H.264 Codec / MP4 wrapper

How do I setup Compressor to export a video with a H.264 codec in a .mp4 wrapper at 5000 kbps?

I'm able to do it thru FCP with File>Export>Quicktime Conversion so why can't Compressor be setup to do it?

-- Jeff

FCP 7.0.2
Compressor 3.5.2
OSX 10.4.6
2x3GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon
5GB 667 RAM

Encode a H.264 in a .mov. Then bring it into Quicktime to mux to .mp4.

Why do you specifically need .mp4?



www.strypesinpost.com

Thanks so much for the reply, Strypes, I really appreciate it.

The reason I asked is that the folks at my work that are building a web page with video requested our files to be encoded with H.264 with a .mp4 wrapper. Although it is easily done with with individual clips out of FCP, I was looking to streamline it a little thru Compressor with many files at once.

Thanks again.

-- Jeff

>I was looking to streamline it a little thru Compressor with many files at once.

Therein lies the problem Compressor doesn't do muxing of .mp4s... However, you can create mp4 compliant quicktime movies, and batch that with this dude here.

[automatorworld.com]



www.strypesinpost.com

MPEG Streamclip can do a direct batch export to MP4.


www.derekmok.com

But it doesn't come with the fancy toys that Compressor has.



www.strypesinpost.com

No, it doesn't. MPEG Streamclip is fast and versatile, but the end quality (especially with frame rates and motion) tends to be lower than Compressor.


www.derekmok.com

Yea. Mpeg Streamclip is an option.

However, if you want better quality in your final encodes, and do them as batch actions, do a bulk encode into a folder with Compressor. Make sure the codecs are mp4 compliant. Then launch QT pro to export one mov clip to mp4. Make sure you set the video and audio to "pass through". That will set QT's most recent settings to mux quicktime movies into mp4.

Then launch Automator, and drag your folder of QT movies into the right pane, followed by "get folder contents", and the "compress QT using most recent settings". Set your output to .mp4, and specify your destination location, and hit run.



www.strypesinpost.com

Nice tip, strypes. Thanks!

New FAQ wiki entry?

Good idea. Wanna do it Gerard?

I'll get that done later in the morn. It's 4am here.



www.strypesinpost.com

Btw, does anybody know what are the practical differences between mp4s and movs? I was under the impression that for web, most devices that take mp4s, also take movs. I can't think of a web based device or player that accepts mp4, but doesn't accept movs as well.



www.strypesinpost.com

strypes Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Btw, does anybody know what are the practical
> differences between mp4s and movs? I was under the
> impression that for web, most devices that take
> mp4s, also take movs. I can't think of a web based
> device or player that accepts mp4, but doesn't
> accept movs as well.

This should be informative and also help you to fall asleep, if needed:

MPEG-4 File Format


For a fairly clear explanation of the differences, which include support for various game consoles and creation of multichannel audio (beyond stereo), look here:

QuickTime Container Benefits
(Scroll down to the "Container benefits" section.)


-Dave

For all intents and purposes, the MPEG-4 file format is QuickTime. In many cases ? in my experience, it's basically all cases ? you can just change a file's extension from .mov to .m4v or .mp4 (or vice versa) and everything continues to work just fine.

That's as far as the Quicktime world goes, as it takes both formats. As far as I know, mp4 stores audio differently, and supports more tags. And mp4 started out being very similar to Quicktime. I just wanted to know the real world applications.



www.strypesinpost.com

Added to the faq.

[www.lafcpug.org]



www.strypesinpost.com

Hi All: Well I've been having a terrible time attempting to transcode QT movies from FCP to h264 .mp4 movies in compressor.

Here's what I'm working with:
fcp 7.02
compressor 3.52
quicktime 10.0
MacPro quad-core intel zenon
16gb ram

I set a setting in compressor for h264 .mp4 transcoding, set a destination and submit
some of the files process for awhile and the progress indicator continues to increase into many minutes, hours etc....

Sometimes Compressor quits, sometimes the progress bar continues to increase, but it never works. All I want is to compress my large (10 minutes) QT movies to smaller .mp4 movies for streaming or downloading on the web.

When I try to export using QT conversion from FCP, selecting .mp4 as the format, sometimes the files do compress but get quite choppy or stall altogether near the end of the file or the audio stops playing. In my numerous attempts in this way, I have had fcp crashes, or I/O errors.

Wow! this has been very frustrating.

Can anyone offer any advice? It would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Steve

What is your H.264 settings exactly and what frame size?



www.strypesinpost.com

> When I try to export using QT conversion from FCP, selecting .mp4 as the format, sometimes
> the files do compress but get quite choppy or stall altogether near the end of the file or the audio > stops playing.

This sounds to me like either you are using storage drives that aren't fast enough (for the source footage or the H.264 files themselves), or you're using such insanely high bit rates for the end MP4s that they can't be played.

Export Using QuickTime Conversion isn't the best feature in the world, but it should have worked in your case. A 10-minute show should never take "hours" to encode. Are you sure you don't have excess "garbage" at the end of your timeline that's blowing up your file size? What if you exported a self-contained, full-quality QuickTime movie first?


www.derekmok.com

>A 10-minute show should never take "hours" to encode.

Shh... He could be Jim Jannard working on 28K.



www.strypesinpost.com