Encoding and compression options for movies

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After Effects uses the Adobe Media Encoder to encode most movie formats through the Render Queue panel. When you manage render and export operations with the Render Queue panel, the Adobe Media Encoder is called automatically. In this case, the Adobe Media Encoder appears only in the form of the export settings dialog boxes with which you specify some encoding and output settings.

You can also manually send compositions to the stand-alone Adobe Media Encoder queue to take advantage of certain features (Composition > Add To Adobe Media Encoder Queue).

You can also use commands in the File > Export menu to encode movies into some formats (such as raw DV streams) using QuickTime components.

For most output formats, you can specify format-specific encoding and compression options. In many cases, a dialog box opens and presents these options when you choose a format to export to or click the Format Options button in the Output Module settings dialog box.

Formats encoded by the Adobe Media Encoder share a similar export settings dialog box.

When exporting with the Adobe Media Encoder, choosing a format automatically makes available a list of associated presets designed for particular delivery scenarios (for example, the Apple iPod Video Small preset for the H.264 format). Choosing a preset activates the appropriate options in the various settings panels (Video, Audio, and so on).

Note: It is possible in some cases to specify a setting in an export settings dialog box that conflicts with a setting made in the Render Settings or Output Module Settings dialog box. In such cases, After Effects warns you of the mismatch so that you can correct it before continuing.