If you are using Final Cut Studio you could easily miss out on the advantage of using multiple processors to transcode your footage in compressor because it is not automatically turned on by default. The easiest way of doing this is to check the QuickCluster check box when installing Final Cut Studio. Once installed open up system preferences and click on Apple Qmaster to access the settings.
If you are on a machine with multiple processing cores click on the button ‘Options for selected service’ This will allow you two slected all the cores on the machine your are configuring.
Once you have done this all you need to do is click on start sharing to enable the QuickCluster. Perform the same steps on as many machines that you can lay your hands on!
To use the quick cluster to transcode or compress your Final Cut Pro footage you must first export your timeline from FCP using File/Export/QuickTime Movie… At present you can not export directly from FCP using compressor with multiple machines. Select your exported file and open it with compressor. Add the compression settings you want and click submit.
This is the important part! You need to click the check box ‘include unmanaged services on other computers’. Click Submit again. If you open batch monitor you should be able to see all the machines that you have connected and setup with Qmaster working to process your footage