Compressor in Blank!

I use Compressor all the time. (most current on an Intel Mac)
Burt recently, when I open it all the windows are closed and the menus are grayed out.
What's up?
Dan

Probably a permissions problem at some arcane level of the Finder. The droplet is not being recognized in the desktop folder.
I am now officially clueless.
But I wanted to say thanks for posting your solution. If you scroll down you might find the other poor guy trying to do the same thing and you might be able to help out
bogiesan

Similar Messages

MPEG2 Asset from Compressor is blank/black

Hi Mac fans,
I have a horrible problem with DVD Studio Pro 4 (DSP4 hereafter). After I encode a Final Cut Pro sequence with Compressor using the 90 mins best DVD preset, I import it into DSP4 via the Assets tab. The audio ac3 file works fine but the video m2v file comes out black. I have tried doing this twice now. I can play the file in Quicktime (although it takes a while to load for some reason unknown to me).
There are some other sequences using shorter portions of the same footage that have successfully imported (only on the third attempt at encoding in Compressor) after some color correction in Color. Problems I had during the failed attempts include: the black screen, a green screen, files not even being allowed to import.
I have tried, to make sure the file opens with Quicktime by default and this has not changed my problem.
I can't seem to figure this one out and can't complete this DVD until this problem is solved. I have spent many many days reencoding the same sequences. It's crazy.
Hope someone has a clue,
Many thanks,
Bob
(ps the dsp4 project is SD. I filmed in HDV.)

Oh my,
even the file without the in and out points seems to be working.
The only thing I can think of is that under the "General" tab in Preferences, I switched the "Display Mode" to 16:9 pan and scan but I have changed it back to 16:9 letterbox and all seems to be working.
DVDSP is seeming pretty volatile and unreliable unless I am missing something (which is very possible).

Exporting DVCPRO HD 720p60 Quality Problems with P2 footage.

I have ingested several clips from P2 cards some shot at 24 and some at 60 using fcp 5.1.4. When I go to export out a QT file I choose file>export>using quick time conversion. Under format options I select DVCPRO HD 720p60 for compression type, but I get no quality settings under the compressor heading to modify. Just Motion, preview and data rate. All of wich are locked... When I hit okay the movie settings dialog box reads Compression:DVCPRO HD 720p60 Quality: Medium Dimensions: 960x720 (1248x702) (Compressor Native). How do I change the quality to best? A friend told me he had the option to change in fcp v 5.0.1. Also, in the Sequence Setting Dialog Box under QuickTime Video Settings I select Advanced and it shows me the compression type DVCPRO HD 720p60 and Motion with Frames per second, but the box under Compressor is blank as well. Is my software faulty or am I going about exporting exporting a high quality QT HD 720p60 file the wrong way?
Secondly, when I ingest footage from a P2 card does it maintain the frame rate data that it was captured at digitally regardless of the projects audio video settings? I ask this because one project I did the easy setup after I already created a sequence by mistake with dv settings and the footage show a vid rate in the bin at 23.98 fps regardless if it is footage shot at 23.98 or 59.94. When I made a new project using the easy setup from the start and ingested a clip shot at 60 it show in the as vid rate of 59.94 not 239.8 like the first project I made. A tad confused as I feel I am not getting the best quality out of my footage. Does this have to do with setting the camera to 24pn for variable frame rates? Or does the vid rate pull from the project setting?
As a side note, some of the footage I export appears to be slightly grainy, not sure if this is a result of the setting problems I am having.
Thank You in Advance!!!
Best,
Hans

If you are trying to export and maintain the same quality you have in the timeline then you don't need to use conversion. Just export to Quick Time Movie and check the box for Use Current Settings and Make Self Contained.
rh

Compressor v4.1 opens to a blank screen / current-active-complete at center top

Compressor v4.1 opens to a blank screen / current-active-complete at center top of page. Removed Compressor and reinstalled. Same problem.

Found solution: Hold down option key, click on go and select library, application support, compressor, layouts, and then trash Compressor.saved.moduleLayout. Restart compressor.
After sending video file from fcp x 10.1 to compressor another problem aroused. Processing real slow, my cusor moved erratically. Working in other applications wasn't smooth. When processing completed, everything turned to normal. Same problem when rendering video in fcp x 10.1. Any suggestions?

