Chapter 11 - Batch Compression

Batch compression lets you set up a group of movies to compress automatically.  You can select up to 2,000 movies to compress in a single batch file by simply dragging and dropping them in the Finder.

Making a Batch List

The best way to set up a new batch list is to select all the movies you want in the Finder, and then drag them onto the Movie Cleaner Pro program icon.  Movie Cleaner will ask you if you wish to make a batch list containing the selected movies. Movie Cleaner Pro will then prompt you for a file name for the batch list.  Once you have created a batch list, it will show up in the Finder.  You can open and close it just like a normal file, and changes are constantly saved to it.

Alternately, you can create a new batch list by selecting "New Batch List" from the Batch menu.

You can double-click on a movie title in the Batch window to open the movie for viewing and/or to check existing settings, including cropping.

Adding Movies to a Batch List

If you already have a batch list open, you can add files to it by dragging them onto the Movie Cleaner Pro program icon, or by selecting  "Add Movie" from the Batch menu.  It is possible to have the same movie in a batch list more than once, and each copy can have a different set of compression parameters.  This is extremely helpful if you want to try variations of a particular setting on a movie to "fine-tune" it.

Removing Movies from a Batch List

To remove files from an open batch list, select the movie title in the Batch window and then select  "Remove Files" from the  Batch menu or press the "delete" key.  You can shift-click or command-click to select multiple movies within the Batch window.

Selecting an Output Movie Destination

Movies in a batch list may come from several different folders, or even several different volumes, but all the final output movies from a single batch list will be stored in the same place.  To select the output movie destination folder for your batch list, select the "Set Destination" option in the Batch menu.

Applying Setting Groups to Batch Movies

Batch compression lets you apply setting groups to each individual movie, just as if you were compressing them separately.  Movie Cleaner Pro's batch feature also lets you specify a default settings group to be used if an individual movie does not have its own special parameters for compression.  If you have worked with movies before and they already have settings associated with them, you can tell Movie Cleaner Pro to use these existing settings.  Movie Cleaner Pro stores information on your batch compressions for future reference in batch logs.  Finally, you can suspend and then resume a batch compression just as if it were a single movie.  See Chapter 12 - Suspending and Resuming Compression  for more details.

Selecting Batch Compression Settings

Default settings:
The default settings group applies to any movie in the batch list which does not have an individual setting selected.

To select a default settings group, choose an existing settings group from the default pop-up menu in the Batch window. 

Individual settings:
To change the settings for one or more movie(s) in the group, first select the movie(s), then select the desired setting from the Settings menu.

Individual movies may be set to any previously saved setting or :

             default  
            whichever setting is selected in the default popup 
                                           described  above

            from movie  
     whichever setting is stored in the movie itself (if the 
                                           movie  does not contain a setting, the default setting is used 
                                           instead)

Starting Compression

Once you have selected the movies and corresponding compression settings for a batch list, you are ready to begin compression.  To start the compression, either click "Compress" or choose "Begin Batch Compression"  from the Batch menu.

Batch compression can be suspended and resumed just like any single movie compression.  See Chapter 12 - Suspending and Resuming Compression  for detailed information on using Movie Cleaner’s Suspend & Resume features.

During Batch Compression

While compression is in progress, the area in the middle of the toolbar tells you what Movie Cleaner Pro is doing.  The information in the Output movie window is the same as it would be for an individual movie compression.

In the Batch window, the status for each movie is shown beside the movie.  The possible states for a movie are:

-   (dash)   
         
the movie has been added to the batch list  but not yet processed 

Compressing
        the movie is currently being processed

Compressed  
       
the movie has been successfully compressed

Flattened
              
the movie has been successfully compressed, then flattened

Error 
                   
there was a problem during compression - check the log

Suspended 

           the movie was being compressed when compression was 

suspended

Clearing Movie Status

When you restart compression after it has been interrupted (by an error, suspension, etc.), completed movies will remain in the batch list but will not be re-compressed.

If you want to re-compress a movie that has already been compressed, select the movie in the batch list, and choose "Clear Movie Status" from the Batch menu.  This will make Movie Cleaner "forget" that it has already processed the movie.

Output Movie Naming Conventions

As Movie Cleaner Pro batch compresses each movie, it will attempt to create the output movie files by appending the suffix "•Comp" to the name of the source movie.  If you have selected flattening for compressed movies, the output files will have the suffix "•Flat" instead.

Note: these suffixes can be changed in the Preferences dialog (under the Edit menu).

Naming Conflict

In the case of a naming conflict, Movie Cleaner Pro will attempt to create a unique output file name for each movie by placing a two-digit number after the "•Comp" or "•Flat" suffix.  The number will start at 01 and increase in increments of 1 until a unique filename is found.  For example, if you created a batch list with the movie "Presentation" in it three times, Movie Cleaner Pro would produce the following three movies: Presentation•Flat, Presentation•Flat01, Presentation•Flat02.  Movie Cleaner will also truncate filenames to the Macintosh maximum of 32 characters if necessary.

Batch Log File

Information on the results of batch processing, including details on any errors that occurred during compression, are continuously saved to the batch file itself.  In order to view this information, you must extract it from the batch list by creating a batch log file, which is a text report.  To create a batch log file, open the desired batch file, then choose "Save Log File…"  from the Batch menu, and select where the batch log will be saved.

This will save the log as a text file.  To view it, go to the Finder and double-click to open it with SimpleText.

If you run a batch multiple times, additional information will be appended onto the end of the batch file.

If you report a batch processing problem to tech support, it is a good idea to have this file available.  The information it contains may help our support staff diagnose your difficulties.