Video properties of presets in Compressor
When you select a preset, its video properties appear in the Video inspector.
Important: Not all properties or options are available for all transcoding jobs. The options shown depend on the type of source media you’re transcoding, the preset’s format, the configuration of other properties, and the hardware and software you’re using.
Video property | Preset formats | Description | |||||||||
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Enable video pass-through | MXF, QuickTime Movie | Select this checkbox to copy the source video to the destination file, without modification. Selecting this checkbox disables all the other presets in the video properties area. | |||||||||
Frame size | All video-enabled preset formats | Use this pop-up menu to set the frame size (resolution) of the output file. See Modify frame size in Compressor. | |||||||||
Center crop for output ratio | All video-enabled preset formats | Select this checkbox to ensure that when you change the aspect ratio in the Frame size pop-up menu, the video remains centered in the new aspect ratio. | |||||||||
Pixel aspect ratio | All video-enabled preset formats | Use this pop-up menu to set the ratio between the encoded width and the display width. | |||||||||
Frame rate | All video-enabled preset formats | Use this pop-up menu to set the frame rate for the output file, or enter a custom frame rate in the field next to the pop-up menu (if available). See Modify frame rate and duration in Compressor. | |||||||||
Field order | All video-enabled preset formats | Use this pop-up menu to set the output scanning method for interlaced footage. See Use deinterlacing in Compressor. | |||||||||
Color space | All video-enabled preset formats | 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, or “Same as Source” to use the color space of the source file. You can also choose a manual preset to override the default. See Modify video color space and HDR metadata in Compressor. | |||||||||
Preserve camera log encoding | All video-enabled preset formats | Select this checkbox to ensure that the output file maintains the log encoding specified by the source file. This option is only available if a camera log is specified in the Job inspector. See Job properties in Compressor. | |||||||||
Camera LUT | All video-enabled preset formats | Use this pop-up menu to choose the camera lookup table (LUT) applied to the source file. This option is only available if a camera log is specified in the Job inspector and the “Preserve camera log encoding” checkbox is deselected. | |||||||||
Cinematic | All video-enabled preset formats | Use this pop-up menu (available for source video recorded in Cinematic mode with the iPhone Camera app) to specify whether or not to render the Cinematic-mode effect in the transcoded file. Note: Cinematic mode rendering requires macOS 12 or later. For details on how to preserve Cinematic mode metadata when transferring video from iPhone to Mac, see the Motion User Guide. | |||||||||
Stereoscopic | All video-enabled preset formats | Use this pop-up menu to choose how Compressor uses the left- and right-eye views in stereoscopic video. See Modify stereoscopic and spatial properties in Compressor. | |||||||||
360° metadata | Apple Devices, MPEG-4, QuickTime Movie | Use this pop-up menu to choose the type of 360° metadata, if any, to be included in the output file. See View and modify 360° video properties in Compressor. | |||||||||
Codec | Apple Devices, MPEG-4, MXF, QuickTime Movie | Choose one of the available transcoding methods. Note: HEVC encoding in Compressor requires macOS 10.13 or later. | |||||||||
Spatial Video | Apple Devices | When Codec is set to MV-HEVC, use this pop-up menu to determine whether to output the file as spatial video for playback on Apple Vision Pro. See Modify stereoscopic and spatial properties in Compressor. | |||||||||
Encoder type | Apple Devices, MPEG-4, QuickTime Movie | When Codec is set to HEVC, use this pop-up menu to choose a faster (standard quality) or slower (higher quality) encoder. | |||||||||
Profile | Apple Devices, MPEG-4, QuickTime Movie | Use this pop-up menu to set the level of complexity included in the transcode. When Codec is set to H.264 for MPEG-4 and QuickTime Movie presets, choose between high-quality output (which may not be compatible with H.264 playback devices), the Baseline profile (primarily for video conferencing and mobile applications), and the Main profile (similar to Baseline, with additional support for standard-definition video requirements). When Codec is set to HEVC or MV-HEVC, choose the color depth of the output file. | |||||||||
Entropy mode | MPEG-4, QuickTime Movie | 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). | |||||||||
Avg. Bit rate | MPEG-4, QuickTime Movie | Choose a bit rate for your video:
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Key frame interval | MPEG-4, QuickTime Movie | Use this pop-up menu to choose the interval between keyframes in your output file: All creates a keyframe at every frame; Every lets you enter a custom interval in the value field; Automatic lets Compressor set the interval. | |||||||||
