When exporting to Compressor, it starts re-rending everything! Why?

Question

I edited a 2-hour project with 5 cameras in multiple images so could see all the cameras at once. It took a long time to render, many days, but at least that is done. Now, when I export to Compressor to make a DVD, it starts re-rendering everything! Not only that, it does not use any of the render files, because I noticed the compressed m2v does not include all the rendering. It will take more than 80 hours to compress! Not only that, when it is compressing, I can see it jumping a few frames forward, a few frames back, forward, back, etc...but I told it to do 1-pass compressing! Arghhhhhh.....! (Mac G5 Dual 2.3 GHz, 1 GB Ram.)
I tried a test of sending just a simple project with one video track and cuts only to Compressor, no rendering needed and no rendering done, and it charges ahead at high speed!
Does anybody know how to send the rendered project to Compressor, not the original unrendered sequence?
Mac Mini   Mac OS X (10.3.9)  

Answer 1

Now, when I export to Compressor to make a DVD, it starts re-rendering everything! Not only that, it does not use any of the render files, because I noticed the compressed m2v does not include all the rendering.
Can you detail what, exactly, is happening? Do you mean to say that you get a 'Rendering' progress bar? And when you say your ".m2v does not include all the rendering," what does that mean?
The reason I ask is because I always send unrendered timelines directly to Compressor. That way, Compressor does all processing - for filters, motion effects, compositing, etc - directly to the .m2v file, producing much better quality in most cases. I've never seen a Render progress bar though, and I've been using this method since August or so.
It will take more than 80 hours to compress! Not only that, when it is compressing, I can see it jumping a few frames forward, a few frames back, forward, back, etc...but I told it to do 1-pass compressing! Arghhhhhh.....!
Unrendered timelines - depending on how much and what needs to be processed by Compressor - take anywhere between 2x-4x as long as sending a rendered timeline to Compressor. Think of it this way: Compressor is both encoding and doing the processing that rendering would have done. You mentioned that it took days to render, so in that regard 80 hours doesn't seem outrageous if you timeline is now unrendered.
Also, the 'Processing Frames [#=#]' process bar 'jumping' that you're seeing is a necessary part of creating the GOPs that MPEG-2 uses. That happens regardless of a 1-Pass or 2 Pass setting.
Having said all that, if you can't afford the time commitment of this workflow, then I'll second Thrillcat Editorial's recommendation: Export as a QT movie.