Blank / partially blank export result from Motion via Compressor

Hi all!
Final Cut Studio 3 / Mac OS 10.6.8
I have a set up of two semi-old iMacs. One is a white 2006 iMac, the other is a 2007 iMac. I work with the 2006 iMac because the screen is better, but as it is slower I would like to send processing jobs to the 2007 iMac as it already acts as a server for many things. So I set up the 2007 as a node. What I am making are UI animation demos in Motion. For example I have a 768x1024 (vertical iPad resolution) px / 60 fps / color (without alpha) / solid background / 8 bit depth project that has two layers made out of Photoshop Exported .png's and a move animation (nothing mind blowing) and I am trying to export it to an Uncompressed Apple Animation with the source settings and millions of colors +. Now when I allow it to segment the jobs (as an example) the result turns out so that the segments that were sent to render on the node (the 2007 iMac) are blank, but the ones that were rendered locally are perfectly fine. When I disable the segmented jobs, it sends it to render entirely on the node (which is ok with me, since I'm just trying to take the load off the 2006 iMac) it comes out as a completely blank checker board. What am I doing wrong? I understand I can just open the files on the 2007 and export them there, but I would really like to not have to walk to it every time, since I export many versions in a matter of minutes.
If I missed any important part of the process, please correct me.

Ok, tried it with the regular Millions of Colors, but without change - the segments of the timeline that were distributed to render on the node (2007 iMac) came out blank.

Final Cut Sequence to Compressor to DVD Studio Pro

Running latest FCP Studio apps. Have a sequence fully edited and mixed (via Soundtrack) and sent the file to Compressor for output to DVD Studio Pro to create the DVD. I used the H.264 for DVDPro compression template (H.264 for DVDPro - 120 min) setting as provided by Apple. The compression file worked like a charm. I have the file and it plays beautifully in QT player. However when I try to add the asset or import it into DVDStudio Pro it says it is in an incompatible format. What gives? Shouldn't the template know how to render/compress the movie if the template setting is supposed to be in DVDStudio Pro format? Scratching my head on this one. Any pointers would be of great help.
File particulars: 3 1/2 minute movie (film student project) that was sent to compressor as a sequence file. Encoder template is set up for MPeg2 format using 7.34Mbps Average Bit Rate/23.00Mbps for Maximum Bit Rate/2.0 seconds for Frame Sync and Multi-pass and Include PCM Audio are checked (all are the default settings as provided by Apple).
Message was edited by: William Lutes

That would be a reasonable except that when I used those preset settings the file was unplayable by Quicktime OR DVDSP. QTPlayer wouldn't play it (as it was unrecognized file format) and DVDSP wouldn't import it. So I am at a loss on how to use compressor with the DVD setting templates. All I need is to compress the 3.5 minute movie file in a format that DVD Studio Pro will import and allow me to build and press to a DVD for family members to watch. I should add that I exported (via the Quicktime option in FCP) a movie file and then brought it into DVDSP but when I built the DVD it encoded the movie file in a very weird way (strange flicker when close up shots played on screen). When I just tried to change the encoding settings (in DVDSP) to allow for the least amount of effect on my file (basically the movie is only around 500mb uncompressed so a 4.7 blank dvd has more than enough room) DVDSP encoding still encoded the file in the strange flickering artifact manner.
The project is basically a simple menu with two options one to view the 3.5 minute movie file and the second is a 5 min behind the scenes explanation of the project by the director. All together the project file in DVDStudio Pro is around 650mb. So, the question now becomes: should I be bothering with Compressor at all and if I eschew its use then what can I do in DVDStudio Pro's encoding to have the least effect on the movie file (which plays fine without any flickering artifact before DVDSP gets its hands on it to build the DVD).
Any ideas? Thanks for chiming in btw, I do appreciate it.

How to turn off Smart Control compressor in GB10

Does anyone know how to completely defeat the smart control compressor in GB10? The EQ panel has an on/off property in the inspector, but the compressor always seems to be enabled. I need to share out a lead vocal track with compression or effects so that I can take it to another studio for treatment and processing. Thanks.

Edgar, thanks very much for all the info.
It turns out my issue is related to importing an older GB project into GB10. Existing tracks have truncated compressor controls (with no on/off switch). I suppose Apple has a good reason for doing that, but right off the top of my head, I cannot think of one.
Anyway, the ultimate solution was to create a new blank wave track and drag the old regions into it. Easy peasy, but only because it was a vocal wave region that didn't involve amp sims. Fixing things is much more labor intensive for my guitar tracks, so much so that it's probably easier to just rerecord those parts with entirely new strip settings. I've found the new and old Fender-ish amp sims to be so utterly differnt that the old tracks sound like doo doo if I just switch sims. Gain, level, sonic characteristic, everything is vastly different. But if I use the old amp sims, the Smart Controls are anything but "smart."

