields. The field containing the top line (even lines) is sampled at an earlier instant in time than the field containing the bottom line (odd lines). This field order is commonly used for high-definition video and standard-definition PAL video.

  • Bottom First: The video is interlaced and displayed as two separate interleaved fields. The field containing the bottom line (odd lines) is sampled at an earlier instant in time than the field containing the top line (even lines). This field order is commonly used for standard-definition NTSC video.

  Note: If you use a QuickTime movie preset based on the H.264 format (such as any of the presets in the Video Sharing Services settings), the “Field order” pop-up menu is disabled and automatically set to Progressive (complete frames are scanned). To set the field order to an interlaced option, disable Multi-pass in the Inspector.

• Color space: Use this pop-up menu to convert the source media to a new color space. Choose Automatic to allow Compressor to choose the best color space based on the selected preset. Choose “Same as Source” to use the color space of the source file. You can also choose a manual setting to override the default. See Transcode a video file to a different color space.

• RAW to log: Use this pop-up menu to select how ProRes RAW conversion is done. Choose Automatic to allow Compressor to choose the conversion method. You can also choose a manual setting to override the default. This option is available only if the source is ProRes RAW.

• Camera LUT: Use this pop-up menu to select the camera lookup table (LUT) applied to the source. Select a custom LUT to transform your video from one color space to another. This setting is enabled if the source is ProRes RAW and if “RAW to log” is set to a value other than None. This setting is also enabled if “Camera log” in video properties in the Job inspector is set to a value other than None.

• 360° metadata: Use this pop-up menu to choose the type of 360° metadata, if any, included in the output file.

  • Automatic: Compressor chooses the metadata format based on the properties in the Job inspector and the transcode setting you applied. The format chosen is listed to the right of the pop-up menu.

  • None: No 360° metadata is attached to your output file.

  • Spherical Video V1: The 360° metadata format most commonly used by sharing sites, including YouTube and Vimeo.

  • Spherical Video V2: A less common but more up-to-date 360° metadata format used by YouTube and Vimeo.

  For more information, see View 360° video metadata using Compressor.

• Codec: Use this pop-up menu to set the type of video compression.

  When QuickTime settings are set to H.264 or HEVC, a few additional controls are enabled:

• Encoder type: Use this pop-up menu to set the type of encoder. This pop-up menu is enabled when Codec is set to HEVC. Choose from two options:

  • Faster (standard quality): Encodes the output file using a faster codec, with standard quality.

  • Slower (higher quality): Encodes the output file using a slower codec, with higher quality.

    Important: Not all options are available on all hardware.

• Profile: Use this pop-up menu to set the quality of compression used in the output file . When QuickTime settings are set to H.264, this pop-up menu offers three options:

  • High: Provides high-quality output that may not be compatible with older H.264 playback devices.

  • Main: Similar to the Baseline profile, with additional support for standard-definition (SD) video requirements.

  • Baseline: Primarily for video conferencing and mobile applications.

  When QuickTime settings are set to HEVC, the Profile pop-up menu sets the color depth of the output file (the number of bits used to represent color in each color channel—red, green, and blue). There are two options:

  • 8-Bit Color: Provides a good balance between picture quality and file size. (This option is available only on recent Mac computers that support hardware encoding of HEVC.)

  • 10-Bit Color: Provides better picture quality but with larger file sizes. (Because this option uses software encoding, performance may be significantly slower than 8-bit hardware encoding.)

    Note: HEVC encoding requires a computer running MacOS 10.13 or later.

• Entropy mode: When Codec is set to H.264, use this pop-up menu to set the entropy mode to CABAC (which provides higher-quality output), or CAVLC (which is faster and more compatible for playback on older devices).

• Data rate: This pop-up menu allows you to choose a data rate for your video based on any of four options:

  • Custom: Setting data rate to Custom enables a value field that limits your video signal to a set number of kilobits per second (kbps). Higher rates allow higher-quality video but generate larger files that are slower to download or transmit.

