Apple Compressor (4.0) - Manual (Page 65)

Chapter 5 Custom settings and output formats 65
Before you can convert your existing media files to a DVD project, you must convert the video
to MPEG-1 (SD projects only), MPEG-2 (SD and HD projects), or H.264 (HD projects only) files.
Compressor can encode audio in the Dolby Digital Professional format (also known as AC-3).
Dolby Digital Professional is a very common compressed audio format for DVD-Video discs.
Compressor also supports two specialized situations:
•
For those situations in which you’re editing HD sources in Final Cut Pro and want to create
an SD DVD from them, Compressor includes a high-quality downconversion capability. HD
sources using 1080i or 720p resolutions use a high-quality transcoding process to create SD
MPEG-2 video output files.
•
For those situations in which you must fit the maximum video onto a DVD and don’t require
broadcast quality, Compressor includes the ability to export DVD-Video-compatible MPEG-1
format files.
iTunes and Apple device output
iTunes and Apple device output overview
Using Compressor, you can create iTunes-compliant H.264 files. These can be played in iTunes; on
an iPhone, iPad, or iPod; or with Apple TV.
Compressor includes preconfigured settings that use the H.264 for Apple Devices Encoder pane
to make it easy for you to create suitable media files.
For information about creating H.264 files for other uses (such as web video), see QuickTime
movie overview on page 121. For information about creating H.264 files for DVDs, see Custom
settings and output formats overview on page 64.
H.264 workflows
The efficiency and quality of H.264 provide a number of options for iPhone, iPad, iPod, and Apple
TV video producers. When choosing a device option, you can choose to create a file that plays on
a wide variety of devices or a file targeted to a specific device, such as an iPhone 4.
•
Options that are compatible with all devices don’t produce optimal results when played on
higher-resolution devices, such as Apple TV. However, these options produce smaller files,
which can be an advantage.
•
Options that are targeted at higher-resolution devices produce great results on those devices;
however, they result in larger files.
When choosing options, make sure to take into account the devices on which you want to play
the video, the video content, and how you intend to deliver the file.
Additionally, you can assign a clip’s poster frame using the Preview window. For more
information, see
Apply frame controls to a setting on page 167. You can change the poster frame
in iTunes if necessary. For more information, see iTunes Help.