Compressor 2.3 update

[Joseph H.]

Hi all,

I have Compressor 2 for Mac, but with my new computer it doesn't work. I did some reading and found out that while Compressor 2 is incompatible with Mac OS 10.5, Apple released an update, 2.3, that is. Apparently Apple has since taken down this update.

My question was this- I know this is a lot to ask, but does anyone who has compressor 2.3 or a more recent update mind uploading it for me so I can continue to use Compressor on my new mac?

Thanks!

[iThinkergoiMac]

You can only get 2.3 if you have the universal version of FCS... which version do you have?

[Joseph H.]

I have Final Cut 5 point something, but not the entire studio.

[iThinkergoiMac]

Well, there's part of your problem, I imagine, since you can't purchase Final Cut Pro by itself, so you must have gotten it through, well, other means.

Either way, get info on the Compressor app, and it'll tell you if it's Universal or not.

[Joseph H.]

Well, you're right. I purchased Sony Vegas and Tmpegenc on Windows (a hefty price tag too) and I'm running Windows on a virtual machine on my mac, but unbeknownst to me, I can't even use them directly with my camera because Windows on virtual doesn't recognize firewire at all. Which means I have to import on the mac side.

The problem being that imovie only imports by converting to their special HD apple codec which is entirely unsupported by Windows. So I wanted final cut pro for one of 2 reasons...either it would enable me to import the actual MPEG 2 HDV file, or it would enable me to encode it to mpeg right in mac. Neither HDV capture or compressor have worked and I'm so frustrated with the whole thing.....

It says Compressor 2.0, 2005. Thanks a lot for your help.

[iThinkergoiMac]

I'm not on my Mac so I can't remember exactly where it is, but when you get info on it, it'll tell you if it's PowerPC or Universal (or Intel only). That's what you're trying to find. Does software update have no updates for you?

[Joseph H.]

Sorry, I see what you're saying now.

It is Power PC.

[cgbier]

Dumb question: Why would you use Vegas if you have FCP already?

[Joseph H.]

Because I bought Vegas and that's what I'm comfortable using.

[cgbier]

Because I bought Vegas and that's what I'm comfortable using.

Fully understood!

You write about a "new Mac". I suppose it is an Intel Machine, so why not install Windows via Boot Camp? There, you'll have full system access, firewire and all.

Did you try the most obvious way: Export a QT from FCP (doesn't need Compressor) and import it into Vegas?

[Joseph H.]

Well, I've figured out an even more obvious way which allows me to reencode only once:

1. Import the hi def video in its native format (Mpeg 2) with Virtual DVHS. No reencode- just transferring the file from tape to disk.
2. Import the hi def mpeg 2 file into Vegas, which accepts the file (unlike the apple hi def codec)
3. Make any necessary cuts in Vegas, then frameserve directly to Tmpegenc.

The quality is fantastic and the whole process takes up much less hard drive space.

[cgbier]

Glad it worked out!

[iThinkergoiMac]

Indeed, glad you figured it out! If you're interested in using FCP still, I'd highly recommend upgrading to at least the Universal version of what you have now, if not to FCS2 or 3. It's going to run much, much slower than it should because it's a PowerPC version, so on an Intel machine OS X actually modifies the code to work on the fly. This slows down the computer a lot, to say the least.