WMV How do you make a Windows media File in FCP/Cpmpressor?
 

I need to make not only QT mov but Windows Media Player files as well. Where or how do you get that done. Is there a plug-in that works the best?

You need Flip-4-mac, which is now part of an application called Episode.

As above, Compressor does NOT compress for WMV. You need to get Episode Pro 4.2.2 or a thing called the WMV-9 Export Component from Popwire Technology.

Miklos, Telestream acquired Popwire so there is no longer a separate available product. You have to go with Episode. Telestream are the ones who make Flip-4-Mac and Episode.

Here is the link to the August 1, 2006 press release:

http://www.telestream.net/news/06_08_01.htm

-gb-

I have tried Flip-4-Mac (the trial version that lets you create just 20 seconds or so), and I wasn't impressed with the quality. I also tried Popwire, liked them much better, but didn't buy their product before they pulled it.

What I do now involves a PC with Windows Media Encoder (WME), which is a free download. On the Mac, I convert a QuickTime file into an AVI file of decent quality and then use WME to output a .wmv file. The quality is not bad at all, even though the file sizes are on the high side.

Best solution I have seen yet, and free - it's just that it involves copying files between the Mac and a PC.

- Martin

Martin,

I've tried your solution as well using Parallels and XP, but it sucks that Windows Media Encoder can't read any quicktime format. The time it takes to first convert to avi is a real drag.

You can actually create a Compressor setting for the Flip4Mac component. I've only done it with the free trial component but it does work (for the first 20 seconds.) I assume the pay version would work exactly the same without the "free trial" 20 second time limit.

Just make a new setting and use "Quicktime Export Components"
and then "Windows Media."

You can also convert from Quicktime to WMV using VisualHub (which is basically a nice front-end for ffmpeg). VisualHub used to have some issues with stutters on WMV encoding, but the very latest version seems to have cured that bug. You may still see some issues with audio -- I think it can't encode to Windows audio and uses MP3? instead, which may give some issues (I don't recall what, but I seem to recall reading about them on VisualHub's support forums).

VisualHub will give you more flexibility in choosing your encoding options vs. the basic $50 Flip4Mac plugin, and is much faster, but I think Flip4Mac gives slightly better quality at a given bitrate. But you might want to give it a try -- you can encode up to 2 minute clips without registering, and its dirt cheap ($22.32, or something strange like that).

-Terence

Thanks Windows Media Player
 

Too bad you have to buy another app (outside of FCP) to create a movie for 98% of the web viewers. Creating WMV is so common these days you would think FCP would include it. Vegas includes QT. Thanks for the help.

Well, you could buy a PC, so you can download a free application to create your WMVs. Then you could use it as a foot rest when you're not encoding.
You could also send an email to Bill Gates explaining the principle behind 'open source'.
I'm afraid your 'blame finger' is pointing the wrong way.
Cheers,
Liam.

That Visual Hub is not bad, just did some quick tests and the WMV files look pretty good without even tweaking the settings. I agree with the earlier poster about WMV encoding not being built into FCP or Compressor (I think that's always been an "Apple thing" though)

Flip4Mac is not worth the cost to me.

I tried Flip4Mac, also not impressed.

I have a Mac and a PC, and I'd like to use my Windows Media Encoder on my PC to make a WMV from something I export from Final Cut with Compressor. I can't seem to find settings that are worth anything.

Does anyone have a good workflow with settings I can use to export a Final Cut timeline to a WMV, using Compressor to export from Final Cut, and my PC with Windows Media Encoder to convert to a WMV?

This is the first time I've been asked for a Windows Media file, and all the ones I created look terrible. I'd rather not purchase any extra software because this is probably the only time I've ever going to use this.