… for Codecs & Media

Tip #1829: Compressor Limits Frame Sizes to 4K

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Compressor limits almost all compressed files to 4K or smaller.

Vince asks:

“I’ve got a 360 project (filmed on GoPro Max) that is 5376×2688 and need the best quality compression setting to create a 5376×2688 .mp4 (or .m4v) for playback on a pair of Oculus Quest 2 goggles. I can’t find any setting in FCP or Compressor that allows me to custom set the resolution to match. Actually, I can’t get anything larger than 4k, which is killing me and the image quality when viewing on the goggles.”

The short answer is that Compressor limits compression frame sizes to 4K for both H.264 and HEVC codecs.

NOTE: HEVC was specifically designed to support frame sizes larger than 4K, but Compressor does not currently allow it.

Because Vince is interested in high-quality, the workaround is to use the ProRes 422 codec. This supports frame sizes up to 8K, along with non-standard aspect ratios.

NOTE: However, if you import a 4K 3D clip, Compressor won’t upscale it larger than 100%, even into ProRes.