Blog Archives

Today, Apple released the latest updates to Final Cut Pro X, Motion and Compressor. Here are the details.

A detailed look at compression settings for 4K video, along with a determination of whether using multi-pass compression makes good sense.

In this short, illustrated video, Larry Jordan shows two ways to transfer 4K media from an iPhone 6s (or 6s Plus) to a Macintosh. (These techniques do not require video editing software on the Mac.)

11 Tips to Trouble-Shoot Apple Compressor.

A list of new features and bug fixes in updates for Final Cut Pro X (10.2.2), Motion (5.2.2), Compressor (4.2.1) and Apple’s Pro Video Formats.

An indexed and linked list of all technical blogs and articles written by Larry Jordan during August, 2015.

An illustrated explanation of how to measure free space on your hard disk – and why you need to do this – along with an explanation of how to improve performance by minimizing file “swapping.”

A list of articles – and links – written by Larry Jordan during July, 2015, for those folks who were on vacation and missed his weekly newsletters.

An illustrated tutorial on how to create MXF OP1a files using Apple Compressor, along with a description of what MXF OP1a means and where it is used.

An illustrated tutorial showing how to add burned-in timecode to video using Apple Compressor.

A video compression speed test comparing Adobe Media Encoder 2015, with Adobe Media Encoder 2014 and Apple Compressor 4.2.

An illustrated, detailed explanation of how to deinterlace video using Apple Compressor 4.2.

This short video tutorial, from Larry Jordan, summarizes what you need to know to compress video faster – hardware, software, codecs, and settings – when using a Mac.

A video compression speed test comparing the iMac with a Mac Pro using Apple Compressor and focusing on whether using multiple instances makes any difference. (It does!!)

A detailed video compression speed test comparing Adobe Media Encoder, Apple Compressor, HandBrake, MPEG Streamclip, Telestream Episode and Sorenson Squeeze running on a new Mac Pro and an iMac.

This is a detailed, in-depth speed test comparing Adobe Media Encoder CC 2014 with Apple Compressor 4.2 on a new Mac Pro, iMac and MacBook Pro.

A video compression speed test between a new Mac Pro, 21″ iMac and 15″ MacBook Pro when compressing video for YouTube.

A detailed, illustrated look at compressed video image quality as created by Apple Compressor 4.2.

This is the first in a series of articles that look at the speed improvements in the latest version of Apple Compressor 4.2. In this test, we look at improving compression speed for YouTube videos.

This short video tutorial provides an overview of a major new feature in Apple Compressor 4.2: the ability to create iTunes Store Packages.

A detailed look at the latest versions of Final Cut Pro X (10.2), Compressor (4.2) and Motion (5.2) released from Apple today.

A short video tutorial explaining the basics of video compression, along with what determines file size and compressed image quality.

A short video tutorial explaining how and why to set audio compression settings using Apple Compressor.

An overview of HEVC (H.265); the newest compression codec for video.

A step-by-step tutorial on converting audio bit rates, along with the surprise discovery that this process doesn’t work in Apple Compressor 4.1.

A 14-step Quick Start Guide to Understanding Video Compression.

A simple system to measure the differences between compressed and source video clips which can be done in either Apple Final Cut Pro X or Adobe Premiere Pro CC.

This short video tutorial explains how and when to speed video compression by creating a “compression network” using multiple computers and Apple Compressor.

A list of all new articles written by Larry Jordan in August, 2014, sorted by category: Commentary, Final Cut Pro X, Premiere Pro CC, Product Reviews, Motion 5, other subjects and Webinars. There are 30 articles listed here in total.

An image comparison and speed test between Apple Compressor 4.1.2 and Adobe Media Encoder CC (2014)

A quick tutorial on how to check if your Apple Compressor settings are compatible with Apple hardware devices.

A summary of the latest updates to Apple Final Cut Pro X (10.1.2), Motion (5.1.1) and Compressor (4.1.2)

An explanation of Apple’s new ProRes 4444 XQ video compression codec. (Updated to include an explanation of Rec. 2020, and HDR images.)

When compressing video, what is Frame Reordering and when should you turn it on? This short article answers both these questions.

This short video tutorial shows you how to export high-quality project files from Adobe Encore for DVD, Blu-ray Disc, or for compression in other software.

Two quick DVD burning tips when using Apple Compressor 4.1.

A step-by-step tutorial on how to add a still image, or animated video clip, as a watermark using Apple Compressor 4.1.

A short video tutorial explaining the basics of video compression. This tutorial is relevant for any video compression software.

A comparison of Adobe Media Encoder and Apple Compressor running on a new Mac Pro. [Updated]

A description of using multiple instances of Compressor and when to use them.

A speed comparison between the iMac and new Mac Pro, testing video compression speeds. The winner may surprise you!

A quick list of shortcuts, problems and workarounds when editing with Final Cut Pro X.

An explanation of hardware acceleration in Compressor 4.1, along with a step-by-step guide on how to use it.

How to adjust compression settings for DVD media using Compressor 4.1 or Compressor 4.0.

An explanation of compression artifacts, and how to create test movies to make sure video images compressed with the best possible quality and smallest file size.

An explanation of video compression, image quality, and bit rates using an unbelievably brilliant analogy. This is why the size of the source file doesn’t matter.

A step-by-step technique showing how to export and compress multi-channel audio from Final Cut Pro X.

A step-by-step guide to creating custom batch templates in Compressor 4.

A step-by-step tutorial on how to compress video and audio for the web.

A detailed tutorial on HTTP Live Streaming and how to compress video files for it.