Compressor 1.2.1 problems

Suddenly my long conversions to Mpeg-2 (for DVD project) is failing or just taking forever. It usually takes about 25 hours for a 150 minute piece but, without any changes to software or hardware, compressor started failing and now it just keeps adding hours. When I looked at it this morning, FCP (4.5) was not responding and compressor was up to 288 hours and adding. I have done maintenance, fixed permissions etc. Please advise.
jmf

I would be willing to bet that the Quicktime upgrade is causing problems with Compressor 1. There have been numerous reports of incompatibilty with FCP 4.5, Compressor 1, and the latest versions of Quicktime. You should look in your Compressor documentation and find out what the recommended version of Quicktime is, if memory serves me correctly, it was not Quicktime 7.

Similar Messages

Older Compressor 1.2.1. problem

Hello ,
I am having this problem when I try to drag source video file into the older Compressor 1.2.1.
No matter if I use +sign to add a new file or if I just drag that file into BATCH, folowing ALERT pops up.
"Error trying to open source media file"
I have been using this Compressor before and it worked fine, this is the first time I experience this. The format of the source file makes no difference. I have tried Final Cut Pro movie, I have tried Quick Time, I have even tried different video files, this Alert always appears.

How are you trying to launch Compressor? Are you using the Dock or going directly to the Application directory? Try the latter if you have previously been using the Dock.
Next thing to check would be to create a new user account and see if you can access Compressor from there.
Do you see qmasterd in the process list when you run Apple's Activity Monitor utility? You need to select the show "All Processes" item at the top of the activity window to show this task (owned by root).
If you don't see qmasterd then it's possible that something went wrong during the startup of your system. Either that, or you still have an installation problem. By the way, you did restart the system after you completed the removal of Compressor and DVDSP. Also, did you see any warning about a security setting when you restarted after you reinstalled DVDSP? If you did, you should have selected to fix the security problem.
You might also want to check the console and system logs to look for errors related to Compressor or QMaster. You can review these logs by going to "About This Mac" -> "More Info..." -> "Contents:Software:Logs" (look on left side of the System Profiler window to see the "Contents:Software:Logs" selection). You may see several warnings or even errors in these logs, but just look for those that might be related to Compressor, QuickTime, or QMaster.

FCP-compressor-NTSC/PAL workflow problems...

Hello there,
I'm writing this thread on behalf of a collegue of mine who is in a bit of a pickle... I've been on the phone to him all morning and i'm stumped...
He's just finished offline-editing a new feature film by Nicolas Roeg (walkabout, performance etc) and needs to churn out a DVD for viewing-update purposes, here is the tech info followed by the problem...
ok... so, in FCP he has the sequence and media at photoJPEG quality.
The editing timebase for the sequence is 24 fps.
The problem is that he wants to make a PAL DVD, but when he goes into Compressor, and applies the relevant settings, it always comes out as NTSC...?
I've been on the phone to him, and we've both had little test sequences open (only 10" long sequence) to talk through the work-flow, and as I'm not an advanced Compressor user, I can't find ANYTHING in preferences that sets the PAL/NTSC option.
I am under the impression that it is a FCP setting that actually maked the difference... ie, he is currently using photoJPEG, 24fps... which should (for a PAL DVD) be at 25fps, DV quality.
So how do we turn a photoJPEG 24fps sequence into a PAL 25fps file that can be squidged in Compressor to make a PAL DVD...
I hope I'm making sense... and HUGE thanks in advance for any help.
regards,
J

Perhaps do an intermediate first? The automatic settings in compressor are designed to choose which frame rate it thinks is best for you, so will make the wrong decision sometimes, in terms of your desired output. Try making a new mpeg2 setting, based on the preset for dvd, and change the frame rate to 25. It will then force it to pal 25. Or if it doesn't look great, change to a quicktime first with the same settings as your mate's sequence output, apart from the frame rate which you should force to 25. Then put this new movie back into compressor with the dvd setting.
Try it on a short clip first (a minute or so), then you won't waste time with something that isn't going to work.

