Jaymz94
Level 1 (4 points)
Photography

Q: Do I Need Compressor 4?

I'm trying to decide whether or not I need Compressor 4.

I have been editing in FCP X for the past few years, and up till now have had no pressing need for anything more than what Final Cut offers in its share menu.

 

However, I have recently begun using Vimeo for all my Online distribution, and i am also needing to produce DVD's.

So i have been looking into getting Compressor for the last couple weeks, but i haven't as yet, as i can't see exactly what it's going to add over the FCP X share menu.

 

Basically what i need to know is the following...

 

1. Will Compressor 4 improve video quality and file size when exporting for Vimeo?

 

2. Will Compressor offer me more manual control of Bitrate settings?

 

3. Is the DVD export in Compressor better than the one in FCP X?

 

I am using FCP X version 10.1.4 on a Mid-2011 iMac 27"

My Final Cut Libraries and all other related media is stored on a Drobo 5D connected via Thunderbolt.

I also have access to a Late-2013 MacBook Pro Retina 15", would this, or the iMac be better/faster for exporting?

Final Cut Pro X, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3), 27" iMac mid 2011

Posted on May 25, 2015 6:54 AM

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Jaymz94

Q: Do I Need Compressor 4?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Tom Wolsky,

    Tom Wolsky Tom Wolsky May 25, 2015 6:59 AM in response to Jaymz94
    Level 10 (118,318 points)
    Apple TV
    May 25, 2015 6:59 AM in response to Jaymz94

    1. Maybe, if you need to up the data rate.

     

    2. Definitely.

     

    3  It's basically the same in terms of menus, but it does give you much greater data rate and processing control.

  • by Russ H,

    Russ H Russ H May 25, 2015 7:30 AM in response to Jaymz94
    Level 7 (21,825 points)
    Quicktime
    May 25, 2015 7:30 AM in response to Jaymz94

    To your hardware question, I think that the it should be close. The MBP CPU definitely supports hardware acceleration; not entirely sure about that mode iMac – it probably does. The iMac has a stronger graphics card. Run some tests with different encoding specs and let us know the outcome.

     

    Russ

  • by innocentius,

    innocentius innocentius May 25, 2015 8:00 AM in response to Jaymz94
    Level 4 (1,885 points)
    May 25, 2015 8:00 AM in response to Jaymz94

    For any seríous editor I would strongly recommend Compressor. As Russ said it is CPU demanding. While encoding all 12 cores goes to top. On my Mac Pro late 2013. You have endless possibilities to customize the settings. I think FCPX is compromise between speed and quality you can change that in Compressor to you needs.