Media100 to DV tape to Compressor mess...

Hello to all:
I have a client whose project has been plagued by compression encoding issues for both DVD and FLV movies (or any other web format for that matter).
Now, I suspect what is wrong and I would like to confirm it by getting a general poll of opinions from the rest of the forum.
First, the problem that occurs is a combination of lower quality video, and worst, scan lines and interlacing artifacting in fast moving shots. These types of issues come up both when using Compressor and using most others form of compression (FLV, Sorenson). Basically, anytime I tried to do anything with them. (resize them, export them, etc)
Here is what I think is the problem: My client is editing his material in Media100, still using the older 640x480, square pixels format Media100 codec. However, rather than exporting the file (it seems it makes his system crash.) he instead outputs the file to a DV recorder via s-video
Then I have to re-digitize it BACK to a Mac via firewire using FinalCut Pro or iMovie and THEN I compress it using Compressor (for DVD) or FlashVideo encoder for FLV's.
In any event, my theory is that by doing this three main problems occurs:
A) When we re-digitize from Media 100 back into DV for output we loose quality; Media100 codec is NOT a lossless codec, and neither is DV. When we digitize to Media 100, there is a tiny amount of data loss, when we digitize back to DV format, we loose quality again. It seems to me this doubling the video quality loss.
B) Media 100 codec is a 640 x 480 codec that uses square pixels, then gets digitized back to DV which is 720x480/ 720x486 with 0.9 pixel ratio. . Because the file is not being processed by the software as an export file but rather being digitize directly to a DV machine as a video input, the pixel ratio does NOT get converted, which accounts for the extra black space around the edge of all the videos and the inconsistent set of problems when trying to format the video to any standard sizes.
c) Field Render issue: Like the image resolution, the render field gets also messed up because it is not getting converted properly. It seems the DV copy made from the Media100 output looks fine at full size, but the moment you start resizing it, the odd scan lines resume.
I just want this settle for once and for all because we are wasting lots of time and is geting to be a rather frustrating thing, to say the least.
I never run into this problem with any other projetcs.
Thanks in advanced.

thanks for the response.
I am wondering though, what are you referring to when you say QT ISSUES. what is QT6?
When you download from you computer on to your DVX, what setting did you use on your DVX? I put mine on video, but get nothing other than a blank blue screen. As noted before, I know that the camera and computer are communicating because I was able to control the camera through the firewired in that mode.
I might just be missing a very simple step. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Jim

Compressor not outputting DVD even after numerous fixes attempted

I’m having problems getting Compressor 3.5 to output a DVD. Source file is a 135GB ProRes 422 HQ Quicktime file at 1920x1080 resolution -- it’s the final cut of my 106-minute feature film. I’ve tried numerous solutions to the problem described below but nothing works.
Last year after outputting the film’s rough cut to DVD, I was unhappy with artifacts, so I put off further DVD outputs and used Compressor’s Blu-ray template to output a BD-R screener (using default settings). It looked great, and I used that same template to burn BD’s of the final cut. But when attempting DVD output again, I decided (because of the artifact issue) to try this tutorial -- http://lumenosity.blogspot.com/2010/07/best-apple-compressor-settings-for-dvd.ht ml -- which the author claims produces excellent results, albeit with long encode times. I tried his settings numerous times, and in each case, Compressor stopped/failed after about 10 mins. (it would encode the .ac3 audio but not the m2v video).
I installed and ran Digital Rebellion’s Compressor Repair (http://www.digitalrebellion.com/compressorrepair/) which made no difference.
I tried everything listed on Apple’s “Compressor 3.5: Troubleshooting Basics” support page (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1888), including reinstalling Compressor today. That hasn’t solved it.
I thought upgrading to Compressor 4 might solve the problem, but first had to upgrade the OS from Leopard to Snow Leopard, which I did today (I know, I'm behind in the OS, but my Mac Pro is a circa 2008 machine). I still haven’t upgraded to Compressor 4, though, and wonder if that’s likely to make any difference.
A few hours ago I tried to output a 10-minute sample of the movie (still in ProRes 422 HQ format) to DVD via my newly re-installed Compressor 3.5, and using the “Burn DVD” template, and what should have taken 30 mins. (according to Compressor) was locked at 95% complete and hour and a half later. When I cancelled, the m2v and ac3 streams were completed, but Compressor never asked for a blank DVD to complete the job. I repeated the process and it failed again.
Now, BEFORE re-installing Compressor today, I did successfully output a 2 minute DVCPRO-HD file to DVD using Compressor’s “Burn DVD” template, but when I attempted to re-output that same file again later – after updating the OS and re-installing Compressor as described above – it failed just like the 10-minute sample movie above (locked at 95% complete).
And for what it's worth, I should mention that many times in the last year I’ve used Compressor 3.5’s “Create Web Reference Movie” template and it has always worked, though the History pane ALWAYS says it failed.
Thanks for any ideas on how to solve this mess.
Mike