  • Computer playback: Creates a larger file with higher quality.

  • Web publishing: Creates a smaller file (of lower quality) suitable for hosting on a website.

  • Proxies: Creates a smaller file suitable for a proxy workflow. Available only for H.264 and HEVC encoding.

  • Automatic: Attempts to identify and apply the lowest possible data rate while maintaining maximum visual quality.

  Important: When you set a data rate, you override other codec quality properties because the codec compresses the file as much as it needs to based on its data-rate limit.

• Key frame interval: Enter a value in the text field to set the key frame interval (number of frames) at which you want key frames created in your output file. Alternatively, you can select Automatic to have Compressor choose the key frame interval rate (the displayed value is 0 with Automatic on; the actual value is determined during the encoding process).

• Quality: When Codec is set to Animation, HEVC, or Photo-JPEG, this slider controls one of the following options:

  • Animation or Photo-JPEG: Use the slider to set the quality level of your output. Select from least (smaller file size) to best (larger file size).

  • HEVC: Use the slider to set the quality level of the alpha channel of your output. Select from least (smaller file size) to best (larger file size).

• 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. Multi-pass is available when Codec is set to H.264 on an Intel-based Mac, and when Codec is set to H.264 or HEVC on a Mac with Apple silicon that’s running macOS Monterey 12 or later and has “Encoder type” set to “Faster (standard quality).” For faster (single-pass) transcoding, turn off this feature by deselecting the checkbox.

• Include Dolby Vision 8.4 metadata: Select this checkbox to have Compressor include Dolby Vision 8.4 metadata in the output file. Dolby Vision 8.4 is a format designed to optimize HDR content for Apple devices. If this checkbox is selected, “Color space” is set to Rec. 2020 HLG, Codec is set to HEVC, and Profile is set to 10-Bit Color.

• Frame Reordering: Select this checkbox to potentially provide a better-quality output file by allowing Compressor to reorder video frames during transcoding. This option is only available when Codec is set to H.264 or HEVC.

  Important: If you select “Allow frame reordering,” your output file may be more efficiently compressed but may not be compatible with decoders on older hardware.

• Preserve Alpha: Select this checkbox to preserve any alpha channel information in your source and pass the alpha to the output. This checkbox is enabled when Codec is set to ProRes 4444 or Animation. If your computer is running macOS 10.15 or later, this checkbox is also enabled when Codec is set to HEVC. When Preserve Alpha is turned on, the Quality slider is enabled.

• Add clean aperture information: Select this checkbox to define clean picture edges in the output file. This property adds information to the output file to define how many pixels to hide, ensuring that no artifacts appear along the edges. When you play the output file in QuickTime Player, the pixel aspect ratio will be slightly altered. This process doesn’t affect the actual number of pixels in the output file—it only controls whether information is added to the file that a player can use to hide the edges of the picture.

• Cinematic: This pop-up menu is available on macOS Monterey 12 or later. It allows you to specify how to handle metadata in video that was recorded in Cinematic mode (on iPhone models that support Cinematic mode video). There are three options:

  • Ignore: Ignores any Cinematic mode metadata in the source file. If the source file contains no Cinematic mode metadata, Ignore is selected and the menu is dimmed.

  • Pass-through: When the “Enable video pass-through” checkbox is selected, Cinematic mode metadata passes through unmodified to the destination file, and the menu is dimmed and unavailable.

  • Render: When Cinematic mode metadata is present and the “Enable video pass-through” checkbox is not selected, you may choose to render the Cinematic mode video to the destination file.

    Note: If you’re running macOS 11 or earlier, the Cinematic pop-up menu is unavailable. If the source file contains Cinematic mode metadata and the “Enable video pass-through” checkbox isn’t selected, the warning “Cinematic mode video can only be rendered when running under macOS 12.0 or later” is displayed in the Errors & Warnings window.

Cropping and Padding

Customize the final cropping, sizing, and aspect ratio using the Cropping & Padding properties in Compressor. 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 Intro to modifying frame size in Compressor.