Compressor NTSC/PAL workflow problems...

Hello there, before i begin i admit i have double-posted this on the FCP discussions too...
I'm writing this thread on behalf of a collegue of mine who is in a bit of a pickle and doesn't have internet/forum access... I've been on the phone to him all morning and i'm stumped...
He's just finished offline-editing a new feature film by Nicolas Roeg (walkabout, performance etc) and needs to churn out a DVD for viewing-update purposes, here is the tech info followed by the problem...
ok... so, in FCP he has the sequence and media at photoJPEG quality.
The editing timebase for the sequence is 24 fps.
The problem is that he wants to make a PAL DVD, but when he goes into Compressor, and applies the relevant settings, it always comes out as NTSC...?
I've been on the phone to him, and we've both had little test sequences open (only 10" long sequence) to talk through the work-flow, and as I'm not an advanced Compressor user, I can't find ANYTHING in preferences that sets the PAL/NTSC option.
I am under the impression that it is a FCP setting that actually maked the difference... ie, he is currently using photoJPEG, 24fps... which should (for a PAL DVD) be at 25fps, DV quality.
So how do we turn a photoJPEG 24fps sequence into a PAL 25fps file that can be squidged in Compressor to make a PAL DVD...
I hope I'm making sense... and HUGE thanks in advance for any help.
regards,
J

Perhaps do an intermediate first? The automatic settings in compressor are designed to choose which frame rate it thinks is best for you, so will make the wrong decision sometimes, in terms of your desired output. Try making a new mpeg2 setting, based on the preset for dvd, and change the frame rate to 25. It will then force it to pal 25. Or if it doesn't look great, change to a quicktime first with the same settings as your mate's sequence output, apart from the frame rate which you should force to 25. Then put this new movie back into compressor with the dvd setting.
Try it on a short clip first (a minute or so), then you won't waste time with something that isn't going to work.

Instructions: Create Blu-Ray disc in Compressor with Final Cut TImeline

I searched mightily for simple instructions on how to do this. The Compressor help files are woefully inadequate in providing a simple walkthrough to do this. Burning a Blu-ray directly from Final Cut does not allow one to optimize the conversion like compressor does. So:
1) Right click your chosen sequence in Final Cut
2) Click "Share" The Share dialog box will come up.
3) Choose "Blu-Ray" in the destination drop down in the top-left corner of the Share window (don't forget to choose the destination location of the files at the top of the dialog)
4) Click "Send to Compressor" in the bottom-left corner
Compressor will open and a job will automatically be created with Blu-ray video
and Dolby ac3 audio. Set options and submit as usual in Compressor

The send to compressor option occasionally creates problems. Most people would recommend exporting as a self-contained movie, then bringing that into compressor and using your workflow from there.

Compressor opens but no windows appear, then hangs

hi, i just used compressor, went back into it for a second job and the compressor load pop up appeared and the menu appeared at the top but none of the windows appear, happens on opening from the menu or from sending a clip to open in compressor. never had a problem with it in the past. I have followed some advice found here including trashing prefs, trashing a bunch of files in an apple support document, even reinstalling compressor and motion but the problem persists. Any ideas?
thanks in advance

I should add that the destinations/settings window does appear when i activate it from the windows menu, but absolutely nothing else activates. Compressor then hangs and always requires a force quit (which doesnt always work)
please, any help would be greatly appreciated.

How to resize the video in Compressor?

Hi all, my first post here,
I just know we can't optionaly resize the video in Final Cut Pro and
using the compressor can resovle this problem,
It's not very convenient to resize the video in FCP.
i wanna ask how can i resize the video in compressor
Thanks a lot

First, you should carefully think why you'd need to resize. You can export from FCP X to the standard sizes, both HD and SD. Do you really need some nonstandard size?
Keep in mind that usually you'll get the best quality if you edit in the desired final size, rather than resizing afterwards.
If you do need to create a video in some nonstandard size, like, say 1080x1920 (i.e. in "portrait" form), there is a way to do it:
http://library.creativecow.net/articles/payton_t/FCPX_Custom-Resolution-Timeline s/video-tutorial
With Compressor you have many pre-made defaults for different kinds of devices. Also, you can export to Quicktime and tweak the settings to get a desired size.
1-Drag one of the existing settings (in the example below, I used SD 480p)
2-Select it
3-In the Inspector, select the "Geometry" tab
4-Choose "Custom" and enter the desired size.
5-Change the other properties (such as codec, under the "Encoder" tab), as needed
5-Choose "Save As..." and save it (give a suggestive name, say "Portrait") so that you can later reuse it as needed.

