[Mark Spano]

if I remember correctly, this problem used to exhibit itself when you attempted to change this value using a non-Administrator level account. Maybe that’s it. Otherwise, I would still point to something permissions based.

[Mark Spano]

What you want to do is very easily accomplished with SequenceLiner. I used to do this all the time before I moved to Avid, which has this capability built in (with the feature AutoSequence). But this tool does the trick with FCP7.

https://www.spherico.com/filmtools/sequenceLiner/

[Mark Spano]

I do it similarly to you, but not in the same order, and it works.

Open Compressor 3.5.3
Clear any prompts or existing jobs
Click the button that says “Add Surround Sound”
Click each speaker icon and add the appropriate sound file
Click the button that says Add Video (within the Add Surround Sound dialog that’s still open) and add your video
Now add your encoding presets to this job (H.264 for Blu-ray, 5.1 AC3 for audio)
Click on the item in the job window, and choose Job Action in the Inspector
Choose When job completes: Create Blu-ray Disc
Set your BD-R settings here (BD-R drive or Hard Drive (for image file))
Submit

This is the only way I’ve been able to get Compressor to recognize a surround job and also incorporate corresponding video.

[Mark Spano]

If the folder isn’t there it’s because you haven’t created any custom presets. Either make a preset, or just copy over your other folder.

[Mark Spano]

Two versions of Compressor will conflict with custom settings, as Compressor 4 has a slightly different format for storing these compared to Compressor 3.5.3. They both, however, store custom presets in the same location:

Macintosh HD / Users / / Library / Application Support / Compressor

[Mark Spano]

Shane,

What is “proper pulldown” for 23.98p to 29.97p? I know Avid can do proper 2:3 pulldown for 23.98p to 29.97i, but progressive to progressive offers less than optimal results in my view (a pattern of 2:1:1:1, which has a stuttered look). Is this the best you can get for this conversion? I would say blending is probably not great, but at least it would be smoother.

[Mark Spano]

On that site, do yourself a favor and download the PDF (link on the upper right of the page) instead of looking at the badly formatted web page. The PDF says ProRes HQ preferred, and properly places any bit rate info next to H.264 where it belongs.

Save yourself the grief of trying to decipher some web designer’s idea of concatenated specs.

[Mark Spano]

Beta SP is a 4×3 format. If the tape is labeled 16×9 letterboxed, this is a misnomer. It is likely that this tape was made from a 16×9 source, and if it is letterboxed, it should have been labeled 4×3 letterbox, or just ‘letterbox’ to avoid confusion and redundancy. To your question, yes, Beta SP only outputs as 4×3, so either a hardware upconvert or a software resize would be your next best option.

[Mark Spano]

For sources, think about what you’re trying to capture. When you listen to a person speaking, you’re generally isolating in on their voice, and hoping to hear that above any background noise or room noise. So a single microphone mono recording is ideal. For a singing performance, it depends largely on the context of the recording location. If recording in an acoustically unpleasant room, a close-miked mono recording is advantageous. If recording in an acoustically pleasing area, such as a concert hall, a single mic mono recording is still advantageous, and a stereo mic recording would be as well, with the ability to blend these after the fact.

Music is subjective, but since the mid 1950s, people generally expect music tracks to be heard in stereo. Mono is acceptable only if the delivery format or reproduction system is only capable of mono.

About bouncing: you must ask yourself what the delivery requirements are. Is it for radio broadcast, or compact disc? Stereo bounce, since these formats can handle it. If it is for low bandwidth/low bitrate delivery, such as a podcast or an audiobook or an automated phone prompt system, often these require mono delivery. If unsure, try to sample another project already completed in the system you’re using, and see how it’s been done.

A great source for learning how to record different sources with microphones is Tonmeister Technology. It may be difficult these days to find in print, but this has been my manual and reference throughout my career. Another book with great insights into this subject matter is The New Stereo Soundbook.

[Mark Spano]

Ah – glad it was an easy fix!