This must be my day for asking questions. I'm using FCPX 10.0.7 and Compressor 4. When I use FCPX to send a project to Compressor to be rendered, and the FCPX project has chapter markers, the rendered file is missing the chapter markers. I'm rendering to Apple Devices 720p, if that helps.
Am I missing something, or is this really the way it works right now?
Thanks.
Dan
iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)
Possibly they are there, but they're easy to overlook. Here's a test file encoded for Apple Devices. The arrow indicates the chapters menu icon.
Russ
Russ -
Thanks for the reply With pictures! 😁
In my case, the chapter markers definitely aren't there. I know what they look like, because they're there if I render the project inside FCPX.
Perhaps there's some option I'm missing, or a different way to send the project to Compressor? I'm using the File->Send project to Compressor (or whatever it's called) menu item. I know that when I use Share to render with FCPX, there's an option to include chapter makers. Is there something similar when sending the project to Compressor, and I'm just overlooking it?
Thanks.
Dan
I really don't know whether chapter markers transfer if sent to Compressor. I never use that workflow, but I'll do a test and see.
If I export as Master file, Apple Devices, whatever, there is a checkbox in the dialogue window for including chapter markers. But I notice it's not in the Compressor export window.
Russ
Oh, so your example above was done with chapters created in Compressor, not FCPX?
Here's what I'm thinking: They only recently added chapter markers back into FCPX. They probably haven't gotten around to updating Compressor to make it aware that FCPX projects can have chapter markers.
It's only a guess, though.
Thanks again.
Dan
Dan Thomas (DAGWare) wrote:
Oh, so your example above was done with chapters created in Compressor, not FCPX?
Yes, but I was just making a file for QT so I could point out the obscure location of the chapter menu icon.
However,I can verify that FCPX chapters do work for a a variety of export presets. Just not sure about the Compressor one.
I'll let you know what I find in a few minutes.
Russ
Just confirming that my test file sent from FCPX to Compressor did preserve chapter markers created in FCPX.
If you take the same project and Share> one of the Apple Device presets, does it retain the markers?
Russ
Yes. That's how I'm rendering right now. Did you use the FCPX menu item File->Send to compressor?
I figured this must just be something I'm doing wrong, because I couldn't find any discussions on the subject.
Thanks for helping!
Dan
Dan Thomas (DAGWare) wrote:
Did you use the FCPX menu item File->Send to compressor?
Yes. I did.
Russ
Huh. I'll have to experiment more tonight when I get home from work. Just knowing that it *should* work helps.
Thanks!
Dan
I ran a test with Send to Compressor and got this using Apple Devices 3rd gen 10Mbps
Tom -
OK, so I created a test project with all default settings, and I could, indeed, get a result with chapters.
So I marked your answer as having solved my question, which actually isn't true. I need to figure out what's different between the project that worked, and the ones that don't. But at least I know for sure it's possible.
I'm a computer programmer, so I know the steps from here to debug the problem. I'll change one thing at a time, moving my test project's settings closer and closer to my problem projects' settings, until I either find the problem, or it magically goes away - the possibility of which I won't discount. 😉
I'll report back if/when I find out something. Thanks again for your help.
Dan
First thing to try is to export a master file from FCP and see if the chapter markers are there.
When I render output by using Share in FCPX, the chapter markers are there. Is this whay you meant, or does "export a master file" mean something else?
Dan
That's what I meant: Share>Master file. And when you go from the same project using Send to Compressor and use a standard Apple devices preset the chapters don't appear? Don't understand that. Can't see why that would happen. Maybe the specs of your media make a difference, but I don't see why. What are they?
I figured it out. In Compressor, when you look at an output setting, in the Inspector under the "Encoder" tab, there's a drop-down called "Device". I've been using "iPad/iPhone with Retina display" because that's what I have. Apparently, Apple doesn't know that these devices can handle chapters.
Anyway, mystery solved. Silly me for assuming that Apple knew what its own devices were capable of.
Thanks again!
Dan
PS: The iPhone iPod 5 supports chapters (not sure about the iPhone 5, because I'm too lazy too get my wife's iPhone and test it). The iPad 3 doesn't support them when viewing videos on the device, but it *does* support them if you use the iPad to view them on an AppleTV using AirPlay. Just in case you wondered. Sigh. I love technology.
FCPX -> Compressor 4 loses chapter markers?