Compressor choking on Motion render

I've done a number of files in Motion that contain graphic elements. When I render, Compressor sometimes connects different files to the final output. Also, Compressor seems to generate a large number of timecode breaks. I think that this is happening because I render m2v files to be burned by Toast, without requiring re-encoding. Toast frequently re-encodes the m2v files until I open them in Mpeg Streamclip, fix timecode breaks and Demux them back to m2v video and ac3 audio.
Why does Compressor have this many problems? I'm using a Dual G5 2.5 machine (PowerPC)

I have output uncompressed video from Motion and then used Compressor to create the final m2v file. Without any explanation, 5 out of 20 of the files that Compressor produces will require re-encoding when adding them to a DVD with Toast Titanium. If I re-compress them with a lower speed setting, they will still require re-compression. Even if I set Toast to "never re-encode" it still re-encodes.
I need to understand how to prepare all files so that re-encoding is not required but I cannot find any information as to why this happens or how to prevent it. No one - even Toast people - seems to understand this.

Big problems exporting to DVD

Hi
I have a 55 min sequence that I'm trying to export using the DVD settings in compressor. I have tried all the options but keep getting the same problem. Either DVD studio pro tells me the format is incompatible or the movie file is incomplete. I have tried all the options in compressor but keep having problems and I really need to get this project completed.
The sequence is pretty normal, the same as I have done before without any problems so not sure where I am going wrong. Is there a work around? Perhaps exporting as a QT movie then re-compressing for DVD.
Any help would be grateful, I've posted on Compressor forum and it was suggested to double check settings.
Many Thanks
Adrian.

Hi David
Thanks again for replying. I've been using the DVD preset settings of best quality 90min. (Mpeg 2 6.2mbps 2-pass, Dolby digital professional 2.00) Although I have tried the fastest encode preset resulting in the same problem.
Incidentally, I have used magic bullet filters for the first time on the sequence, would that contribute to the problem?
Also, if I go down the exporting to Quicktime route and then re-import, do I then use the same DVD preset settings and will there be a drop in quality?
Thanks, in anticipation
Adrian

Compressor 2: now she works, now she don't!

glad to find you guys, but it looks like there really aren't many answers here as we're all having the same problem(s). i got FCP Studio 5 HD last year and have loved it. Compressor worked with no problems...then i started hearing about everyone else's problems. well, yesterday i guess i got the bug, too. all the defaults worked great, until yesterday. all of a sudden i'm in DVD SP 4, and my m2v file showed no video! i went back and did some tests and all the defaults worked except the "best quality 90 min" one. any work arounds for this, or just use the 1-pass and wait for an upgrade from Apple?
thanks...

I was having all kinds of weird issues with the presets after using Compressor 2 without problems for a year. (I suddenly couldn't make custom presets, and just clicking on certain settings would crash it. I also had a few blank encodes, as it sounds like you are getting.) I tried reinstalling Compressor, but no change. Finally, I trashed the entire Compressor Application, reinstalled, applied the 2.0.1 update via Software Update, and now everything is working as before. Thought I should let you know in case you haven't tried this yet.
Dual G5 2.0, Dual 23" Cinema Displays, 2.5 GB RAM Mac OS X (10.4.4) FCP 5.0.4. DVDSP 4.0.3, HVR-Z1U, HVR-HC1, HVR-M10U