Mike Boedicker wrote:
I moved on to uninstalling Compressor 3.5 using the instructions found here -- (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1888) -- being very careful to follow it to the letter. In fact, I followed all of the various solutions in that document, not just the uninstall and reinstall. I re-installed Compressor 3.5 using the original FCS Studio 3 discs (upgrade version), and the process took several hours and asked for all FCS3's discs at various points (I was surprised it even asked for the Audio Content discs).
Mike
It sounds like when the FCS re-install was run that the entire suite of software was installed. I'm surprised that could happen. I thought whatever apps the installation disk saw were already on the machine were automatically grayed out in the dialogue window.
You should be able choose only the applications you want to install, which would be Compressor and Qmaster. There should be no content disks involved and the whole process should take no more than 20 minutes.
Digital Rebellion makes a utility called FCS Remover. It removes the correct files automatically. Try running that and check Compressor and Qmaster only.
As for the reinstall, omly Compressor and Qmaster should be selected.
Russ

Compressor did not switch to burn

I have just completed the encoding of a 45-minute FCP video in Compressor 3.5.2. Before I started, I had set the project to burn a DVD once the encode had completed. Compressor is showing a "successful" message, so I know the encoding has worked, but it did not then burn the blank DVD that was waiting for it in the iMac drive.
I now have an m2v file and an ac3 file waiting on the desktop. How do I kickstart Compressor into doing what it was asked to do in the first place and burn a DVD?

In Compressor, click on the job icon in its well on the main window (not on the line descriptions for audio or video). Down in the Inspector you'll see three tabs. From memory, one offers something like "On completion, do what?", meaning: "Once the encoding has completed, what do you want me to do next?"
Set that to "Create DVD". Various contextual options then appear in the Inspector. You have a limited number of choices for the look of your final DVD, including whether or not you want it just to play as soon as you put it in the player, and if you want the basic white menu or basic black menu. There's also an option for chapter marking. For a quick plug-and-play job, it's all many people need.
Once you have the settings as you want them, put a blank DVD in the hard drive and click SUBMIT to get Compressor to start encoding your project. Once the encoding has finished, Compressor burns it to DVD automatically, according to your Inspector preferences. Or, at least, it is supposed to.
It has worked very well for me so far, but this time, Murphy's Law, after a long encoding and with 24 hours to go to a deadline, it has failed me this time and has left the audio and video files on the desktop, unburned. Grrr.

Which is the right compressor?

I've been producing television for quite some time -- one of the problems I run into on a fairly regular basis is which setting to use when I'm ready to deliver. Since tape seems to have gone away, most of my clients request delivery on a DVD. I'm looking for the definitive answer to which setting is the right one? My products air on local stations via our cable provider. I've used a number of different settings -- sometimes I hear nothing (indicating satisfaction), others end up telling me that they can't open the files or run the DVD (everything seems to work fine for me).
Today I got a call from a client that said the files I gave them were "too small" to run on TV. I don't know what that means and don't really care -- I just want them to be satisfied. The settings (which are a major mystery to me) that I have used recently and have worked are:
MPEG-2 6.2Mbps 1-pass.m2v -- now this is apparently too small
I've tried a number of different settings and always get different results. They have asked for .mov files -- I've tried that, but DVD Studio says that is an incompatible format. If I just drag the files to a blank DVD, they say they can't open the files. I'm confused and looking for a standard I can go to every time. Please help?

