Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
benefits of the codec is it provides uncompressed high definition quality at
standard definition data-rates. The quality difference between ProRes 422
files and uncompressed HD or SD has been described as being visually
indistinguishable - even after multiple generations of re-encodes.
The strength of ProRes is that it can take large files and shrink them down into
a smaller size. Because the data rates are low one can work with portable
Firewire drives and get uncompressed HD quality.
ProRes is very efficient with bandwidth demands - as a result this codec provides an
alternative for edit facilities which have traditionally relied on expensive RAID setups
to be able to move around huge uncompressed HD files - this can now be done
with ProRes files which are much more manageable and much smaller in size.
ProRes is 4:2:2 which means the format is full bandwidth. Unlike some other
formats ProRes provides full 1920
720 with different
frame rates and with full chroma specification for those formats. ProRes is
therefore suitable for effects production where high quality output is needed.
1080 images or 1280
Notice there are two separate quality setting for ProRes: Apple ProRes 422 and
AppleProRes 422 (HQ). HQ, as you might have guessed, stands for High Quality
and is particularly good for producing encodes with very few compression artifacts.
While some formats are computationally difficult to edit with, such as HDV, ProRes
is designed for the editing environment. It can be used to process material that
requires rendering for the HDV or XDCam format, or it can be edited natively.
When using ProRes in combination with HDV or XDCam this gets around some of
the issues these formats suffer from due to the MPEG recording process.
ProRes has therefore been designed as an edit format, whereas H.264 is still
Apple's preferred distribution format. H.264 can be used for web video, the
iPod, the iPhone, Apple TV and HD DVDs.
When it comes to editing, ProRes has exceptionally high quality, low data rates
and is built right into Final Cut Pro 6, ready for you to access.