Compressor fails to Submit to Batch

Hi - despite removing/re-installing Compressor as diected by Apple, Compressor will not submit anything to Batch. Hosing out prefs, rebooting, etc. to no avail. Program is DOA.
Works fine on the G5. The G4, no dice.
Any thoughts on this are welcome. Thank you.
G2 Dual 1.42/G5 Dual 2.3 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

I have the EXACT problem happening and I'm on a MacBook Pro. I get both the Qmaster and Compressor errors exactly as mentioned above^. I think it is a problem with Qmaster, the computer's sharing prefs, or something else. Qadmin used to list "Eisen Feuer's Computer" alongside "VideoG5" (the other computer, networked to this) but now it only lists VideoG5, which I can run Compressor on with no problem (well, one problem- it's 3 times slower than my MBP and I like to be mobile instead of chained to the office, read: G5)
I set up a cluster in Qadmin with only the G5 in the cluster and I'm able to send jobs to the Batch monitor for the G5 to process. "Eisen Feuer's Computer" fails to blip on the Qadmin radar.
Hope it helps people to resurrect this topic- I sure need it (YES I followed Apple's instructions to the letter)
Right now it's pretty sad- I'm using rooVid lite to do batch compressions rather than the program I paid $400 for D:

New application for fixing Compressor

I haven't tried it yet but if I need to I will. Plus some other cool apps on the site.
Digital Rebellion
"Apple's Compressor relies heavily on a service called Qmaster in order to work. Qmaster allows you to split rendering tasks across multiple machines in a render farm but it is still required even if you are only rendering on a single computer.
The link between the two is so important that if the Qmaster service fails to launch, Compressor will be unable to submit batches. Should this occur, Compressor Repair checks for problems that could be preventing Qmaster from operating correctly. It checks for missing files, incorrect permissions, and attempts to manually start the qmasterd process."
http://www.digitalrebellion.com/compressor_repair.htm
I have used Final Cut Studio Remover and that saved me.
Erik

ty

Problem converting MPEG-1 Files to any format - Wanting to make a DVD

I wish I could use Compressor, but it doesnt work! My home videos are all nice quality, MPEG-1 files, but everytime I try to convert them with compressor, it gives an error, like: "Cant encode audio from MPEG-1 SOuce... bla bla bla"... another one is "Error Opening File"...
And I dont understand, ffmpegX works, so does MPEGStreamclip, but I still wanna give a try to Apple's Compression Software, and see if it can make a nice thing of my videos compression. Im trying to compress 40GB of home videos (like 6 hours of footage) and but them on a DVD or two... I am trying to convert all of them but I am kind of lost....
That is why I wanted to give a try to compressor... but it doesnt open my MPEG-1 files.
I converted my videos... it took me 2 days... all of them to MOV... if I compare each original MPEG-1 FILE... the MOV one has a little little less quality... but the space is 4 times smaller! ... Sorry, I forgot to say, I have exactly 32 horus of video... that means... with those MOV files I converted, I can put all of my videos in two DVDs...
But what happened them? Well... I gotta a surprise... :/... with DVD Studio Pro.. when I add my MOV files... they become 2.5 times bigger!!! :o... so now it is not the two DVDs thing I was dreaming about...
That is why I wish I could give it a try, with Compressor, but it doesnt seem to work...
Please, is there someone that could really helep me out on this? I really appreciate any help....
Thank you so much reading my post,
Gabriel

Hey Gabriel
first and foremost, compressor has a real problem importing a muxed mpeg1 (video and audio joined as one file).
what you first need to do with your files is take them into ffmpegx or mpegstreamclip (like you have already) and do what is called a transcode (that's the official, fancy name).
you would take the file into the above mentioned apps, then transcode them to a Quicktime movie via export.
i would recommend mpegstreamclip for this task, since you do have a lot of footage and this app does offer a batch option (which you can set it and forget it).
once you have transcoded all your files to *.mov's, you can then take those files into compressor!
as you may have noticed, i didnt sepcify a codec to output (like sorenscon 3 or DV for example) since i dont know how much of your storage you can allocate for this task (you will need quite a bit for 32 hours of video).
this is really an easy task, but quite time consuming, so dont think it will go by fast!
i would recommend a DV codec export from mpegstreamclip (via QT movie) with the highest possible quality and uncompressed audio.
please advise
Mikey m.