• 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 determine how Compressor resizes, retimes, and otherwise adjusts the video when transcoded:

• Resize filter: This pop-up menu sets the resizing method. There are several options:

  • Nearest Pixel (Fastest): Samples the nearest neighboring pixel when resizing an image. This option provides the fastest processing time, but it is more likely to show aliasing artifacts and jagged edges.

  • Linear: Adjacent pixel values are averaged using a linear distribution of weights. Produces fewer aliasing artifacts than Nearest Pixel, with a small increase in processing time.

  • Gaussian: Adjacent pixel values are averaged using a gaussian distribution of weights. This provides a medium trade-off between processing time and output quality.

  • Lanczos 2: Adjacent pixel values are averaged using a truncated sinc function. This option is slower than Gaussian but provides sharper results.

  • Lanczos 3: Similar to Lanczos 2 but averages more pixel values. This option is slower than Lanczos 2 but may produce better results.

  • Bicubic: Adjacent pixel values are averaged using a bicubic function. The processing time and output are most similar to Lanczos 2 and Lanczos 3.

  • Anti-aliased (Best): Provides the highest output quality, but can take substantially longer to process.

• Retiming Quality: This pop-up menu sets the retiming method. There are four options:

  • Fast (Nearest Frame): Linearly interpolates frames using nearest neighbor frames.

  • Good (Frame Blending): Blends neighboring frames using a filter to produce good-quality interpolation.

  • Best (Motion Compensated): Uses optical flow to interpolate using areas of movement between neighboring frames 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. See Use reverse telecine in Compressor.

• 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.

• Dithering: When selected, adds a certain type of noise to images to prevent large-scale distracting patterns such as color banding. If your image has excessive noise after rendering, deselect this checkbox.

Video effects

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

Audio properties

• Enable audio pass-through: Select this checkbox to copy the source audio unmodified to the destination file. When this checkbox is selected, all the other settings in the Audio Properties area are disabled.

• Channel layout: Use the pop-up menu to set the audio channel layout. See Audio channel layouts in Compressor.

• Sample rate: Use this pop-up menu to set the number of times per second that music waveforms (samples) are captured digitally. The higher the sample rate, the higher the audio quality and the larger the file size.

• Sample size: Use the pop-up menu to manually set the sample size of the audio signal.

• Codec: You can add an audio codec that you’ve installed on your system to customize the Compressor setting. To manually change the codec used in your setting, use this pop-up menu. After you click OK and close the window, the setting’s audio properties are updated to show your changes.

• Sample format: If you have selected Linear PCM as an audio codec, use this pop-up menu to select whether to output your audio in Big Endian or Little Endian format.

• Quality: If you have selected AAC, FLAC, MPEG-4 HE AAC, MPEG-4 HE AAC V2, or Opus as an audio codec, use this pop-up menu to select the quality of the audio output.

• Bit rate: If you have selected AAC as an audio codec, use this pop-up menu to set the bit rate for the encoded audio.

• Bit rate strategy: If you have selected AAC, FLAC, MPEG-4 HE AAC, MPEG-4 HE AAC V2, or Opus as an audio codec, use this pop-up menu to select the strategy used to encode the audio. There are four options:

  • Constant bit rate: Uses the value set in “Bit rate” to determine the bit rate for the encoded audio.

  • Average bit rate: Uses the value set in “Bit rate” to determine the target average bit rate for the encoded audio. This option provides a more consistent bit rate than variable bit rate.

  • Variable bit rate constrained: Uses the value set in “Bit rate” to determine the maximum bit rate for the encoded audio.

  • Variable bit rate: Encodes the audio using a variable bit rate determined by Compressor.

• Include Lt Rt downmix track: Select this checkbox (available only when “Channel layout” is set to more than two tracks) to add an additional stereo track to the transcoded file that includes a stereo-mix version of the audio with the encoded surround information included.

Audio effects

For a list of available audio effects in Compressor, and instructions on how to add an audio effect to a setting, see Add and remove effects in Compressor.