User manual APPLE COMPRESSOR 2.3.1 INFORMATION

[. . . ] Late-Breaking News About Compressor 2 This document provides updated information about Compressor 2 and covers these topics: Â Late-Breaking News About Compressor 2. 3. 1 (p. 20) This document may be updated as versions of Compressor are released or new information becomes available. You can check for updated information by choosing Help > Late-Breaking News when Compressor is open. For the latest information about product updates, tips and techniques, and qualified third-party devices, choose Compressor Support from the Compressor Help menu or visit the Compressor support website at http://www. apple. com/support/compressor. [. . . ] As a general rule, set your maximum bit rate at least 1 Mbps higher than your average bit rate, to allow for bit rate variability in achieving the goal of constant quality. 14 Distributed Processing and QuickTime Versions If you are using the Apple Qmaster distributed processing system with Compressor, all nodes (computers) in a cluster must have the same version of QuickTime installed. To download the most recent version of QuickTime, go to: Â http://www. apple. com/quicktime/download/mac. html Exporting from Final Cut Pro and Distributed Processing You can use Compressor to transcode sequences or clips from within other applications, such as Final Cut Pro. This saves time and hard disk space by eliminating the need to export self-contained media files before processing them. There are two methods you can use to avoid exporting self-contained media files for Compressor distributed processing: Â Export a sequence directly from Final Cut Pro to Compressor and then submit that job to a cluster in an Apple Qmaster distributed processing network. In this workflow, Final Cut Pro opens on each processing node in that cluster to complete the job. Â Export the Final Cut Pro sequence as a QuickTime reference movie and then submit the resulting movie to the cluster for processing. Although this method does not require that Final Cut Pro be installed on each computer in the distributed processing cluster, the media files specified in the reference movie must be available to each computer in the cluster. To export a Final Cut Pro sequence directly to Compressor for distributed processing: 1 Make sure Final Cut Pro is installed on each computer in the cluster that you intend to use for distributed processing. For information about volume licenses, go to http://www. apple. com/finalcutstudio. 2 Make sure all of the source media files and render files for your Final Cut Pro project are on a hard disk that can be shared (mounted) by all the computers in the cluster that will process the job. (The following instructions use an example of a shared hard disk named Media1. ) If you copy all the media files to another hard disk for this purpose, you may need to reconnect the media files in Final Cut Pro before proceeding. Important: The hard disk you use to store the media files may not be a startup disk for any computer in the cluster. 15 3 In Final Cut Pro, set the scratch disk to the same hard disk used for storing media files in step 2: a Choose Final Cut Pro > System Settings, then click the Scratch Disks tab. c In the dialog that appears, locate and select the disk you want to use (Media1 in this example). The specified disk (Media1) is listed next to the Set button, along with the amount of available disk space. For more information about Final Cut Pro scratch disks, see the Final Cut Pro User Manual. 4 Enable file sharing on the computer where the scratch disk (Media1) is located (in the Sharing pane of System Preferences, click Services and then select Personal File Sharing). 5 On each computer in the intended cluster, mount the scratch disk you specified in step 3 (in the Finder sidebar, click Network, navigate to the computer that contains the Media1 disk, click Connect, and select Media1). 6 In Compressor preferences, specify cluster options settings: a Choose Compressor > Preferences, or press Command-comma ( , ). b Choose Copy Source to Cluster as Needed from the Cluster Options pop-up menu. Compressor opens with the selected media file (the Final Cut Pro sequence) in the Batch window. 8 In Compressor, double-click the selected file and play it in the Preview window to verify the integrity of the clip. 9 In the Batch window, assign settings and destinations to the selected file as necessary. [. . . ] 2 If any Apple Qmaster services are enabled on this computer, click Stop Sharing to temporarily turn them off. Note: Do not attempt to change the cluster storage settings while the cluster is turned on. 3 Click Advanced to open the Advanced pane. Enter a new number to change how often cluster storage files are deleted. Click Set to open a dialog for choosing a new storage folder. Click Stop Sharing to turn off the cluster before changing any settings. 4 Do any of the following: Â To change the cluster storage location: Â Click the Set button next to the Cluster Storage field. Â Navigate to the folder in the dialog, select it, and then click Choose. [. . . ]