Quality | QuickTime Movie | When Codec is set to Animation or Photo-JPEG, use this slider to set the quality level of your output file. When Codec is set to HEVC and the “Preserve alpha” checkbox is selected, use this slider to set the quality level of your output file’s alpha channel. | |||||||||
Anamorphic | MPEG-2 | If a standard-definition source file’s storage aspect ratio doesn’t match its display aspect ratio, use this pop-up menu to correct the image so the output doesn’t appear squeezed or stretched. | |||||||||
Encoding mode | MPEG-2 | Choose an MPEG-2 encoding mode from the pop-up menu:
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Motion estimation | MPEG-2 | Use this pop-up menu to set the amount of motion processing performed on the file. Choose Good when there’s relatively low motion between frames, Better when there’s slightly more complex motion, and Best for the most complex motion and for interlaced source files. | |||||||||
GOP structure | MPEG-2 | Use this pop-up menu to choose an MPEG-2 GOP (group of pictures) structure:
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GOP size | MPEG-2 | Use this slider to specify how many frames are contained within a GOP (group of pictures). The values available in the slider are determined by the “GOP structure” property. The maximum GOP size in Compressor is 15 frames (NTSC) or 12 frames (PAL and 720p). The minimum GOP size for all video formats is 6 frames (closed GOP) or 7 frames (open GOP). | |||||||||
Automatically select bit rate | H.264, MPEG-2 | Select this checkbox to have Compressor automatically compute the best bit rate for the output file, based on the duration of the source file. To manually adjust the bit rate, deselect the checkbox and drag the “Average bit rate” and “Maximum bit rate” sliders (or enter values in the adjacent fields). | |||||||||
Multi-pass | Apple Devices, H.264, MPEG-4, QuickTime Movie | Select this checkbox to turn on multi-pass encoding, which applies an additional analysis of video frames to produce a high-quality output file. | |||||||||
Include Dolby Vision 8.4 Metadata | Apple Devices, MPEG-4, QuickTime Movie | Select this checkbox to have Compressor include Dolby Vision 8.4 metadata in the output file. | |||||||||
Bit rate | Apple Devices | Select the Automatic checkbox to have Compressor calculate the appropriate bit rate for the output file, based on the frame size of the source file and device compatibility. If the checkbox is not selected, set the bit rate by dragging the slider or entering a value in the text field. | |||||||||
Frame sync | Apple Devices | Select the Automatic checkbox to have Compressor calculate the frame rate. Note: When Frame sync is enabled, the value in the seconds field defaults to zero (.0), but the actual value is determined during the encoding process. If the checkbox is not selected, drag the slider or enter a value in the text field to set the key frame interval at which you want keyframes created in your output file. | |||||||||
Allow frame reordering | MPEG-4, QuickTime Movie | Select this checkbox to potentially provide a better-quality output file by allowing Compressor to reorder video frames during transcoding. 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 | QuickTime Movie | Select this checkbox to preserve any alpha channel information from your source file and pass the alpha channel to the output file. | |||||||||
Add clean aperture information | QuickTime Movie | 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 is 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. | |||||||||
Scale image to preserve aspect ratio | Image Sequence | Select this checkbox to scale the output files to use square pixels and maintain the original aspect ratio (which results in an increase or decrease in the number of horizontal and vertical pixels). | |||||||||
Compression | Image Sequence | Use this pop-up menu to choose an image compression method. | |||||||||
Color depth | Image Sequence | Use this pop-up menu to set the color depth of the output file. | |||||||||
YUV 422 color encoding | MPEG-2 | Select this checkbox to use YUV 422 color encoding for superior chroma quality. | |||||||||
Start timecode | MXF | Use this pop-up menu to set a forced timecode start point for the output file. The Automatic option uses the default timecode of the source file (typically, 00:00:00:00). Other options set the timecode start to 1 hour or 10 hours. | |||||||||
Drop frame | MXF | Available when “Frame rate” is set to 29.97 fps or 59.94 fps and “Start timecode” is set to 00:00:00:00, 01:00:00:00 or 10:00:00:00. Select this checkbox to force the timecode to stay in sync with real-time duration during playback. | |||||||||
The Video inspector also shows options for cropping, padding, and rotating, setting parameters for retiming and resizing quality, and adding video effects.
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