I finally got compressor 2 to WORK!

I was having all of the same problems everyone else here is having, unable to connect to the background process, crashing as soon as it opens, EXTREMELY slow encode times, etc, etc. My system was working great with FCP 4.5, Compressor 1.21, and DVD Studio Pro 3, running on Panther. Then I upgraded to Tiger and installed Motion 2 and Soundtrack Pro, which also upggraded Compressor to Version 2. That's when all my problems began. I tried just about every solution that was offered on this forum and from Apple. And every time, as soon as one problem seemed to be fixed, another one popped up. It was also more than just compressor, I was having problems with motion, soundtrack, and DVDSP as well. I tried removing receipts, preferences, reinstalling all of my programs, and anything else that someone has posed as a fix. None of it worked for me.
I finally decided to just start over. I performed an erase and install on my boot drive with my Tiger install disc. I don't save any project files on this drive, so I didn't have to hassal with coping files I wanted to save to another drive. I then installed some apps from my panther disc that did not come included with Tiger. If you need to do this, be sure and do it before you install any software updates. It wouldn't let me do this after I installed the updates and I had to start over. Then I reinstalled all of my programs starting with motion 2 and soundtrack pro so that Compressor 2 would be installed first. Then when I installed DVDSP 3 and FCP 4.5, I did a custom install and unchecked Compressor.
Now everything is working wonderfully, including Compressor. My encodes look as good as they did with version 1. In addition, my encode speeds are about twice as fast as version 1. So in my situation, I believe the problem was in the upgrade to Tiger from Panther. So if you are having problems and you just did a simple upgrade to Tiger from a previous OS, you might want to consider erasing your boot drive and installing Tiger from scratch.
Good Luck.
Andy

The was the older apps bundle an older version of Compressor. The app installers should catch this and do nothing, but it sometimes doesnt, resulting in a mixing old frameworks with newer code, and at that point you're lucky if the app just crashes on launch, cause you cant trust any of the output. If the apps were statically linked this wouldnt be a problem, but pro apps in general seem to share a lot of code.

Can't Find Compressor 3

Here’s my issue.
I used to use Logic 7 Academic. I bought the full version of Logic Pro and installed everything. During installation, the check box for Compressor 3 was grayed-out. I’ve been told that this is because it installs Compressor 3 by default when you install Sound Track Pro.
I never used compressor so I’m not sure if it actually installed.
A few months later I installed Final Cut Express 4. Now that I’m using video, I want to use Compressor 3. The problem is that I can’t find it anywhere on my computer. Further, when I try to reinstall it, I am unable to check the “grayed-out” box to select it as part of the custom install…no matter what I do.
Here’s the strange thing…when I search my computer for “compressor” using spotlight, it finds the user documentation but no program. I’ve looked EVERYWHERE on my computer. The actual program is no where to be found.
Does anyone know how I can install compressor?
One other thing worth noting is that I realize I will not be able to export video directly from FCE 4 to Compressor 3. I will have to export as a quicktime movie first and then open it in Compressor. I’m OK with that…if I could just get Compressor on my machine.
Thanks in advance.
Steve
10.4.11 – Mac Pro

Hi from Rome Italy. I have successfully installed my copy on an iMac and mac book, at different times, and so thought to simply transfer to the new macbook pro. Not to be, as as in your case the compressor installer does not make itself available. Once I had thought logic Pro 8 installed I discovered Soundtrack Pro will not even launch and of course Compressor seems not to exist.
Given that my Macbook pro is brand new and the Logic Studio disks are in perfect condition I asked my dealer to advice me or have a look. They refused unless I paid! New macs and expensive software deserve better service.
Now I am trying the Pacifist solution and hope to have a result. Can you report on if and how you resolved the problem?
Regards,
Garrick - Roma

Compressor 1.2.1 problems

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