fully customized settings in Compressor

Using Compressor 3.5, is it possible to create fully customized settings? I know only to start with one of the preset settings and then modify it using Inspector. However the presets don't allow free modification. For example, suppose I want a H.264 compression from a 1080p50 project. Compressor preset named "H.264 10.3Mbps" does not allow setting frame rate to 50. Compressor preset named "H.264 LAN" is limited to 480 lines. Compressor preset named "QuickTime H.264" does allow 1080p50 but does not allow adjustment of the compression settings -- it gives a hefty 94Mbps. Etc. All the presets I've tried are specialized and have built-in restrictions. Is there some other way in Compressor for making settings without restrictions?
Are you expected to create fully customized settings by editing the xml (.setting) files?
Thanks.

Dennis Couzin
Berlin, Germany

>Compressor preset named "QuickTime H.264" does allow 1080p50 but does not allow adjustment of
>the compression settings -- it gives a hefty 94Mbps.

Restrict bitrate to something much lower.

For further customization of H.264 settings, you could try using the x264 encoding library instead.
[www003.upp.so-net.ne.jp]



www.strypesinpost.com

There are lots of extra settings in those files that aren't made available to the GUI, but bear in mind that sometimes that is for a reason. Many formats have limitations and changing these settings could produce corrupt files.

My software:
Pro Maintenance Tools - Tools to keep Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Pro X, Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro running smoothly and fix problems when they arise
Pro Media Tools - Edit QuickTime chapters and metadata, detect gamma shifts, edit markers, watch renders and more
More tools...

strypes Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Restrict bitrate to something much lower.

Unfortunately, Inspector greys out bitrate settings for that preset.

strypes Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> For further customization of H.264 settings, you
> could try using the x264 encoding library
> instead.
> [www003.upp.so-net.ne.jp]

Thanks, this could be the answer.

Dennis Couzin
Berlin, Germany

Jon Chappell Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> There are lots of extra settings in those files
> that aren't made available to the GUI, but bear in
> mind that sometimes that is for a reason. Many
> formats have limitations and changing these
> settings could produce corrupt files.

Jon, preset "QuickTime H.264" does everything I want but at an extremely high bitrate. What reason could Apple have had not to allow some range of bitrates?

It looks like the frame rate limitations in preset "H.264 10.3Mbps" have nothing to do with H.264 itself, but with the DVD that Compressor presumes you're going to make. Earlier versions of Compressor were less presumptuous, less preset.

I'm eager to bypass the GUI and edit the .xml but find some parts unreadable. Do you know what is meant by this entry for "customCodecData"?

[snip]

Thanks.

Dennis Couzin
Berlin, Germany

When you click the Settings button next to Video, it pops up a dialog. This dialog is populated with custom fields specified by the codec. The "customCodecData" stores the data from this dialog in encoded form.

My software:
Pro Maintenance Tools - Tools to keep Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Pro X, Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro running smoothly and fix problems when they arise
Pro Media Tools - Edit QuickTime chapters and metadata, detect gamma shifts, edit markers, watch renders and more
More tools...

Also, I edited your post to remove the custom data because it messed up the forum width. There wasn't anything valuable there anyway, as when you pasted it it got converted to ASCII.

My software:
Pro Maintenance Tools - Tools to keep Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Pro X, Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro running smoothly and fix problems when they arise
Pro Media Tools - Edit QuickTime chapters and metadata, detect gamma shifts, edit markers, watch renders and more
More tools...

>preset "QuickTime H.264" does everything I want but at an extremely high bitrate.

Have you tried this:



You can definitely increase the bitrate as you deem appropriate.

>Many formats have limitations and changing these settings could produce corrupt files.

Not to mention it may crash some players.



www.strypesinpost.com

strypes Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Have you tried this:
>
> [i298.photobucket.com]
> 1/Screenshot2010-11-07atPM052948.png
>
> You can definitely increase the bitrate as you
> deem appropriate.

Thank you so much for pointing this out.
This Apple preset is useful after all.
It's funny that the setting is for "data rate" rather than separately for average and max. I'll begin experimenting.

Dennis Couzin
Berlin, Germany

Jon Chappell Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> When you click the Settings button next to Video,
> it pops up a dialog. This dialog is populated with
> custom fields specified by the codec. The
> "customCodecData" stores the data from this dialog
> in encoded form.

Jon Chappell Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Also, I edited your post to remove the custom data
> because it messed up the forum width. There wasn't
> anything valuable there anyway, as when you pasted
> it it got converted to ASCII.

Jon, I'm simply viewing the .xml with MSWord2007, perhaps improperly, but not confirming what you say. It only shows ASCII text for the customCodecData, and this text does not change at all when I change the bit rates in the dialog.

Dennis Couzin
Berlin, Germany

Upon closer inspection, customCodecData only affects certain parameters in that dialog. So it won't update unless you change one of those parameters. The standard parameters in that dialog (keyframe, bit rate, etc) seem to be encoded in plain-text elsewhere in the file. So nothing in that field should affect the bitrate.

My software:
Pro Maintenance Tools - Tools to keep Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Pro X, Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro running smoothly and fix problems when they arise
Pro Media Tools - Edit QuickTime chapters and metadata, detect gamma shifts, edit markers, watch renders and more
More tools...

Yes, customCodecData (in which I've inserted line breaks, perhaps not correctly) looks like about 27 instructions which must control the frame size and interlacing, among else. It would be nice to fathom customCodecData and gain control over these parameters.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAChHNlYW4
AAAABAAAAGgAAAAAAAAAYc3ByZg
AAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIAAAAYc2xldg
AAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYc3VzZw
AAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYc2Fsd
AAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAYc2FsYg
AAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAYc21sd
AAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYc3Fsd
AAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAwAAAAAYc2VwZg
AAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYc214aw
AAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYc214c
AAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYc25mcg
AAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYc2Jwcw
AAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYc2Rycw
AAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYc2RyZ
AAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYc2Nyd
AAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAYc3Jmbg
AAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYc25ybg
AAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYc3Zmcg
AAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYc2NwbQ
AAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAYc3RmYw
AAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAYc210Yw
AAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAYc3Bhcg
AAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYXJ3Z
AAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYXJod
AAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYc3Zmd
AAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUAAAAYc2xncw
AAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAE=

Dennis Couzin
Berlin, Germany

If you're not familiar with programming you'll find that difficult, I'm afraid. This page will give you more details:
[cocoadev.com]

My software:
Pro Maintenance Tools - Tools to keep Final Cut Studio, Final Cut Pro X, Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro running smoothly and fix problems when they arise
Pro Media Tools - Edit QuickTime chapters and metadata, detect gamma shifts, edit markers, watch renders and more
More tools...

Jon, now I understand your remark: "when you pasted it it got converted to ASCII"; but I think it is exactly that ASCII string in the .settings file itself. If customCodecData contains program code, then isn't step #1 deciphering the string to find out the source code? Is the string just some typographic abbreviation for the code? Or is it compiled code? The cocoadev.com page doesn't have to do step #1; it starts with source code. Step #2 is understanding the source code enough to make some number substitutions.

Dennis Couzin
Berlin, Germany