If the client wants a copy, give it to them on a tape. For one, tape is certainly not dead. DV tape is going the way of the dodo, but other tape formats will be around as long as people still need tape for delivery.
If crazy Mike wants a DVD he can watch, get a cheap DVD recorder and go from a deck, or the timeline, directly to a DVD-R. Don't use DVD+R. For the broadcast station, ask them for a spec sheet. Every station has one, and they aren't all the same. It depends on how they deliver the content to the channel. Some need an mpeg2 program stream, some need a transport stream, a few might need uncompressed, most can work with a DVD, but you have to author it correctly.
If you don't know how to author a DVD, then you probably shouldn't deliver that way. You'll only spend more of your time learning how to do it. Unless you can bill them for learning, which, in my opinion, isn't ethical.
Most likely, you could deliver an mpeg2 program stream with mpeg 1 layer 2 audio. Depending on their sever, they can probably work with a file anywhere from 6 to 15 mb/s. Make sure you give them a full size file, meaning if it's 720x480, don't give them 320x240. You have to check every setting in the compressor preset. But you have to check with the station. They may have an old server, and I know ours won't play a 15mb/s file.

23.989 to PAL sound is out of sync track 3 is blank!!!!!

Trying to convert a 23.98 file to PAL using the frame rate converter in Compressor, using the play frames at 25 so it speeds up but plays every frame. the picture comes out fine but the sound does not sync up! i have done this 3 times with the sound only now and it always drifts! Also this is 4 track sound and track 3 always comes thru blank! i have set the audio seq settings audio output to 4 tracks, tried mono and stereo still get blank track 3 after going through Compressor. This is really a pain!
Any one know what the heck is happening?
thanks, Mark

No one knows anything bout this????
Apple come on!

Bad Aspect Ratio from Compressor with DVCPROHD clips.

I created a 30 minutes long sequence in FCP using DVCPRO HD 720p24. I exported the sequence as a QuickTime movie using current settings... the QuickTime export looks perfect and playback displays the proper aspect ratio. I then sent this file to Compressor 3 with standard presets for AppleTV and iPod Video (large and small).
They all turned out with an incorrect (elongated, not squished) aspect ratio. All three exports. The source file looks fine but it is the main suspect as all conversions yielded the same result. Any suggestion on what can be wrong with the exported file or with the compressor 3.0 settings? Before installing Compressor 3, I did exported the file using QuickTime Pro and it turned out with the correct aspect ratio. Clips properties show correct display dimensions.
Thanks!

I believe this is an (annoying) issue with QuickTime's Conform aperture property. For some reason, the Final Cut Studio apps do not write to this property. QuickTime Pro does, which is why those exports are the correct display ratio.
For DVCProHD material, opening your Compressor (or FCP or Motion) created movie in QT Pro and setting that property to Clean snaps the display of the movie in QT to 1248x702 (accounting for - and cropping - the overscan and blanking areas), while setting it to Production should give you the 1280x720 frame you desire.

Acceptable File Formats for Applying Transparent Watermarks In Compressor

Hello All,
I'm trying to use a .psd file as a transparent watermark in Compressor, but instead of Compressor seeing the watermark, it only sees a blank white sheet. Question: Do I have to have Photoshop installed on my Mac workstation in order to use a .psd as a watermark? Or is something else going on?
Thanks. Any thoughts on this, most appreciated as always!
MBS

What other file formats would people suggest that can work as a transparency?

FCP 'autosaving' project while Compressor rendering?

A 90 minute docu. Thirty hours of rendering. I just noticed FCP 'autosaving' the project file. Which took a long few minutes. Now Compressor is going again ... but there seems to be no diminishment of the 'remaining time' in the History window. I can't tell whether Compressor is stalled or not. I can hear the computer occasionally working.
Could the FCP 'autosaving' have frozen Compressor somehow? Though there is no spinning beach ball. I realise I should have turned off the 'autosave' function in FCP ... but never have before, and never had Compressor SEEM to stop before.
How can I know if the render has somehow come off the rails. Ooops!
Just 'hid' FCP to see if I could find the little indicator that Compressor was rendering. And when I tired to move the Compressor history window aside ... the Apple Cinema screen just went black. And I can't seem to refresh it or bring it back.
Help!
Ben

Thank you Alberto,
To my surprise ... the reason FCP was autosaving was because Compressor had actually finished the render ... even though it was still saying there were fifteen hours to go. Go figure. I'm not sure why the screens went blank. But with a reboot I went to look at the folder where the master was to be exported ... and there is was, complete and pristine. Mmmm. Wonder why Compressor was showing fifteen hours to go ... perhaps it was thinking it was compressing video and instead was doing the Dolby sound, which went through so fast ... mmm, that doesn't sound right either. A mystery.
Ben

Compressor in Blank!

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